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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 wave proudly,
But are her wings and pinions like the kindly stork’s?
14 For she leaves her eggs on the ground,
And warms them in the dust;
15 She forgets that a foot may crush them,
Or that a wild beast may break them.
16 She (A)treats her young harshly, as though they were not hers;
Her labor is in vain, without [a]concern,
17 Because God deprived her of wisdom,
And did not (B)endow her with understanding.
18 When she lifts herself on high,
She scorns the horse and its rider.

19 “Have you given the horse strength?
Have you clothed his neck with [b]thunder?
20 Can you [c]frighten him like a locust?
His majestic snorting strikes terror.
21 He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength;
(C)He gallops into the clash of arms.
22 He mocks at fear, and is not frightened;
Nor does he turn back from the sword.
23 The quiver rattles against him,
The glittering spear and javelin.
24 He devours the distance with fierceness and rage;
Nor does he come to a halt because the trumpet has sounded.
25 At the blast of the trumpet he says, ‘Aha!’
He smells the battle from afar,
The thunder of captains and shouting.

26 “Does the hawk fly by your wisdom,
And spread its wings toward the south?
27 Does the (D)eagle mount up at your command,
And (E)make its nest on high?
28 On the rock it dwells and resides,
On the crag of the rock and the stronghold.
29 From there it spies out the prey;
Its eyes observe from afar.
30 Its young ones suck up blood;
And (F)where the slain are, there it is.

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Footnotes

  1. Job 39:16 Lit. fear
  2. Job 39:19 Or a mane
  3. Job 39:20 make him spring