39:1 “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?
39:2 Do you count the months till they bear? Do you know the time they give birth?
39:3 They crouch down and bring forth their young; their labor pains are ended.
39:4 Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds; they leave and do not return.
39:5 “Who let the wild donkey go free? Who untied his ropes?
39:6 I gave him the wasteland as his home, the salt flats as his habitat.
39:7 He laughs at the commotion in the town; he does not hear a driver’s shout.
39:8 He ranges the hills for his pasture and searches for any green thing.
39:9 “Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will he stay by your manger at night?
39:10 Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness? Will he till the valleys behind you?
39:11 Will you rely on him for his great strength? Will you leave your heavy work to him?
39:12 Can you trust him to bring in your grain and gather it to your threshing floor?
39:13 “The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, but they cannot compare with the pinions and feathers of the stork.
39:14 She lays her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand,
39:15 unmindful that a foot may crush them, that some wild animal may trample them.
39:16 She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers; she cares not that her labor was in vain,
39:17 for God did not endow her with wisdom or give her a share of good sense.
39:18 Yet when she spreads her feathers to run, she laughs at horse and rider.
39:19 “Do you give the horse his strength or clothe his neck with a flowing mane?
39:20 Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting?
39:21 He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength, and charges into the fray.
39:22 He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; he does not shy away from the sword.
39:23 The quiver rattles against his side, along with the flashing spear and lance.
39:24 In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground; he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.
39:25 At the blast of the trumpet he snorts, ‘Aha!’ He catches the scent of battle from afar, the shout of commanders and the battle cry.
39:26 “Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread his wings toward the south?
39:27 Does the eagle soar at your command and build his nest on high?
39:28 He dwells on a cliff and stays there at night; a rocky crag is his stronghold.
39:29 From there he seeks out his food; his eyes detect it from afar.
39:30 His young ones feast on blood, and where the slain are, there is he.”
39:1 Do you know the time when the mountain goats bring forth? / Can you mark the time when the hinds calve?
39:2 Can you number the months that they must fulfill? / Or do you know the time when they bring forth?
39:3 They crouch down; they give birth to their young ones; / They send forth their offspring.
39:4 Their young become strong; they grow up in the open field; / They go forth and do not return to them.
39:5 Who has sent out the wild ass free? / Or who has loosed the bonds of the swift ass,
39:6 Whose home I have made the wilderness, / And the salt land, his dwelling place?
39:7 He scorns the tumult of the city; / He does not hear the shouts of the driver.
39:8 He searches out the mountains for his pasture / And seeks after every green thing.
39:9 Will the wild ox be willing to serve you / Or spend the night by your manger?
39:10 Can you bind the wild ox to the furrows with his ropes? / Or will he plow the valleys behind you?
39:11 Will you trust in him because his strength is great? / Or will you leave your labor to him?
39:12 Will you have confidence in him that he will bring in your seed / And gather your grain to your threshing floor?
39:13 The wings of the ostrich flap joyously: / Are they the pinion and plumage of lovingkindness?
39:14 For she leaves her eggs on the earth / And warms them in the dust.
39:15 And she forgets that a foot may crush them / Or that an animal of the field may trample them.
39:16 She is hard with her children, as if they were not hers; / Though her labor may be in vain, she has no fear;
39:17 Because God has caused her to forget wisdom / And has not appointed understanding to her.
39:18 At that time when she lifts herself up on high, / She scorns the horse and its rider.
39:19 Have you given the horse his might? / Have you clothed his neck with the quivering mane?
39:20 Have you made him to leap like a locust? / His majestic snorting is terrible.
39:21 He paws in the valley, / And he rejoices in his strength; / He goes forth to meet weapons.
39:22 He laughs at fear and is not dismayed, / And he does not turn back from the sword.
39:23 A quiver of arrows rattles against him, / The flashing spear and the javelin.
39:24 With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground, / And he cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet.
39:25 As often as the trumpet sounds, he says, Aha! / And from afar he smells the battle, / The thundering of captains and the shouting.
39:26 Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars, / Stretching his wings to the south?
39:27 Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up / And makes his nest on high?
39:28 On the cliff he dwells and makes his lodging, / Upon the point of the cliff and the stronghold.
39:29 From there he spies out food; / His eyes gaze on it from afar.
39:30 And his young ones suck up the blood; / And where the slain are, there he is.