Job 39
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 39
The Mountain Goat and the Deer
1 “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
Have you ever observed deer in labor?
2 Can you accurately number the months that they carry their young
or know the time of their delivery
3 when they crouch down to give birth
and deliver their offspring?
4 Once their fawns grow strong and become independent,
they go forth on their own and do not return.
The Wild Donkey and the Wild Ox
5 “Who has given the wild donkey its freedom?
Who has untied its ropes?
6 I gave it the wastelands as its home
and the salt flats for its dwelling.
7 It scorns the noise of the city;
it is not forced to obey a driver’s shouted order.
8 The mountains are the pasture over which it ranges
in search of any green foliage.
9 “Is the wild ox willing to serve you?
Will it stay by your manger during the night?
10 Can you use ropes to harness its strength?
Will it harrow the furrows after you?
11 Can you depend upon its massive strength
to do your heavy work?
12 Can you rely upon it to return home
and bring your grain to your threshing floor?
The Ostrich and the Horse[a]
13 “The wings of an ostrich are ineffectual,
since its pinions and its plumage are scanty.
14 It leaves its eggs on the ground
and depends on the earth to warm them,
15 forgetting that a foot may crush them
or that a wild animal may trample upon them.
16 It cruelly disowns its young
as if they were not its own,
unconcerned if its labor has been wasted.
17 For God has denied it wisdom
and deprived it of understanding.
18 Yet with its swiftness of foot
it leaves both horse and rider in the dust.
19 “Do you give the horse its strength?
Have you clothed its neck with a mane?
20 Do you make it leap like a locust,
striking terror with its proud snorting?
21 It paws the plain jubilantly and prances
as it charges the battle line with all its strength.
22 It laughs at fear and is frightened of nothing;
it does not shy away when confronted with the sword.
23 “The quiver rattles at its side;
the spear and the javelin flash.
24 Trembling with eagerness it eats up the ground,
and when the trumpet sounds, there is no holding it back.
25 At each blast of the trumpet it cries ‘Aha!’
From afar it scents the battle,
the shouts of the commanders, and the war cries.
The Hawk and the Eagle
26 “Did your wisdom enable the hawk to soar
as it spreads its wings toward the south?
27 Does the eagle soar aloft at your command
to build its nest on the lofty heights?
28 It dwells on the cliff in security,
spending its nights on a rocky crag.
29 From there it watches for its prey;
its eyes are able to behold it from afar.
30 Its young ones hungrily drink the blood;
wherever the slain are, it is there.”
Job 39
Holman Christian Standard Bible
39 Do you know when mountain goats give birth?
Have you watched the deer in labor?
2 Can you count the months they are pregnant[a]
so you can know the time they give birth?
3 They crouch down to give birth to their young;
they deliver their newborn.[b]
4 Their offspring are healthy and grow up in the open field.
They leave and do not return.[c]
5 Who set the wild donkey free?
Who released the swift donkey from its harness?
6 I made the wilderness(A) its home,
and the salty(B) wasteland its dwelling.
7 It scoffs at the noise of the village
and never hears the shouts of a driver.(C)
8 It roams the mountains for its pastureland,
searching for anything green.
9 Would the wild ox be willing to serve you?
Would it spend the night by your feeding trough?
10 Can you hold the wild ox(D) to a furrow by its harness?
Will it plow the valleys behind you?
11 Can you depend on it because its strength is great?
Would you leave it to do your hard work?
12 Can you trust the wild ox to harvest your grain
and bring it to your threshing floor?
13 The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,
but are her feathers and plumage like the stork’s?[d](E)
14 She abandons her eggs on the ground
and lets them be warmed in the sand.
15 She forgets that a foot may crush them
or that some wild animal may trample them.
16 She treats her young harshly, as if they were not her own,
with no fear that her labor may have been in vain.
17 For God has deprived her of wisdom;
He has not endowed her with understanding.(F)
18 When she proudly[e] spreads her wings,
she laughs at the horse and its rider.
19 Do you give strength to the horse?
Do you adorn his neck with a mane?[f]
20 Do you make him leap like a locust?
His proud snorting fills one with terror.
21 He paws[g] in the valley and rejoices in his strength;
He charges into battle.[h]
22 He laughs at fear, since he is afraid of nothing;
he does not run from the sword.
23 A quiver rattles at his side,
along with a flashing spear and a lance.[i]
24 He charges ahead[j] with trembling rage;
he cannot stand still at the trumpet’s sound.
25 When the trumpet blasts, he snorts defiantly.[k]
He smells the battle from a distance;
he hears the officers’ shouts and the battle cry.
26 Does the hawk take flight by your understanding
and spread its wings to the south?
27 Does the eagle soar at your command
and make its nest(G) on high?
28 It lives on a cliff where it spends the night;
its stronghold is on a rocky crag.
29 From there it searches for prey;(H)
its eyes penetrate the distance.
30 Its brood gulps down blood,
and where the slain are, it is there.(I)
Footnotes
- Job 39:2 Lit months they fulfill
- Job 39:3 Or they send away their labor pains
- Job 39:4 Lit return to them
- Job 39:13 Hb obscure
- Job 39:18 Hb obscure
- Job 39:19 Hb obscure
- Job 39:21 LXX, Syr; MT reads digs
- Job 39:21 Lit He goes out to meet the weapon
- Job 39:23 Or scimitar
- Job 39:24 Lit He swallows the ground
- Job 39:25 Lit he says, “Aha!”
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