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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”

13 “The wings of the ostrich flap joyously,
With the pinion and feathers of [a]love,
14 For she abandons her eggs to the earth
And warms them in the dust,
15 And she forgets that a foot may crush [b]them,
Or that a wild animal may trample [c]them.
16 She treats her young (A)cruelly, as if they were not hers;
Though her labor is for nothing, she is [d]unconcerned,
17 Because God has made her forget wisdom,
And has not given her a share of understanding.
18 When she rushes away on high,
She laughs at the horse and his rider.

19 “Do you give the horse his might?
Do you clothe his neck with a mane?
20 Do you make him (B)leap like locusts?
His majestic (C)snorting is frightening.
21 [e]He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength;
He (D)goes out to meet the battle.
22 He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
And he does not turn back from the sword.
23 The quiver rattles against him,
The flashing spear and javelin.
24 He [f]races over the ground with a roar and fury,
And he does not stand still when he hears the sound of the trumpet.
25 As often as the trumpet sounds he says, ‘Aha!’
And he senses the battle from afar,
And the thunder of the captains and the war cry.

26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars,
Stretching his wings toward the south?
27 Is it at your [g]command that the eagle flies high,
And makes (E)his nest on high?
28 He dwells and spends his nights on the cliff,
On the rocky cliff, an inaccessible place.
29 From there he (F)tracks food;
His eyes look at it from afar.
30 His young ones also lick up blood greedily;
And (G)where the slain are, there he is.”

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Footnotes

  1. Job 39:13 Or a stork
  2. Job 39:15 Lit it
  3. Job 39:15 Lit it
  4. Job 39:16 Lit without fear
  5. Job 39:21 Lit They paw
  6. Job 39:24 Lit swallows up
  7. Job 39:27 Lit mouth