Job 39
1 Knowest thou the season when the Wild Goats of the crags beget? The bringing forth of the hinds, canst thou observe?
Whethir thou knowist the tyme of birthe of wielde geet in stoonys, ethir hast thou aspied hyndis bryngynge forth calues?
2 Canst thou count the months they fulfil? Or knowest thou the time when they give birth?
Hast thou noumbrid the monethis of her conseyuyng, and hast thou knowe the tyme of her caluyng?
3 They kneel down, their young, they bring forth; their pains, they throw off;
Tho ben bowid to the calf, and caluen; and senden out roryngis.
4 Their young become strong, they grow up in the open field, they go out, and return not unto them.
Her calues ben departid, and goen to pasture; tho goen out, and turnen not ayen to `tho hyndis.
5 Who hath sent forth the Wild Ass free? And, the bands of the swift-runner, who hath loosed?
Who let go the wielde asse fre, and who loside the boondis of hym?
6 Whose house I have made the waste plain, and his dwellings, the land of salt:
To whom Y haue youe an hows in wildirnesse, and the tabernacles of hym in the lond of saltnesse.
7 He laugheth at the throng of the city, The shoutings of the driver, he heareth not;
He dispisith the multitude of citee; he herith not the cry of an axere.
8 He espieth the mountains, his pasture-ground, and, after every green thing, maketh search.
He lokith aboute the hillis of his lesewe, and he sekith alle greene thingis.
9 Will the Wild-Ox be pleased to be thy servant? or lodge for the night by thy crib?
Whether an vnycorn schal wilne serue thee, ethir schal dwelle at thi cratche?
10 Canst thou bind the wild-ox, so that—with the ridge—shall run his cord? Or will he harrow the furrows after thee?
Whether thou schalt bynde the vnicorn with thi chayne, for to ere, ethir schal he breke the clottis of valeis aftir thee?
11 Wilt thou trust in him, because of the greatness of his strength? Wilt thou leave unto him thy toil?
Whether thou schalt haue trist in his grete strengthe, and schalt thou leeue to hym thi traueils?
12 Wilt thou put faith in him, that he will bring back thy seed? and that, corn for thy threshing-floor, he will gather?
Whether thou schalt bileue to hym, that he schal yelde seed to thee, and schal gadere togidere thi cornfloor?
13 The wing of the Ostrich that waveth itself joyfully, Is it the pinion of lovingkindness or the plumage?
The fethere of an ostriche is lijk the fetheris of a gerfawcun, and of an hauk;
14 For she leaveth—to the earth—her eggs, and, on the dust, she letteth them be warmed;
which ostrige forsakith hise eirun in the erthe, in hap thou schalt make tho hoot in the dust.
15 And hath forgotten, that, a foot, may crush them, —or, the wild beast, tread on them!
He foryetith, that a foot tredith tho, ethir that a beeste of the feeld al tobrekith tho.
16 Dealing hardly with her young, as none-of-hers, In vain, her labour, without dread.
He is maad hard to hise briddis, as if thei ben not hise; he traueilide in veyn, while no drede constreynede.
17 For GOD hath suffered her to forget wisdom, and given her no share in understanding.
For God hath priued hym fro wisdom, and `yaf not vnderstondyng to hym.
18 What time, on high, she vibrateth her wings, she laugheth at the horse and his rider.
Whanne tyme is, he reisith the wengis an hiy; he scorneth the hors, and his ridere.
19 Couldst thou give—to the Horse—strength? Couldst thou clothe his neck with the quivering mane?
Whether thou schalt yyue strengthe to an hors, ether schal yyue neiyng `aboute his necke?
20 Couldst thou cause him to leap like a locust? The majesty of his snort, is a terror!
Whether thou schalt reyse hym as locustis? The glorie of hise nosethirlis is drede.
21 He diggeth into the plain, and rejoiceth in vigour, he goeth forth to meet armour;
He diggith erthe with the foot, he `fulli ioieth booldli; he goith ayens armed men.
22 He laugheth at dread, and is not dismayed, neither turneth he back, from the face of the sword;
He dispisith ferdfulnesse, and he yyueth not stide to swerd.
23 Against him, whiz [the arrows of] the quiver, the flashing head of spear and javelin;
An arowe caas schal sowne on hym; a spere and scheeld schal florische.
24 With stamping and rage, he drinketh up the ground, —he will not stand still when the horn soundeth;
He is hoot, and gnastith, and swolewith the erthe; and he arettith not that the crie of the trumpe sowneth.
25 As oft as the horn soundeth, he saith, Aha! And, from afar, he scenteth the battle, —the thunder of commanders and the war-cry.
Whanne he herith a clarioun, he `seith, Joie! he smellith batel afer; the excityng of duykis, and the yellyng of the oost.
26 Is it, by thine understanding, that the Bird of Passage betaketh him to his pinions? spreadeth out his wings to the south?
Whether an hauk spredinge abrood hise wyngis to the south, bigynneth to haue fetheris bi thi wisdom?
27 Or, at thy bidding, that the Eagle mounteth, and that he setteth on high his nest?
Whether an egle schal be reisid at thi comaundement, and schal sette his nest in hiy places?
28 The crag, he inhabiteth, and so lodgeth himself, on the tooth of the crag, and high fort;
He dwellith in stoonys, and he dwellith in flyntis brokun bifor, and in rochis, to whiche `me may not neiye.
29 From thence, he searcheth out food, far away, his eyes do pierce;
Fro thennus he biholdith mete, and hise iyen loken fro fer.
30 And, his young brood, suck up blood, and, where the slain are, there, is he.
Hise briddis souken blood, and where euere a careyn is, anoon he is present.
