39:1 Are you acquainted with the
way1
the mountain goats2
give birth?
Do you observe the calving of the hinds?
39:2 Do you number the months that they must fulfill,
and do you know the time they give birth?3
39:3 They crouch, they drop4
their young,
they bring forth what they have carried.5
39:4 Their young grow strong, and grow up in the
open;6
they go off, and do not return to them.
39:5 Who let the wild donkey go free,
and who unloosed the bonds of the donkey,
39:6 to whom I appointed the steppe for his home,
as his dwelling place the salt land?
39:7 He mocks at the tumult in the town,
he does not hear the shouts of a driver.7
39:8 He ranges the hills, his pasture,
and searches after all green plants.
39:9 Is the wild ox willing to be your servant?
Will he spend the night at your manger?
39:10 Can you bind the wild ox8
to a furrow with its rope,
will he till the valleys after you?
39:11 Will you rely on him because his strength is great,
will you commit9
to him your labor?
39:12 Can you count on10
him to bring in11
your grain12
and gather it to your threshing floor?13
39:1314
The wings of the ostrich15
flap joyfully,16
but are they the pinions and plumage
of a stork?17
39:14 For she leaves18
her eggs on the ground,
and warms them on the soil.
39:15 She forgets that a foot might crush them,
or that a wild animal19
might trample them.
39:16 She is harsh20
with her young,
as they were not hers;
she is unconcerned
about the uselessness of her labor.
39:17 For God deprived her of wisdom,
and has not imparted understanding to her.
39:18 But as soon as she lifts herself up,21
she laughs at the horse and its rider.
39:19 Do you give the horse its strength?
Do you clothe its neck with a mane?22
39:20 Do you make him leap23
like a locust?
His proud neighing24
is terrifying!
39:21 He25
paws in the valley,26
exulting mightily,27
he goes forth to meet the armor.
39:22 He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
he does not shy away from the sword.
39:23 On him the quiver rattles,
also the flash of the lance and javelin.28
39:24 In excitement and impatience he swallows
the ground,29
he cannot stand still30
when the trumpet sounds.
39:25 At the sound of the trumpet, he says, “Aha!”
And from a distance he catches the scent of battle,
the thunder of commanders, and battle cries.
39:26 Is it by your understanding that the hawk
soars,31
and spread his wings toward the south?
39:27 Is it at your command32
that the eagle soars,
and that it builds its nest on high?
39:28 He lives on a rock and spends the night there,
upon a rocky crag33
and a fortress.34
39:29 From there he spies35
out his prey,36
his eyes gaze intently from a distance.
39:30 And his young ones lap up the blood,
and where the dead carcasses37
are,
there he is.