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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 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.”

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