1‘Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?2Do you count the months till they bear? Do you know the time they give birth?3They crouch down and bring forth their young; their labour pains are ended.4Their 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?6I gave it the wasteland as its home, the salt flats as its habitat.7It laughs at the commotion in the town; it does not hear a driver’s shout.8It 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?10Can you hold it to the furrow with a harness? Will it till the valleys behind you?11Will you rely on it for its great strength? Will you leave your heavy work to it?12Can 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.14She lays her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand,15unmindful that a foot may crush them, that some wild animal may trample them.16She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers; she cares not that her labour was in vain,17for God did not endow her with wisdom or give her a share of good sense.18Yet 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?20Do you make it leap like a locust, striking terror with its proud snorting?21It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength, and charges into the fray.22It laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; it does not shy away from the sword.23The quiver rattles against its side, along with the flashing spear and lance.24In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground; it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.25At 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?27Does the eagle soar at your command and build its nest on high?28It dwells on a cliff and stays there at night; a rocky crag is its stronghold.29From there it looks for food; its eyes detect it from afar.30Its young ones feast on blood, and where the slain are, there it is.’
Job 39
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)2Can you number the months that they fulfill, and do you know the time when they give birth,3when they crouch, bring forth their offspring, and are delivered of their young? (1Sa 4:19)4Their 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)6to 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)7He scorns the tumult of the city; he hears not the shouts of the driver.8He 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)10Can you bind him in the furrow with ropes, or will he harrow the valleys after you? (Job 39:9)11Will you depend on him because his strength is great, and will you leave to him your labor?12Do 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]14For she leaves her eggs to the earth and lets them be warmed on the ground,15forgetting that a foot may crush them and that the wild beast may trample them.16She 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)17because God has made her forget wisdom and given her no share in understanding. (Job 35:11)18When 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?20Do you make him leap like the locust? His majestic snorting is terrifying. (Jer 8:16)21He paws[3] in the valley and exults in his strength; he goes out to meet the weapons. (Jer 8:6)22He laughs at fear and is not dismayed; he does not turn back from the sword.23Upon him rattle the quiver, the flashing spear, and the javelin.24With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground; he cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet. (Jer 4:19; Am 3:6)25When 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?27Is 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)28On the rock he dwells and makes his home, on the rocky crag and stronghold. (1Sa 14:5)29From there he spies out the prey; his eyes behold it from far away.30His young ones suck up blood, and where the slain are, there is he.” (Mt 24:28; Lu 17:37)