Job 39

1 Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? [or] canst thou mark when the hinds do calve?

“[Job], do you know at what time/season [of the year] the female mountain goats give birth? Have you watched the wild deer while their fawns were being born?

2 Canst thou number the months [that] they fulfil? or knowest thou the time when they bring forth?

Do you know how many months pass from the time they become pregnant until their fawns are born?

3 They bow themselves, they bring forth their young ones, they cast out their sorrows.

[When they give birth, ] they crouch down so that the fawns do not [get hurt by] falling to the ground when they are born.

4 Their young ones are in good liking, they grow up with corn; they go forth, and return not unto them.

The young fawns grow up in the open fields, and then they leave their mothers and do not return to them again.

5 Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass?

“Who allows the wild donkeys to go wherever they want [DOU]?

6 Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings.

I am the one who put them in the desert, in places where grass does not grow.

7 He scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the crying of the driver.

They do not like the noise in the cities; [in the desert] they do not have to listen to the shouts of those who force donkeys to work.

8 The range of the mountains [is] his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing.

They go to the hills to find food; there they search for grass to eat.

9 Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?

:Will a wild ox agree to work for you? Will it allow you to keep it penned up at night in the place where you put feed for your animals?

10 Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee?

And can you fasten it with a rope so that it will plow furrows/trenches in your fields?

11 Wilt thou trust him, because his strength [is] great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him?

Since it is very strong, can you trust it to work for you? Can you go away after you tell it what work it should do [and assume that it will do that work]?

12 Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather [it into] thy barn?

Can you rely on it to come back [from the field], bringing your grain to the place where you thresh it?

13 [Gavest thou] the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich?

“[Think also about] the ostriches. [They] joyfully flap their wings, but they do not have wing feathers [that enable them to fly] like storks do.

14 Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust,

Ostriches lay their eggs on top of the ground [and then walk away], leaving the eggs to be warmed in the sand.

15 And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them.

Ostriches do not worry that some wild animal may step on the eggs and crush them [DOU].

16 She is hardened against her young ones, as though [they were] not hers: her labour is in vain without fear;

Ostriches act cruelly towards their chicks; they act as though the chicks belonged to some other ostrich. They are not concerned if [their chicks die], [and so] the laying of the eggs was in vain.

17 Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding.

That is because I did not allow ostriches to be wise. I did not enable them to be intelligent.

18 What time she lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider.

But, when they get up and begin to run, they scornfully laugh at horses with their riders [because the horses cannot run as fast as the ostriches!]

19 Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder?

And [think about] horses. [Job], are you the one who caused horses to be strong? Are you the one who put flowing (manes/long hair) on their necks?

20 Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils [is] terrible.

Are you the one who enabled them to leap forward like locusts? When they (snort/blow loudly through their noses), they cause people to be afraid.

21 He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in [his] strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men.

They paw the ground, rejoicing about being very strong, as they prepare to rush into a battle.

22 He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword.

[It is as if] they laugh at the thought of being afraid. They are not afraid of anything! They do not run away when [the soldiers in the battle are fighting each other with] swords.

23 The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield.

The quivers containing the riders’ arrows rattle against the horses’ sides, and the spears and javelins flash [in the light of the sun].

24 He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage: neither believeth he that [it is] the sound of the trumpet.

The horses paw the ground fiercely/excitedly, [wanting the battle to begin, ] and they rush into the battle when the trumpet is blown.

25 He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

They neigh [joyfully] when they hear someone blowing the trumpet. They can smell a battle even when they are far away, and they understand what it means when the commanders shout their commands [to their soldiers].

26 Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, [and] stretch her wings toward the south?

“[And think about big birds.] Are you the one who enabled hawks to spread their wings and fly to the south [for the winter]?

27 Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high?

Do eagles fly high up [into the cliffs] to make their nests because you commanded them to do that?

28 She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place.

They live in [holes in] those cliffs. They are safe in those high pointed rocks [because no animals can reach them there].

29 From thence she seeketh the prey, [and] her eyes behold afar off.

As they watch carefully from there, they see far away the animals that they can kill (OR, dead bodies of animals).

30 Her young ones also suck up blood: and where the slain [are], there [is] she.

After an eagle kills an animal, the baby eagles drink the blood of that animal.”