Add parallel Print Page Options

13 “The ostrich flaps her wings grandly,
    but they are no match for the feathers of the stork.
14 She lays her eggs on top of the earth,
    letting them be warmed in the dust.
15 She doesn’t worry that a foot might crush them
    or a wild animal might destroy them.
16 She is harsh toward her young,
    as if they were not her own.
    She doesn’t care if they die.
17 For God has deprived her of wisdom.
    He has given her no understanding.
18 But whenever she jumps up to run,
    she passes the swiftest horse with its rider.

19 “Have you given the horse its strength
    or clothed its neck with a flowing mane?
20 Did you give it the ability to leap like a locust?
    Its majestic snorting is terrifying!
21 It paws the earth and rejoices in its strength
    when it charges out to battle.
22 It laughs at fear and is unafraid.
    It does not run from the sword.
23 The arrows rattle against it,
    and the spear and javelin flash.
24 It paws the ground fiercely
    and rushes forward into battle when the ram’s horn blows.
25 It snorts at the sound of the horn.
    It senses the battle in the distance.
    It quivers at the captain’s commands and the noise of battle.

26 “Is it your wisdom that makes the hawk soar
    and spread its wings toward the south?
27 Is it at your command that the eagle rises
    to the heights to make its nest?
28 It lives on the cliffs,
    making its home on a distant, rocky crag.
29 From there it hunts its prey,
    keeping watch with piercing eyes.
30 Its young gulp down blood.
    Where there’s a carcass, there you’ll find it.”

Read full chapter

13 “The ostrich’s wings flap wildly,
    though its pinions lack plumage.[a]
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 labor should be in vain, yet it has no fear;(A)
17 because God has made it forget wisdom
    and given it no share in understanding.(B)
18 When it spreads its plumes aloft,[b]
    it laughs at the horse and its rider.

19 “Do you give the horse its might?
    Do you clothe its neck with mane?(C)
20 Do you make it leap like the locust?
    Its majestic snorting is terrible.(D)
21 It paws[c] violently, exults mightily;
    it goes out to meet the weapons.(E)
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.(F)
25 When the trumpet sounds, it says ‘Aha!’
    From a distance it smells the battle,
    the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.(G)

26 “Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars
    and spreads its wings toward the south?
27 Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up
    and makes its nest on high?(H)
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.(I)
30 Its young ones suck up blood,
    and where the slain are, there it is.”(J)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 39.13 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  2. 39.18 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  3. 39.21 Gk Syr Vg: Heb they dig