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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)

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Footnotes

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

13 The wings[a] of the female ostrich flap[b]
are they[c] the pinions of the stork or[d] 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,[e]
and a wild animal[f] might trample it.[g]
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,[h]
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[i] 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,[j]
and it cannot stand still at the sound of the horn.
25 Whenever[k] 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.[l]
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.”

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Footnotes

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