JobChapter 39
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1"Do you know when mountain goats give birth?
Have you watched the deer have her fawn? 2Can you count the months until they give birth?
Do you know the time when they have their babies? 3They crouch down and have their young.
Their babies are born. 4Their young ones grow strong in the open field.
They leave and don't come back. 5Who let the wild donkey go free?
Who untied the ropes of the fast donkey? 6I made the wilderness his home.
I gave him the salt flats as his place to live. 7He laughs at the noise of the city.
He never hears a driver shouting at him. 8He wanders the mountains to find grass.
He looks for anything green. 9Will the wild ox agree to serve you?
Will he stay by your feeding trough at night? 10Can you tie him with a rope to plow a row?
Will he plow the valleys behind you? 11Can you count on him because he is so strong?
Will you leave your hard work to him? 12Can you trust him to bring in your grain
and gather it to your threshing floor? 13The ostrich flaps her wings with joy.
But her wings and feathers can't compare to the stork's. 14She lays her eggs on the ground.
She lets them warm in the sand. 15She forgets that a foot may crush them.
She forgets that a wild animal may step on them. 16She is harsh with her young, as if they were not hers.
She doesn't care that her work might be wasted. 17For God did not give her wisdom.
He did not give her understanding. 18But when she proudly spreads her wings,
she laughs at the horse and its rider. 19Do you give the horse his strength?
Do you cover his neck with a flowing mane? 20Do you make him jump like a locust?
His proud snorting is terrifying. 21He paws the ground in the valley.
He is happy in his strength.
He charges into battle. 22He laughs at fear and is afraid of nothing.
He does not turn back from the sword. 23A quiver of arrows rattles at his side.
A spear and a lance flash there too. 24He shakes with excitement and races across the ground.
He can't stand still when the ram's horn blows. 25When the horn blows, he snorts with eagerness.
He smells the battle from far away.
He hears the shouts of the captains and the cry of war. 26Does the hawk fly because you are wise?
Does he spread his wings toward the south because of you? 27Does the eagle soar because you tell it to?
Does it build its nest up high because of you? 28He lives on a cliff and stays there at night.
His fortress is on a rocky peak. 29From there he looks for food.
His eyes see it from far away. 30His young ones feed on blood.
Wherever the dead bodies are, there he is."