Job 39
Living Bible
39 “Do you know how mountain goats give birth? Have you ever seen them giving birth to their young? 2-3 Do you know how many months of pregnancy they have before they bow themselves to give birth to their young and carry their burden no longer? 4 Their young grow up in the open field, then leave their parents and return to them no more.
5 “Who makes the wild donkeys wild? 6 I have placed them in the wilderness and given them salt plains to live in. 7 For they hate the noise of the city and want no drivers shouting at them! 8 The mountain ranges are their pastureland; there they search for every blade of grass.
9 “Will the wild ox be your happy servant? Will he stay beside your feeding crib? 10 Can you use a wild ox to plow with? Will he pull the harrow for you? 11 Because he is so strong, will you trust him? Will you let him decide where to work? 12 Can you send him out to bring in the grain from the threshing floor?
13 “The ostrich flaps her wings grandly but has no true motherly love. 14 She lays her eggs on top of the earth, to warm them in the dust. 15 She forgets that someone may step on them and crush them, or the wild animals destroy them. 16 She ignores her young as though they weren’t her own and is unconcerned though they die, 17 for God has deprived her of wisdom. 18 But whenever she jumps up to run, she passes the swiftest horse with its rider.
19 “Have you given the horse strength or clothed his neck with a quivering mane? 20 Have you made him able to leap forward like a locust? His majestic snorting is something to hear! 21-23 He paws the earth and rejoices in his strength, and when he goes to war, he is unafraid and does not run away though the arrows rattle against him, or the flashing spear and javelin. 24 Fiercely he paws the ground and rushes forward into battle when the trumpet blows. 25 At the sound of the bugle he shouts, ‘Aha!’ He smells the battle when far away. He rejoices at the shouts of battle and the roar of the captain’s commands.
26 “Do you know how a hawk soars and spreads her wings to the south? 27 Is it at your command that the eagle rises high upon the cliffs to make her nest? 28 She lives upon the cliffs, making her home in her mountain fortress. 29 From there she spies her prey, from a very great distance. 30 Her nestlings gulp down blood, for she goes wherever the slain are.”
Job 39
Modern English Version
39 “Do you know the time when the wild mountain goats produce offspring?
Or can you observe when the deer gives birth?
2 Can you number the months that they fulfill,
or do you know the time when they bring forth?
3 They bow themselves, they bring forth their young ones,
they get rid of their labor pains.
4 Their young ones are healthy, they grow strong with grain;
they go forth and do not return to them.
5 “Who has sent out the wild donkey free?
Or who has loosed the bands of the wild donkey,
6 whose home I have made the wilderness,
and the barren land his dwelling?
7 He scorns the multitude in the city
and does not regard the shouts of the driver.
8 The range of the mountains is his pasture,
and he searches after every green thing.
9 “Will the wild ox be willing to serve you
or spend the night by your manger?
10 Can you bind the wild ox in the furrow with ropes?
Or will he plow the valleys behind you?
11 Will you trust him because his strength is great?
Or will you leave your labor to him?
12 Will you trust him to bring home your grain
and gather it into your barn?
13 “Did you give the beautiful wings to the peacocks?
Or wings and feathers to the ostrich,
14 who leaves her eggs in the earth,
and warms them in dust,
15 and forgets that a foot may crush them,
or that the wild beast may break them?
16 She is hardened against her young ones,
as though they were not hers;
her labor is in vain, without concern,
17 because God has deprived her of wisdom,
nor has He imparted understanding to her.
18 When she lifts up herself on high,
she scorns the horse and his rider.
19 “Have you given the horse strength?
Have you clothed his neck with thunder?
20 Can you make him afraid like a grasshopper?
The glory of his nostrils is awesome.
21 He paws in the valley and rejoices in his strength;
he goes on to meet the armed men.
22 He mocks at fear and is not frightened,
nor does he turn back from the sword.
23 The quiver rattles against him,
the glittering spear and the shield.
24 He devours the distance with fierceness and rage,
and he does not stand still at the sound of the trumpet.
25 At the sound of the trumpet he says, ‘Aha’;
he smells the battle afar off,
the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
26 “Does the hawk fly by your wisdom,
and stretch her wings toward the south?
27 Does the eagle mount up at your command
and make her nest on high?
28 She dwells and remains on the rock,
upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place.
29 From there she seeks the prey,
and her eyes see it from afar.
30 Her young ones also suck up blood,
and where the slain are, there she is.”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.