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39 “Do you know the time when the goats of the rocks give birth?
Do you observe the doe deer’s giving birth?
Can you number the months they fulfill,
and do you know the time of its giving birth?
When they crouch, they bring forth their young ones;
they get rid of their labor pains.[a]
Their young ones grow strong; they grow up in the open;
they go forth and do not return to them.
“Who has sent forth the wild ass free?
And who has released the wild donkey’s bonds,
to which I have given the wilderness as its house
and the salt flat as its dwelling place?
It scorns the city’s turmoil;
it does not hear the driver’s shouts.
It explores the mountains as its pasture
and searches after every kind of green plant.
“Is the wild ox willing to serve you,
or will he spend the night at your feeding trough?
10 Can you tie the wild ox with its rope to a furrow,
or will it harrow the valleys after you?
11 Can you trust it because its strength is great,
or will you hand your labor over to it?
12 Can you rely on it that it will return your grain
and that it will gather it to your threshing floor?
13 The wings[b] of the female ostrich flap[c]
are they[d] the pinions of the stork or[e] the falcon?
14 Indeed, it leaves its eggs to the earth,
and it lets them be warmed on the ground,
15 and it forgets that a foot might crush an egg,[f]
and a wild animal[g] might trample it.[h]
16 It deals cruelly with its young ones, as if they were not its own,
as if without fear that its labor were in vain,
17 because God made it forget wisdom,
and he did not give it a share in understanding.
18 When it spreads its wings aloft,[i]
it laughs at the horse and its rider.
19 “Do you give power to the horse?
Do you clothe its neck with a mane?
20 Do you make it leap like the locust?
The majesty of its snorting is terrifying.
21 They paw in the valley, and it exults with strength;
it goes out to meet the battle.
22 It laughs at danger and is not dismayed,
and it does not turn back from before[j] the sword.
23 Upon it the quiver rattles
along with the flash of the spear and the short sword.
24 With roar and rage it races over the ground,[k]
and it cannot stand still at the sound of the horn.
25 Whenever[l] a horn sounds, it says, ‘Aha!’
And it smells the battle from a distance—
the thunder of the commanders and the war cry.
26 “Does the hawk soar by your wisdom?
Does it spread its wings to the south?
27 Or does the eagle fly high at your command
and construct its nest high?
28 It lives on the rock and spends the night
on the rock point and the mountain stronghold.[m]
29 From there it spies out the prey;
its eyes look from far away.
30 And its young ones lick blood greedily,
and where the dead carcasses are, there they are.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 39:3 Or “deliver their fetuses”
  2. Job 39:13 Hebrew “wing”
  3. Job 39:13 Or “flaps”
  4. Job 39:13 Or “if,” or “or”
  5. Job 39:13 Hebrew “and”
  6. Job 39:15 Hebrew “it”; or a collective singular (“them”) referring to “eggs” in v. 14
  7. Job 39:15 Literally “an animal of the field”
  8. Job 39:15 Or a collective singular (“them”) referring to “eggs” in v. 14
  9. Job 39:18 Literally “in the height”
  10. Job 39:22 Literally “from faces of”
  11. Job 39:24 Or “it paws the ground”; literally “it swallows the earth/ground”
  12. Job 39:25 Literally “At enough”
  13. Job 39:28 Literally “on the tooth of the rock and the stronghold”

39 Sai tu quando figliano le camozze
e assisti al parto delle cerve?
Conti tu i mesi della loro gravidanza
e sai tu quando devono figliare?
Si curvano e depongono i figli,
metton fine alle loro doglie.
Robusti sono i loro figli, crescono in campagna,
partono e non tornano più da esse.
Chi lascia libero l'asino selvatico
e chi scioglie i legami dell'ònagro,
al quale ho dato la steppa per casa
e per dimora la terra salmastra?
Del fracasso della città se ne ride
e gli urli dei guardiani non ode.
Gira per le montagne, sua pastura,
e va in cerca di quanto è verde.
Il bufalo si lascerà piegare a servirti
o a passar la notte presso la tua greppia?
10 Potrai legarlo con la corda per fare il solco
o fargli erpicare le valli dietro a te?
11 Ti fiderai di lui, perché la sua forza è grande
e a lui affiderai le tue fatiche?
12 Conterai su di lui, che torni
e raduni la tua messe sulla tua aia?
13 L'ala dello struzzo batte festante,
ma è forse penna e piuma di cicogna?
14 Abbandona infatti alla terra le uova
e sulla polvere le lascia riscaldare.
15 Dimentica che un piede può schiacciarle,
una bestia selvatica calpestarle.
16 Tratta duramente i figli, come se non fossero
suoi,
della sua inutile fatica non si affanna,
17 perché Dio gli ha negato la saggezza
e non gli ha dato in sorte discernimento.
18 Ma quando giunge il saettatore, fugge agitando le
ali:
si beffa del cavallo e del suo cavaliere.
19 Puoi tu dare la forza al cavallo
e vestire di fremiti il suo collo?
20 Lo fai tu sbuffare come un fumaiolo?
Il suo alto nitrito incute spavento.
21 Scalpita nella valle giulivo
e con impeto va incontro alle armi.
22 Sprezza la paura, non teme,
né retrocede davanti alla spada.
23 Su di lui risuona la faretra,
il luccicar della lancia e del dardo.
24 Strepitando, fremendo, divora lo spazio
e al suono della tromba più non si tiene.
25 Al primo squillo grida: «Aah!...»
e da lontano fiuta la battaglia,
gli urli dei capi, il fragor della mischia.
26 Forse per il tuo senno si alza in volo lo sparviero
e spiega le ali verso il sud?
27 O al tuo comando l'aquila s'innalza
e pone il suo nido sulle alture?
28 Abita le rocce e passa la notte
sui denti di rupe o sui picchi.
29 Di lassù spia la preda,
lontano scrutano i suoi occhi.
30 I suoi aquilotti succhiano il sangue
e dove sono cadaveri, là essa si trova.

39 Whether thou knowest the time of birth of wild goats in (the) stones, either hast thou espied hinds bringing forth calves? (Knowest thou the time of birth for the wild mountain goats, or hast thou seen the deer bringing forth their calves?)

Hast thou numbered the months of their conceiving, and hast thou known the time of their calving?

They be bowed down to [the] calf, and so calve; and they send out then roarings (and then they send out their roarings).

Their calves be separated from them, and go forth to pasture; they go out, and they turn not again to their mothers.

Who hath let go the wild ass free, and who hath loosed the bonds of him? (Who hath let the wild donkey go free, and who hath loosened his bonds?)

To whom I have given an house in (the) wilderness, and the tabernacles of him in the land of saltness. (To whom I have given a home in the desert, and his dwelling places in the salty land.)

He despiseth the multitude of the city; he heareth not the cry of the asker.

He looketh about the hills of his pasture, and he seeketh (after) all green things.

Whether an unicorn shall desire to serve thee, either shall dwell at thy cratch? (Shall a wild ox desire to serve thee, or shall he stay in thy stall?)

10 Whether thou shalt bind the unicorn with thy chain, for to ear thy land, either shall he break the clots of the valleys after thee? (Shalt thou bind the wild ox with thy chain, to plow thy land, or shall he break up the clods of the valleys after thee?)

11 Whether thou shalt have trust in his great strength, and shalt thou leave to him thy travails? (Shalt thou have trust in his great strength, and shalt thou leave thy work for him to do?)

12 Whether thou shalt believe to him (Shalt thou believe him), that he shall yield seed to thee, and shall gather (it) together (for) thy cornfloor?

13 The feather of an ostrich is like the feathers of a gyrfalcon, and of an hawk;

14 the which ostrich forsaketh his eggs in the earth, in hap thou shalt make those hot in the dust. (who forsaketh his eggs in the earth, and warmeth them under the sand.)

15 He forgetteth, that a foot treadeth those eggs, either that a beast of the field all-breaketh them.

16 He is made hard to his young, as if they were not his; he travailed in vain, while no dread constrained him. (He is hardened against his young, as if they were not his; he laboured in vain, while no fear constrained him.)

17 For God hath deprived him from wisdom, and he hath not given understanding to him. (For God hath deprived him of wisdom, and he hath not given him understanding.)

18 When time is, he raiseth the wings on high (And then the time cometh that he raise up his wings on high); he scorneth the horse, and his rider.

19 Whether thou shalt give strength to an horse, either shalt give neighing about his neck? (Hast thou given strength to a horse, and hast thou clothed his neck with a mane?)

20 Whether thou shalt raise him as locusts? The glory of his nostrils is dreaded. (Hast thou made that horse as frightening as a horde of locusts? The glory of his nostrils is fearful indeed!)

21 He diggeth [the] earth with his foot, he full out joyeth; and he goeth boldly against [the] armed men.

22 He despiseth fearedfulness, and he giveth not stead to [the] sword.

23 An arrow case shall sound upon him; a spear and a shield shall shine.

24 He is hot, or fervent, and gnasheth, and swalloweth the earth; and he areckoneth not that the cry of the trump soundeth (and he cannot be held when the cry of the trumpet soundeth).

25 When he heareth a clarion, he saith, Joy! he smelleth (the) battle afar (off); the exciting of dukes, and the yelling of the host (the orders of the leaders, and the yelling of the army).

26 Whether an hawk spreading abroad his wings to the south, beginneth to have feathers by thy wisdom? (Be it by thy wisdom that a hawk haveth feathers, and spreadeth his wings towards the south?)

27 Whether an eagle shall be raised up at thy commandment, and shall set his nest in high places?

28 He dwelleth in stones, and he abideth in flints broken before, and in rocks, to which men may not nigh. (He liveth on the stones, yea, on broken stones and rocks, to which men cannot come near.)

29 From thence he beholdeth (his) meat (From there he seeth his prey), and his eyes look from [a]far.

30 His young suck blood, and wherever a carrion is, anon he is present. (His young suck up the blood, and wherever there is a carcass, at once he is present.)

39 “Do you know when the mountain goats(A) give birth?
    Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?(B)
Do you count the months till they bear?
    Do you know the time they give birth?(C)
They crouch down and bring forth their young;
    their labor pains are ended.
Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds;
    they leave and do not return.

“Who let the wild donkey(D) go free?
    Who untied its ropes?
I gave it the wasteland(E) as its home,
    the salt flats(F) as its habitat.(G)
It laughs(H) at the commotion in the town;
    it does not hear a driver’s shout.(I)
It ranges the hills(J) for its pasture
    and searches for any green thing.

“Will the wild ox(K) consent to serve you?(L)
    Will it stay by your manger(M) at night?
10 Can you hold it to the furrow with a harness?(N)
    Will it till the valleys behind you?
11 Will you rely on it for its great strength?(O)
    Will you leave your heavy work to it?
12 Can you trust it to haul in your grain
    and bring it to your threshing floor?

13 “The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,
    though they cannot compare
    with the wings and feathers of the stork.(P)
14 She lays her eggs on the ground
    and lets them warm in the sand,
15 unmindful that a foot may crush them,
    that some wild animal may trample them.(Q)
16 She treats her young harshly,(R) as if they were not hers;
    she cares not that her labor was in vain,
17 for God did not endow her with wisdom
    or give her a share of good sense.(S)
18 Yet when she spreads her feathers to run,
    she laughs(T) at horse and rider.

19 “Do you give the horse its strength(U)
    or clothe its neck with a flowing mane?
20 Do you make it leap like a locust,(V)
    striking terror(W) with its proud snorting?(X)
21 It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength,(Y)
    and charges into the fray.(Z)
22 It laughs(AA) at fear, afraid of nothing;
    it does not shy away from the sword.
23 The quiver(AB) rattles against its side,
    along with the flashing spear(AC) and lance.
24 In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground;
    it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.(AD)
25 At the blast of the trumpet(AE) it snorts, ‘Aha!’
    It catches the scent of battle from afar,
    the shout of commanders and the battle cry.(AF)

26 “Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom
    and spread its wings toward the south?(AG)
27 Does the eagle soar at your command
    and build its nest on high?(AH)
28 It dwells on a cliff and stays there at night;
    a rocky crag(AI) is its stronghold.
29 From there it looks for food;(AJ)
    its eyes detect it from afar.
30 Its young ones feast on blood,
    and where the slain are, there it is.”(AK)