13 The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,
but are her feathers and plumage like the stork’s?[a](A)
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.(B)
18 When she proudly[b] 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?[c]
20 Do you make him leap like a locust?
His proud snorting fills one with terror.
21 He paws[d] in the valley and rejoices in his strength;
he charges into battle.[e]
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 javelin.
24 He charges ahead[f] with trembling rage;
he cannot stand still at the sound of the ram’s horn.
25 When the ram’s horn blasts, he snorts defiantly.[g]
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(C) 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;(D)
its eyes penetrate the distance.
30 Its brood gulps down blood,
and where the slain are, it is there.(E)

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Footnotes

  1. 39:13 Hb obscure
  2. 39:18 Hb obscure
  3. 39:19 Hb obscure
  4. 39:21 LXX, Syr; MT reads They dig
  5. 39:21 Lit he goes out to meet the weaponry
  6. 39:24 Lit He swallows the ground
  7. 39:25 Lit he says, “Aha!”

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