Job 39
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 39
1 Do you know when mountain goats are born,
or watch for the birth pangs of deer,
2 Number the months that they must fulfill,
or know when they give birth,
3 When they crouch down and drop their young,
when they deliver their progeny?
4 Their offspring thrive and grow in the open,
they leave and do not return.
5 Who has given the wild donkey his freedom,
and who has loosed the wild ass from bonds?
6 I have made the wilderness his home
and the salt flats his dwelling.
7 He scoffs at the uproar of the city,
hears no shouts of a driver.
8 He ranges the mountains for pasture,
and seeks out every patch of green.
9 Will the wild ox consent to serve you,
or pass the nights at your manger?
10 Will you bind the wild ox with a rope in the furrow,
and will he plow the valleys after you?
11 Will you depend on him for his great strength
and leave to him the fruits of your toil?
12 Can you rely on him to bring in your grain
and gather in the yield of your threshing floor?
13 The wings of the ostrich[a] flap away;
her plumage is lacking in feathers.
14 When she abandons her eggs on the ground[b]
and lets them warm in the sand,
15 She forgets that a foot may crush them,
that the wild beasts may trample them;
16 She cruelly disowns her young
and her labor is useless; she has no fear.
17 For God has withheld wisdom from her
and given her no share in understanding.
18 Yet when she spreads her wings high,
she laughs at a horse and rider.
19 Do you give the horse his strength,[c]
and clothe his neck with a mane?
20 Do you make him quiver like a locust,
while his thunderous snorting spreads terror?
21 He paws the valley, he rejoices in his strength,
and charges into battle.
22 He laughs at fear and cannot be terrified;
he does not retreat from the sword.
23 Around him rattles the quiver,
flashes the spear and the javelin.
24 Frenzied and trembling he devours the ground;
he does not hold back at the sound of the trumpet;
25 at the trumpet’s call he cries, “Aha!”
Even from afar he scents the battle,
the roar of the officers and the shouting.
26 Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars,
that he spreads his wings toward the south?
27 Does the eagle fly up at your command
to build his nest up high?
28 On a cliff he dwells and spends the night,
on the spur of cliff or fortress.
29 From there he watches for his food;
his eyes behold it afar off.
30 His young ones greedily drink blood;
where the slain are, there is he.(A)
Job 39
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition
39 ‘Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
Do you observe the calving of the deer?
2 Can you number the months that they fulfil,
and do you know the time when they give birth,
3 when they crouch to give birth to their offspring,
and are delivered of their young?
4 Their young ones become strong, they grow up in the open;
they go forth, and do not return to them.
5 ‘Who has let the wild ass go free?
Who has loosed the bonds of the swift ass,
6 to which I have given the steppe for its home,
the salt land for its dwelling-place?
7 It scorns the tumult of the city;
it does not hear the shouts of the driver.
8 It ranges the mountains as its pasture,
and it searches after every green thing.
9 ‘Is the wild ox willing to serve you?
Will it spend the night at your crib?
10 Can you tie it in the furrow with ropes,
or will it harrow the valleys after you?
11 Will you depend on it because its strength is great,
and will you hand over your labour to it?
12 Do you have faith in it that it will return,
and bring your grain to your threshing-floor?[a]
13 ‘The ostrich’s wings flap wildly,
though its pinions lack plumage.[b]
14 For it leaves its eggs to the earth,
and lets them be warmed on the ground,
15 forgetting that a foot may crush them,
and that a wild animal may trample them.
16 It deals cruelly with its young, as if they were not its own;
though its labour should be in vain, yet it has no fear;
17 because God has made it forget wisdom,
and given it no share in understanding.
18 When it spreads its plumes aloft,[c]
it laughs at the horse and its rider.
19 ‘Do you give the horse its might?
Do you clothe its neck with mane?
20 Do you make it leap like the locust?
Its majestic snorting is terrible.
21 It paws[d] violently, exults mightily;
it goes out to meet the weapons.
22 It laughs at fear, and is not dismayed;
it does not turn back from the sword.
23 Upon it rattle the quiver,
the flashing spear, and the javelin.
24 With fierceness and rage it swallows the ground;
it cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet.
25 When the trumpet sounds, it says “Aha!”
From a distance it smells the battle,
the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
26 ‘Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars,
and spreads its wings towards the south?
27 Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up
and makes its nest on high?
28 It lives on the rock and makes its home
in the fastness of the rocky crag.
29 From there it spies the prey;
its eyes see it from far away.
30 Its young ones suck up blood;
and where the slain are, there it is.’
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.