Job 39

1 Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? Or canst thou observe when the hinds are in labor?

[Say] if you know the time of the bringing forth of the wild goats of the rock, and [if] you have marked the calving of the hinds:

2 Canst thou number the months they fulfill, And know the season when they bring forth?

and [if] you has have numbered the full months of their being with young, and [if] you have relieved their pangs:

3 They bow themselves; they bring forth their young; They cast forth their pains.

and have reared their young without fear; and will you loosen their pangs?

4 Their young ones are strong; they grow up in the fields; They go away, and return not to them.

Their young will break forth; they will be multiplied with offspring: [their young] will go forth, and will not return to them.

5 Who hath sent forth the wild ass free? Who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass,

And who is he that sent forth the wild ass free? and who loosed his bands?

6 To whom I have given the wilderness for his house, And the barren land for his dwelling-place?

whereas I made his habitation the wilderness, and the salt land his coverts.

7 He scorneth the tumult of the city, And heedeth not the shouting of the driver;

He laughs to scorn the multitude of the city, and hears not the chiding of the tax-gatherer.

8 The range of the mountains is his pasture; He seeketh after every green thing,

He will survey the mountains [as] his pasture, and he seeks after every green thing.

9 Will the wild-ox consent to serve thee? Will he pass the night at thy crib?

And will the unicorn be willing to serve you, or to lie down at your manger?

10 Canst thou bind the wild-ox with the harness to the furrow? Or will he harrow the valleys after thee?

And will you bind his yoke with thongs, or will he plow furrows for you in the plain?

11 Wilt thou rely upon him because his strength is great, And commit to him thy labor?

And do you trust him, because his strength is great? and will you commit your works to him?

12 Wilt thou trust him to bring home thy grain, And gather in thy harvest?

And will you believe that he will return to you your seed, and bring [it] in [to] your threshing floor?

13 The wing of the ostrich moveth joyfully; But is it with loving pinion and feathers?

The peacock has a beautiful wing: if the stork and the ostrich conceive, [it is worthy of notice],

14 Nay, she layeth her eggs on the ground; She warmeth them in the dust,

for [the ostrich] will leave her eggs in the ground, and warm them on the dust,

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

and has forgotten that the foot will scatter them, and the wild beasts of the field trample them.

16 She is cruel to her young, as if they were not hers; Her labor is in vain, yet she feareth not;

She has hardened [herself] against her young ones, as though [she bereaved] not herself: she labors in vain without fear.

17 Because God hath denied her wisdom, And hath not given her understanding.

For God has withholden wisdom from her, and not given her a portion in understanding.

18 Yet when she lasheth herself up on high, She laugheth at the horse and his rider.

In her season she will lift herself on high; she will scorn the horse and his rider.

19 Hast thou given the horse strength? Hast thou clothed his neck with his trembling mane?

Hast you invested the horse with strength, and clothed his neck with terror?

20 Hast thou taught him to bound like the locust? How majestic his snorting! how terrible!

And have you clad him in perfect armor, and made his breast glorious with courage?

21 He paweth in the valley; he exulteth in his strength, And rusheth into the midst of arms.

He paws exulting in the plain, and goes forth in strength into the plain.

22 He laugheth at fear; he trembleth not, And turneth not back from the sword.

He laughs to scorn a king as he meets him, and will by no means turn back from the sword.

23 Against him rattle the quiver, The flaming spear, and the lance.

The bow and sword resound against him; and [his] rage will swallow up the ground:

24 With rage and fury he devoureth the ground; He will not believe that the trumpet soundeth.

and he will not believe until the trumpet sounds.

25 At every blast of the trumpet, he saith, Aha! And snuffeth the battle afar off, —The thunder of the captains, and the war-shout.

And when the trumpet sounds, he says, Aha! and afar off he smells the war with prancing and neighing.

26 Is it by thy wisdom that the hawk flieth, And spreadeth his wings toward the south?

And does the hawk remain steady by your wisdom, having spread out her wings unmoved, looking toward the region of the south?

27 Doth the eagle soar at thy command, And build his nest on high?

And does the eagle rise at your command, and the vulture remain sitting over his nest,

28 He dwelleth and lodgeth upon the rock, Upon the peak of the rock, and the stronghold.

on a crag of a rock, and in a secret [place]?

29 From thence he spieth out prey; His eyes discern it from afar.

Thence he seeks food, his eyes observe from far.

30 His young ones suck up blood; And where the slain are, there is he.

And his young ones roll themselves in blood, and wherever the carcasses may be, immediately they are found.