Job 39 | New International Version

New International Version

1 ‘Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn? 2 Do you count the months till they bear? Do you know the time they give birth? 3 They crouch down and bring forth their young; their labour pains are ended. 4 Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds; they leave and do not return. 5 ‘Who let the wild donkey go free? Who untied its ropes? 6 I gave it the wasteland as its home, the salt flats as its habitat. 7 It laughs at the commotion in the town; it does not hear a driver’s shout. 8 It ranges the hills for its pasture and searches for any green thing. 9 ‘Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will it stay by your manger at night? 10 Can you hold it to the furrow with a harness? Will it till the valleys behind you? 11 Will you rely on it for its great strength? Will you leave your heavy work to it? 12 Can you trust it to haul in your grain and bring it to your threshing-floor? 13 ‘The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, though they cannot compare with the wings and feathers of the stork. 14 She lays her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand, 15 unmindful that a foot may crush them, that some wild animal may trample them. 16 She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers; she cares not that her labour was in vain, 17 for God did not endow her with wisdom or give her a share of good sense. 18 Yet when she spreads her feathers to run, she laughs at horse and rider. 19 ‘Do you give the horse its strength or clothe its neck with a flowing mane? 20 Do you make it leap like a locust, striking terror with its proud snorting? 21 It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength, and charges into the fray. 22 It laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; it does not shy away from the sword. 23 The quiver rattles against its side, along with the flashing spear and lance. 24 In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground; it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds. 25 At the blast of the trumpet it snorts, “Aha!” It catches the scent of battle from afar, the shout of commanders and the battle cry. 26 ‘Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread its wings towards the south? 27 Does the eagle soar at your command and build its nest on high? 28 It dwells on a cliff and stays there at night; a rocky crag is its stronghold. 29 From there it looks for food; its eyes detect it from afar. 30 Its young ones feast on blood, and where the slain are, there it is.’

English Standard Version

1 “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the does? (1Sa 24:2; Ps 29:9; Ps 104:18) 2 Can you number the months that they fulfill, and do you know the time when they give birth, 3 when they crouch, bring forth their offspring, and are delivered of their young? (1Sa 4:19) 4 Their young ones become strong; they grow up in the open; they go out and do not return to them. (Ge 8:12) 5 “Who has let the wild donkey go free? Who has loosed the bonds of the swift donkey, (Job 12:18; Ps 116:16) 6 to whom I have given the arid plain for his home and the salt land for his dwelling place? (De 29:23; Job 24:5; Ps 107:34; Jer 2:24; Jer 17:6)

De 29:23Job 24:5Ps 107:34Jer 2:24Jer 17:6

7 He scorns the tumult of the city; he hears not the shouts of the driver. 8 He ranges the mountains as his pasture, and he searches after every green thing. 9 “Is the wild ox willing to serve you? Will he spend the night at your manger? (Nu 23:22; Pr 14:4; Isa 1:3) 10 Can you bind him in the furrow with ropes, or will he harrow the valleys after you? (Job 39:9) 11 Will you depend on him because his strength is great, and will you leave to him your labor? 12 Do you have faith in him that he will return your grain and gather it to your threshing floor? 13 “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, but are they the pinions and plumage of love?^[1] 14 For she leaves her eggs to the earth and lets them be warmed on the ground, 15 forgetting that a foot may crush them and that the wild beast may trample them. 16 She deals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers; though her labor be in vain, yet she has no fear, (Isa 49:4; Isa 65:23; La 4:3) 17 because God has made her forget wisdom and given her no share in understanding. (Job 35:11) 18 When she rouses herself to flee,^[2] 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 leap like the locust? His majestic snorting is terrifying. (Jer 8:16) 21 He paws^[3] in the valley and exults in his strength; he goes out to meet the weapons. (Jer 8:6) 22 He laughs at fear and is not dismayed; he does not turn back from the sword. 23 Upon him rattle the quiver, the flashing spear, and the javelin. 24 With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground; he cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet. (Jer 4:19; Am 3:6) 25 When the trumpet sounds, he says ‘Aha!’ He smells the battle from afar, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting. 26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars and spreads his wings toward the south? 27 Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes his nest on high? (Nu 24:21; Jer 49:16; Ob 1:4; Hab 2:9)

Nu 24:21Jer 49:16Ob 1:4Hab 2:9

28 On the rock he dwells and makes his home, on the rocky crag and stronghold. (1Sa 14:5) 29 From there he spies out the prey; his eyes behold it from far away. 30 His young ones suck up blood, and where the slain are, there is he.” (Mt 24:28; Lu 17:37)