Job 39
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
39 Knowest thou the time when the wild goats bring forth among the rocks, or hast thou observed the hinds when they fawn?
2 Hast thou numbered the months of their conceiving, or knowest thou the time when they bring forth?
3 They bow themselves to bring forth young, and they cast them, and send forth roarings.
4 Their young are weaned and go to feed: they go forth, and return not to them.
5 Who hath sent out the wild ass free, and who hath loosed his bonds?
6 To whom I have given a house in the wilderness, and his dwellings in the barren land.
7 He scorneth the multitude of the city, he heareth not the cry of the driver.
8 He looketh round about the mountains of his pasture, and seeketh for every green thing.
9 Shall the rhinoceros be willing to serve thee, or will he stay at thy crib?
10 Canst thou bind the rhinoceros with thy thong to plough, or will he break the clods of the valleys after thee?
11 Wilt thou have confidence in his great strength, and leave thy labours to him?
12 Wilt thou trust him that he will render thee the seed, and gather it into thy barnfloor?
13 The wing of the ostrich is like the wings of the heron, and of the hawk.
14 When she leaveth her eggs on the earth, thou perhaps wilt warm them in the dust.
15 She forgetteth that the foot may tread upon them, or that the beasts of the field may break them.
16 She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers, she hath laboured in vain, no fear constraining her.
17 For God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he given her understanding.
18 When time shall be, she setteth up her wings on high: she scorneth the horse and his rider.
19 Wilt thou give strength to the horse, or clothe his neck with neighing?
20 Wilt thou lift him up like the locusts? the glory of his nostrils is terror.
21 He breaketh up the earth with his hoof, he pranceth boldly, he goeth forward to meet armed men.
22 He despiseth fear, he turneth not his back to the sword,
23 Above him shall the quiver rattle, the spear and shield shall glitter.
24 Chasing and raging he swalloweth the ground, neither doth he make account when the noise of the trumpet soundeth.
25 When he heareth the trumpet he saith: Ha, ha: he smelleth the battle afar off, the encouraging of the captains, and the shouting of the army.
26 Doth the hawk wax feathered by thy wisdom, spreading her wings to the south?
27 Will the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest in high places?
28 She abideth among the rocks, and dwelleth among cragged flints, and stony hills, where there is no access.
29 From thence she looketh for the prey, and her eyes behold afar off.
30 Her young ones shall suck up blood: and wheresoever the carcass shall be, she is immediately there.
31 And the Lord went on, and said to Job:
32 Shall he that contendeth with God be so easily silenced? surely he that reproveth God, ought to answer him.
33 Then Job answered the Lord, and said:
34 What can I answer, who hath spoken inconsiderately? I will lay my hand upon my mouth.
35 One thing I have spoken, which I wish I had not said: and another, to which I will add no more.
Job 39
Common English Bible
Mountain goat and doe
39 Do you know when mountain goats give birth;
do you observe the birthing of does?
2 Can you count the months of pregnancy;
do you know when they give birth?
3 They crouch, split open for their young,
send forth their offspring.
4 Their young are healthy; they grow up in the open country,
leave and never return.
Wild donkey
5 Who freed the wild donkey,
loosed the ropes of the onager
6 to whom I gave the desert as home,
his dwelling place in the salt flats?
7 He laughs at the clamor of the town,
doesn’t hear the driver’s shout,
8 searches the hills for food
and seeks any green sprout.
Wild ox
9 Will the wild ox agree to be your slave,
or will it spend the night in your crib?
10 Can you bind it with a rope to a plowed row;
will it plow the valley behind you?
11 Will you trust it because its strength is great
so that you can leave your work to it?
12 Can you rely on it to bring back your grain
to gather into your threshing floor?
Ostrich
13 The ostrich’s wings flap joyously,
but her wings and plumage are like a stork.
14 She leaves her eggs on the earth,
lets them warm in the dust,
15 then forgets that a foot may crush them
or a wild animal trample them.
16 She treats her young harshly as if they were not hers,
without worrying that her labor might be in vain;
17 God didn’t endow her with sense,
didn’t give her some good sense.
18 When she flaps her wings high,
she laughs at horse and rider.
Horse
19 Did you give strength to the horse,
clothe his neck with a mane,
20 cause him to leap like a locust,
his majestic snorting, a fright?
21 He[a] paws in the valley, prances proudly,
charges at battle weapons,
22 laughs at fear, unafraid.
He doesn’t turn away from the sword;
23 a quiver of arrows flies by him,
flashing spear and dagger.
24 Excitedly, trembling, he swallows the ground;
can’t stand still at a trumpet’s blast.
25 At a trumpet’s sound, he says, “Aha!”
smells the battle from afar,
hears[b] officers’ shouting and the battle cry.
Hawk and eagle
26 Is it due to your understanding that the hawk flies,
spreading its wings to the south?
27 Or at your command does the eagle soar,
the vulture build a nest on high?
28 They dwell on an outcropping of rock,
their fortress on rock’s edge.
29 From there they search for food;
their eyes notice it from afar,
30 and their young lap up blood;
where carcasses lie, there they are.
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