Job 39-41

International Children’s Bible

39 “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
    Do you watch when the deer gives birth to her fawn?
² Do you count the months until they give birth?
    Do you know when the time is right for them to give birth?
³ They lie down, and their young are born.
    Then the pain of giving birth is over.
⁴ Their young ones grow and become strong in the wild country.
    Then they leave their homes and do not come back.

⁵ “Who let the wild donkey go free?
    Who untied his ropes?
⁶ I am the one who gave the donkey the desert as his home.
    I gave him the desert lands as a place to live.
⁷ The wild donkey laughs at the confusion in the city.
    He does not hear the drivers shout.
⁸ He roams the hills looking for pasture.
    And he looks for anything green to eat.

⁹ “Will the wild ox agree to serve you?
    Will he stay by your feeding box at night?
¹⁰ Can you hold him to the plowed row with a harness?
    Will he plow the valleys for you?
¹¹ Will you depend on the wild ox for his great strength?
    Will you leave your heavy work for him to do?
¹² Can you trust the ox to bring in your grain?
    Will he gather it to your threshing floor?

¹³ “The wings of the ostrich flap happily.
    But the ostrich’s wings are not as beautiful as the feathers of the stork.
¹⁴ The ostrich lays her eggs on the ground
    and lets them warm in the sand.
¹⁵ She does not stop to think that a foot might step on them and crush them.
    She does not care that some animal might walk on them.
¹⁶ The ostrich is cruel to her young, as if they were not even hers.
    She does not care that her work is for nothing.
¹⁷ This is because God did not give the ostrich wisdom.
    God did not give her a share of good sense.
¹⁸ But when the ostrich gets up to run, she is so fast
    that she laughs at the horse and its rider.

¹⁹ “Job, are you the one who gives the horse his strength?
    Or do you put a flowing mane on his neck?
²⁰ Do you make the horse jump like a locust?
    He scares people with his proud snorting.
²¹ He paws wildly, enjoying his strength.
    And he charges into the battle.
²² He laughs at fear and is afraid of nothing.
    He will not run away from the sword.
²³ The bag of arrows rattles against the horse’s side.
    It is there with the flashing spears.
²⁴ With great excitement, the horse races over the ground.
    He cannot stand still when he hears the trumpet.
²⁵ When the trumpet blows, the horse snorts, ‘Aha!’
    He smells the battle from far away.
    He hears the thunder of commanders and the shouts of battle.

²⁶ “Is it through your wisdom that the hawk flies?
    Is this why he spreads his wings toward the south?
²⁷ Are you the one that commands the eagle to fly
    and build his nest so high?
²⁸ The eagle lives on a high cliff and stays there at night.
    The rocky peak is his protected place.
²⁹ From there he looks for his food.
    His eyes can see it from far away.
³⁰ His young eat blood.
    And where there is something dead, the eagle is there.”

² “Will the person who argues with God All-Powerful correct him?
    Let the person who accuses God answer him!”

⁴ “I am not worthy. I cannot answer you anything.
    I will put my hand over my mouth.
⁵ I spoke one time, but I will not answer again.
    I even spoke two times, but I will say nothing more.”

⁷ “Be strong, like a man.
    I will ask you questions.
    And you must answer me.
⁸ Would you say that I am unfair?
    Would you blame me to make yourself look right?
⁹ Are you as strong as God?
    And can your voice thunder like his?
¹⁰ If so, then decorate yourself with glory and beauty.
    And put on honor and greatness as if they were clothing.
¹¹ Let your great anger punish.
    Look at everyone who is proud and make him feel unimportant.
¹² Look at everyone who is proud and bring him under your control.
    Crush the wicked wherever they are.
¹³ Bury them all in the dirt together.
    Cover their faces in the grave.
¹⁴ If you can do that, then I myself will praise you
    because you are strong enough to save yourself.

¹⁵ “Look at Behemoth.^[a]
    I made him just as I made you.
    He eats grass like an ox.
¹⁶ Look at the strength he has in his body.
    The muscles of his stomach are powerful!
¹⁷ His tail extends like a cedar tree.
    The muscles of his thighs are woven together.
¹⁸ His bones are like tubes of bronze metal.
    His legs are like bars of iron.
¹⁹ He is one of the first of God’s works.
    But God, his Maker, can destroy him.
²⁰ The hills, where the wild animals play,
    provide food for him.
²¹ He lies under the lotus plants
    hidden by the tall grass in the swamp.
²² The lotus plants hide him in their shadow.
    The poplar trees by the streams surround him.
²³ If the river floods, he will not be afraid.
    He is not afraid even if the Jordan River rushes to his mouth.
²⁴ Can anyone blind his eyes and capture him?
    Can anyone put hooks in his nose?

41 “Can you catch Leviathan^[b] on a fishhook?
    Or can you tie his tongue down with a rope?
² Can you put a cord through his nose
    or put a hook in his jaw?
³ Will he keep begging you for mercy?
    Will he speak to you with gentle words?
⁴ Will he make an agreement with you?
    Will he let you take him as your slave for life?
⁵ Can you make a pet of Leviathan as you would a bird?
    Or can you put him on a leash for your girls?
⁶ Will traders try to bargain with you for him?
    Will they divide him up among the traders?
⁷ Can you stick him with darts until his skin is full of them?
    Or can you fill his head with fishing spears?
⁸ If you put one hand on him,
    you will never forget the battle.
    And you will never do it again!
⁹ There is no hope of defeating him.
    Just seeing him overwhelms people.
¹⁰ No one is brave enough to make him angry.
    So who would be able to stand up against me?
¹¹ No one has ever given me anything that I must pay back.
    Everything under heaven belongs to me.

¹² “I can silence his bragging.
    I can silence his brave words and powerful arguments.
¹³ No one can tear off his outer hide.
    No one can poke through his double armor.
¹⁴ No one can force open his great jaws.
    There are frightening teeth all around his jaws.
¹⁵ He has rows of shields on his back.
    They are tightly sealed together.
¹⁶ Each shield is so close to the next one
    that no air can go between them.
¹⁷ They are joined strongly to one another.
    They hold on to each other and cannot be broken apart.
¹⁸ When he snorts, flashes of light are thrown out.
    His eyes look like the light at dawn.
¹⁹ Flames blaze from his mouth.
    Sparks of fire shoot out.
²⁰ Smoke pours out of his nose
    as if coming from a large pot over a hot fire.
²¹ His breath sets coals on fire.
    And flames come out of his mouth.
²² There is great strength in his neck.
    People are afraid and run away from him.
²³ The folds of his skin are tightly joined.
    They are set and cannot be moved.
²⁴ His chest is as hard as a rock.
    It is as hard as a stone used to grind grain.
²⁵ Powerful creatures fear his terrible looks.
    They draw back in fear as he moves.
²⁶ The sword that hits him does not hurt him.
    The darts and spears, small and large, do not hurt him.
²⁷ He treats iron as if it were straw.
    And he treats bronze metal as if it were rotten wood.
²⁸ He does not run away from arrows.
    Stones from slings are like chaff to him.
²⁹ Clubs feel like pieces of straw to him.
    And he laughs when they shake a spear at him.
³⁰ The underside of his body is like broken pieces of pottery.
    It leaves a trail in the mud like a threshing board.
³¹ He makes the deep sea bubble like a boiling pot.
    And he stirs up the sea like a pot of oil.
³² When he swims, he leaves a shining path in the water.
    It makes the sea look as if it had white hair.
³³ Nothing else on earth is equal to him.
    He is a creature without fear.
³⁴ He looks down on all those who are too proud.
    He is king over all proud creatures.”