NET Bible

God’s Questions to Job

^39:1 “Are you acquainted with the way the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch as the wild deer give birth to their young? ^39:2 Do you count the months they must fulfill, and do you know the time they give birth? ^39:3 They crouch; they bear their young; they bring forth the offspring they have carried. ^39:4 Their young grow strong and grow up in the open; they go off and do not return to them. ^39:5 Who let the wild donkey go free? Who released the bonds of the donkey, ^39:6 to whom I appointed the arid rift valley for its home, the salt wastes as its dwelling place? ^39:7 It scorns the tumult in the town; it does not hear the shouts of a driver. ^39:8 It ranges the hills as its pasture and searches after every green plant. ^39:9 Is the wild ox willing to be your servant? Will it spend the night at your feeding trough? ^39:10 Can you bind the wild ox to a furrow with its rope; will it till the valleys, following after you? ^39:11 Will you rely on it because its strength is great? Will you commit your labor to it? ^39:12 Can you count on it to bring in your grain and gather the grain to your threshing floor? ^39:13 “The wings of the ostrich flap with joy, but are they the pinions and plumage of a stork? ^39:14 For she leaves her eggs on the ground and lets them be warmed on the soil. ^39:15 She forgets that a foot might crush them or that a wild animal might trample them. ^39:16 She is harsh with her young, as if they were not hers; she is unconcerned about the uselessness of her labor. ^39:17 For God deprived her of wisdom and did not impart understanding to her. ^39:18 But as soon as she springs up, 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? ^39:20 Do you make it leap like a locust? Its proud neighing is terrifying! ^39:21 It paws the ground in the valley, exulting mightily; it goes out to meet the weapons. ^39:22 It laughs at fear and is not dismayed; it does not shy away from the sword. ^39:23 On it the quiver rattles; the lance and javelin flash. ^39:24 In excitement and impatience it consumes the ground; it cannot stand still when the trumpet is blown. ^39:25 At the sound of the trumpet, it says, ‘Aha!’ And from a distance it catches the scent of battle, the thunderous shouting of commanders, and the battle cries. ^39:26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars and spreads its wings toward the south? ^39:27 Is it at your command that the eagle soars and builds its nest on high? ^39:28 It lives on a rock and spends the night there, on a rocky crag and a fortress. ^39:29 From there it spots its prey; its eyes gaze intently from a distance. ^39:30 And its young ones devour the blood, and where the dead carcasses are, there it is.”