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Job 39

God continues to ask Job questions [ a ]

39 ‘Job, do you know that time when the goats on the mountains give birth?
Do you watch the wild deer when their babies are born?
2 Can you count the number of months that these animals are pregnant?
How long must they wait until they give birth?
3 They bend down low to the ground.
They give birth to the babies that they have carried inside them.
4 The young animals grow
and they become strong in the fields.
Then they leave their parents
and they do not return to them.
5 Did you send out the wild donkeys
to go wherever they want?
6 No! It was me who gave them the desert as their home.
I let them live in places where the ground has salt.
7 They stay far away from the busy cities.
They do not allow anyone to make them work.
8 Instead, they live on the hills,
where they find fresh plants to eat.

9 Can you tell a wild ox to work for you?
No! At night, it will not stay to feed at your farm.
10 It will not let you tie it to a plough.
It will not agree to prepare your fields in the valleys.
11 A wild ox is very strong.
But you cannot trust it to help you with your difficult work.
12 It will not help you to bring in your harvest of grain.
It will not take the grain to your threshing floor.

13 When an ostrich is happy,
it waves its wings.
But it cannot use its wings to fly,
as a stork can do.
14 A mother ostrich leaves her eggs on the ground.
She lets the sand cause them to be warm.
15 She does not realize that people or wild animals
might break the eggs with their feet.
16 She does not take care of her babies,
as if they did not belong to her.
She does not worry that all her work might be useless.
17 This is because I did not give wisdom to ostriches.
I did not give them minds that understand things.
18 But when an ostrich begins to run,
it can run very fast.
It can run faster than a horse
and someone who rides on it.

19 Did you, Job, give horses their strength?
Did you give them the long hair that they have on their necks?
20 You did not make horses able to jump like locusts.
They frighten people when they blow air out through their noses.
21 They stamp their feet on the ground,
as they prepare to go to a battle.
They are ready to go and attack the enemy.
22 A horse is brave and it is not afraid of anything.
It does not run away from the enemy's weapons.
23 The soldier who is riding it
has his arrows ready at the horse's side.
Swords and spears shine brightly in the sun.
24 The horse shakes with joy
as it runs to the battle.
When the battle trumpet makes its noise,
the horse wants to run even faster! [ b ]
25 When it hears the sound of the trumpet,
it makes a happy noise.
From far away, it recognizes the smell of the battle.
It hears the army officers as they shout their commands.

26 Was it your wisdom, Job, that taught hawks how to fly?
No! You could not teach them to fly towards the south in winter.
27 Do eagles wait for your command
to fly high into the sky?
No! You could not teach them how to build their nests
high up in the mountains.
28 They live among the highest rocks.
That is where they stay at night.
They are safe on the sharp rocks.
29 From the high rocks,
eagles look for their food.
They see small animals far away,
that they can catch and eat.
30 They come together around the bodies of dead animals.
The young eagles drink the blood.’

Footnotes

  1. 39:1 God continues to ask Job questions. He knows that Job must answer ‘No’ to these questions. Job does not know everything about all the animals that God has made and how they live. God is showing Job that he, God, is the one who knows about all these things. So God knows what is good and right.
  2. 39:24 A soldier would make a noise with a trumpet when the battle was ready to start. Then all the soldiers would know that it was the time for them to attack their enemy.

39 “Do you know when the mountain goats are born?
Do you watch when the mother deer gives birth?
2 Do you know how many months they must carry their babies?
Do you know when it is the right time for them to be born?
3 These animals lie down, they feel their birth pains,
and their babies are born.
4 Their babies grow strong out in the wild.
Then they leave their mothers and never come back.

5 “Who let the wild donkeys go free?
Who untied their ropes and let them loose?
6 I let the wild donkey have the desert for a home.
I gave the salt lands to them for a place to live.
7 They are happy to be away from the noise of the city.
They never have to listen to their drivers shouting at them.
8 They live in the mountains.
That is their pasture.
That is where they look for food to eat.

9 “Will a wild bull agree to serve you?
Will he stay in your barn at night?
10 Will he let you put ropes on him
to plow your fields?
11 A wild bull is very strong,
but can you trust him to do your work?
12 Can you trust him to gather your grain
and bring it to your threshing place?

13 “An ostrich gets excited and flaps its wings, but it cannot fly.
Its wings and feathers are not like the wings of a stork.
14 An ostrich lays her eggs on the ground
and lets the sand keep them warm.
15 The ostrich forgets that someone might step on her eggs
or that a wild animal might break them.
16 An ostrich leaves her little babies.
She treats them as if they were not her own.
If her babies die, she does not care that all her work was for nothing.
17 That’s because I did not give wisdom to the ostrich.
She is foolish, and I made her that way.
18 But when the ostrich gets up to run, she laughs at the horse and its rider,
because she can run faster than any horse.

19 “Did you give the horse its strength?
Did you put the mane [ a ] on its neck?
20 Did you make it able to jump like a locust
or snort [ b ] so loudly that it scares people?
21 A horse is happy to be so strong.
It scratches the ground with its foot and runs into battle.
22 It laughs at fear; nothing makes it afraid!
It does not run away from battle.
23 The soldier’s quiver shakes on the horse’s side.
The spear and weapons its rider carries shine in the sun.
24 The horse gets very excited and races over the ground. [ c ]
When it hears the trumpet blow, it cannot stand still.
25 When the trumpet sounds, it snorts, ‘Hurray!’
It can smell the battle from far away
and hear the shouts of commanders with all the other sounds of battle.

26 “Did you teach the hawk how to spread its wings and fly south [ d ] ?
27 Are you the one who told the eagle [ e ] to fly high into the sky?
Did you tell it to build its nest high in the mountains?
28 It lives high on a peak at the top of a cliff.
That is its fortress.
29 From there it looks far into the distance,
searching for its food.
30 The eagles gather around dead bodies,
and their young eat the blood.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 39:19 mane The hair on a horse’s neck.
  2. Job 39:20 snort The sound a horse makes by blowing air very hard through the nose.
  3. Job 39:24 races over the ground Literally, “swallows up the ground.”
  4. Job 39:26 south Or “to Teman.”
  5. Job 39:27 eagle Or “vulture.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

God Speaks of Nature and Its Beings

39 “Do you know the time the [ a ] ( A ) mountain goats give birth?
Do you observe the calving of the ( B ) deer?
2 Can you count the months they fulfill,
Or do you know the time they give birth?
3 They kneel down, they deliver their young,
They get rid of their labor pains.
4 Their offspring become strong, they grow up in the open field;
They leave and do not return to them.

5 “Who sent the ( C ) wild donkey out free?
And who opened the bonds of the swift donkey,
6 To whom I gave ( D ) the wilderness as his home,
And the salt land as his dwelling place?
7 He laughs at the turmoil of the city,
He does not hear the shouting of the taskmaster.
8 He explores the mountains of his pasture,
And searches after every green thing.
9 Will the ( E ) wild bull be willing to serve you,
Or will he spend the night at your feeding trough?
10 Can you tie down the wild bull in a furrow with [ b ] ropes,
Or will he [ c ] plow the valleys after you?
11 Will you trust him because his strength is great,
And leave your labor to him?
12 Will you have faith in him that he will return your [ d ] grain
And gather it from your threshing floor?

13 “The wings of the ostrich flap joyously,
With the pinion and feathers of [ e ] love,
14 For she abandons her eggs to the earth
And warms them in the dust,
15 And she forgets that a foot may crush [ f ] them,
Or that a wild animal may trample [ g ] them.
16 She treats her young ( F ) cruelly, as if they were not hers;
Though her labor is for nothing, she is [ h ] unconcerned,
17 Because God has made her forget wisdom,
And has not given her a share of understanding.
18 When she rushes away on high,
She laughs at the horse and his rider.

19 “Do you give the horse his might?
Do you clothe his neck with a mane?
20 Do you make him ( G ) leap like locusts?
His majestic ( H ) snorting is frightening.
21 [ i ] He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength;
He ( I ) goes out to meet the battle.
22 He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
And he does not turn back from the sword.
23 The quiver rattles against him,
The flashing spear and javelin.
24 He [ j ] races over the ground with a roar and fury,
And he does not stand still when he hears the sound of the trumpet.
25 As often as the trumpet sounds he says, ‘Aha!’
And he senses the battle from afar,
And the thunder of the captains and the war cry.

26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars,
Stretching his wings toward the south?
27 Is it at your [ k ] command that the eagle flies high,
And makes ( J ) his nest on high?
28 He dwells and spends his nights on the cliff,
On the rocky cliff, an inaccessible place.
29 From there he ( K ) tracks food;
His eyes look at it from afar.
30 His young ones also lick up blood greedily;
And ( L ) where the slain are, there he is.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 39:1 Lit goats of the rock
  2. Job 39:10 Lit his rope
  3. Job 39:10 I.e., pull a harrow, a farming device
  4. Job 39:12 Lit seed
  5. Job 39:13 Or a stork
  6. Job 39:15 Lit it
  7. Job 39:15 Lit it
  8. Job 39:16 Lit without fear
  9. Job 39:21 Lit They paw
  10. Job 39:24 Lit swallows up
  11. Job 39:27 Lit mouth

39 “Do you know when the mountain goats ( A ) give birth?
Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn? ( B )
2 Do you count the months till they bear?
Do you know the time they give birth? ( C )
3 They crouch down and bring forth their young;
their labor pains are ended.
4 Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds;
they leave and do not return.

5 “Who let the wild donkey ( D ) go free?
Who untied its ropes?
6 I gave it the wasteland ( E ) as its home,
the salt flats ( F ) as its habitat. ( G )
7 It laughs ( H ) at the commotion in the town;
it does not hear a driver’s shout. ( I )
8 It ranges the hills ( J ) for its pasture
and searches for any green thing.

9 “Will the wild ox ( K ) consent to serve you? ( L )
Will it stay by your manger ( M ) at night?
10 Can you hold it to the furrow with a harness? ( N )
Will it till the valleys behind you?
11 Will you rely on it for its great strength? ( O )
Will you leave your heavy work to it?
12 Can you trust it to haul in your grain
and bring it to your threshing floor?

13 “The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,
though they cannot compare
with the wings and feathers of the stork. ( P )
14 She lays her eggs on the ground
and lets them warm in the sand,
15 unmindful that a foot may crush them,
that some wild animal may trample them. ( Q )
16 She treats her young harshly, ( R ) as if they were not hers;
she cares not that her labor was in vain,
17 for God did not endow her with wisdom
or give her a share of good sense. ( S )
18 Yet when she spreads her feathers to run,
she laughs ( T ) at horse and rider.

19 “Do you give the horse its strength ( U )
or clothe its neck with a flowing mane?
20 Do you make it leap like a locust, ( V )
striking terror ( W ) with its proud snorting? ( X )
21 It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength, ( Y )
and charges into the fray. ( Z )
22 It laughs ( AA ) at fear, afraid of nothing;
it does not shy away from the sword.
23 The quiver ( AB ) rattles against its side,
along with the flashing spear ( AC ) and lance.
24 In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground;
it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds. ( AD )
25 At the blast of the trumpet ( AE ) it snorts, ‘Aha!’
It catches the scent of battle from afar,
the shout of commanders and the battle cry. ( AF )

26 “Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom
and spread its wings toward the south? ( AG )
27 Does the eagle soar at your command
and build its nest on high? ( AH )
28 It dwells on a cliff and stays there at night;
a rocky crag ( AI ) is its stronghold.
29 From there it looks for food; ( AJ )
its eyes detect it from afar.
30 Its young ones feast on blood,
and where the slain are, there it is.” ( AK )

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