Job 39
1 “[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?
Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? [Or] canst thou mark when the hinds do calve?
2 Do you know how many months pass from the time they become pregnant until their fawns are born?
Canst thou number the months that they fulfil? Or knowest thou the time when they bring forth?
3 [When they give birth, ] they crouch down so that the fawns do not [get hurt by] falling to the ground when they are born.
They bow themselves, they bring forth their young, They cast out their pains.
4 The young fawns grow up in the open fields, and then they leave their mothers and do not return to them again.
Their young ones become strong, they grow up in the open field; They go forth, and return not again.
5 “Who allows the wild donkeys to go wherever they want [DOU]?
Who hath sent out the wild ass free? Or who hath loosed the bonds of the swift ass,
6 I am the one who put them in the desert, in places where grass does not grow.
Whose home I have made the wilderness, And the salt land his dwelling-place?
7 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.
He scorneth the tumult of the city, Neither heareth he the shoutings of the driver.
8 They go to the hills to find food; there they search for grass to eat.
The range of the mountains is his pasture, And he searcheth after every green thing.
9 :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?
Will the wild-ox be content to serve thee? Or will he abide by thy crib?
10 And can you fasten it with a rope so that it will plow furrows/trenches in your fields?
Canst thou bind the wild-ox with his band in the furrow? Or will he harrow the valleys after thee?
11 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]?
Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? Or wilt thou leave to him thy labor?
12 Can you rely on it to come back [from the field], bringing your grain to the place where you thresh it?
Wilt thou confide in him, that he will bring home thy seed, And gather [the grain] of thy threshing-floor?
13 “[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.
The wings of the ostrich wave proudly; [But] are they the pinions and plumage of love?
14 Ostriches lay their eggs on top of the ground [and then walk away], leaving the eggs to be warmed in the sand.
For she leaveth her eggs on the earth, And warmeth them in the dust,
15 Ostriches do not worry that some wild animal may step on the eggs and crush them [DOU].
And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, Or that the wild beast may trample them.
16 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.
She dealeth hardly with her young ones, as if they were not hers: Though her labor be in vain, [she is] without fear;
17 That is because I did not allow ostriches to be wise. I did not enable them to be intelligent.
Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, Neither hath he imparted to her understanding.
18 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!]
What time she lifteth up herself on high, She scorneth the horse and his rider.
19 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?
Hast thou given the horse [his] might? Hast thou clothed his neck with the quivering mane?
20 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.
Hast thou made him to leap as a locust? The glory of his snorting is terrible.
21 They paw the ground, rejoicing about being very strong, as they prepare to rush into a battle.
He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: He goeth out to meet the armed men.
22 [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.
He mocketh at fear, and is not dismayed; Neither turneth he back from the sword.
23 The quivers containing the riders’ arrows rattle against the horses’ sides, and the spears and javelins flash [in the light of the sun].
The quiver rattleth against him, The flashing spear and the javelin.
24 The horses paw the ground fiercely/excitedly, [wanting the battle to begin, ] and they rush into the battle when the trumpet is blown.
He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage; Neither believeth he that it is the voice of the trumpet.
25 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].
As oft as the trumpet [soundeth] he saith, Aha! And he smelleth the battle afar off, The thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
26 “[And think about big birds.] Are you the one who enabled hawks to spread their wings and fly to the south [for the winter]?
Is it by thy wisdom that the hawk soareth, [And] stretcheth her wings toward the south?
27 Do eagles fly high up [into the cliffs] to make their nests because you commanded them to do that?
Is it at thy command that the eagle mounteth up, And maketh her nest on high?
28 They live in [holes in] those cliffs. They are safe in those high pointed rocks [because no animals can reach them there].
On the cliff she dwelleth, and maketh her home, Upon the point of the cliff, and the stronghold.
29 As they watch carefully from there, they see far away the animals that they can kill (OR, dead bodies of animals).
From thence she spieth out the prey; Her eyes behold it afar off.
30 After an eagle kills an animal, the baby eagles drink the blood of that animal.”
Her young ones also suck up blood: And where the slain are, there is she.
