Job 39–41

39Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth?

Or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve?

²Canst thou number the months that they fulfil?

Or knowest thou the time when they bring forth?

³They bow themselves, they bring forth their young,

They cast out their pains.

⁴Their young ones become strong, they grow up in the open field;

They go forth, and return not again.

⁵Who hath sent out the wild ass free?

Or who hath loosed the bonds of the swift ass,

⁶Whose home I have made the wilderness,

And the salt land his dwelling-place?

⁷He scorneth the tumult of the city,

Neither heareth he the shoutings of the driver.

⁸The range of the mountains is his pasture,

And he searcheth after every green thing.

⁹Will the wild-ox be content to serve thee?

Or will he abide by thy crib?

¹⁰Canst thou bind the wild-ox with his band in the furrow?

Or will he harrow the valleys after thee?

¹¹Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great?

Or wilt thou leave to him thy labor?

¹²Wilt thou confide in him, that he will bring home thy seed,

And gather the grain of thy threshing-floor?

¹³The wings of the ostrich wave proudly;

But are they the pinions and plumage of love?

¹⁴For she leaveth her eggs on the earth,

And warmeth them in the dust,

¹⁵And forgetteth that the foot may crush them,

Or that the wild beast may trample them.

¹⁶She dealeth hardly with her young ones, as if they were not hers:

Though her labor be in vain, she is without fear;

¹⁷Because God hath deprived her of wisdom,

Neither hath he imparted to her understanding.

¹⁸What time she lifteth up herself on high,

She scorneth the horse and his rider.

¹⁹Hast thou given the horse his might?

Hast thou clothed his neck with the quivering mane?

²⁰Hast thou made him to leap as a locust?

The glory of his snorting is terrible.

²¹He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength:

He goeth out to meet the armed men.

²²He mocketh at fear, and is not dismayed;

Neither turneth he back from the sword.

²³The quiver rattleth against him,

The flashing spear and the javelin.

²⁴He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage;

Neither believeth he that it is the voice of the trumpet.

²⁵As oft as the trumpet soundeth he saith, Aha!

And he smelleth the battle afar off,

The thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

²⁶Is it by thy wisdom that the hawk soareth,

And stretcheth her wings toward the south?

²⁷Is it at thy command that the eagle mounteth up,

And maketh her nest on high?

²⁸On the cliff she dwelleth, and maketh her home,

Upon the point of the cliff, and the stronghold.

²⁹From thence she spieth out the prey;

Her eyes behold it afar off.

³⁰Her young ones also suck up blood:

And where the slain are, there is she.

40Moreover Jehovah answered Job, and said,

²Shall he that cavilleth contend with the Almighty?

He that argueth with God, let him answer it.

³Then Job answered Jehovah, and said,

⁴Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer thee?

I lay my hand upon my mouth.

⁵Once have I spoken, and I will not answer;

Yea, twice, but I will proceed no further.

⁶Then Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

⁷Gird up thy loins now like a man:

I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.

⁸Wilt thou even annul my judgment?

Wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be justified?

⁹Or hast thou an arm like God?

And canst thou thunder with a voice like him?

¹⁰Deck thyself now with excellency and dignity;

And array thyself with honor and majesty.

¹¹Pour forth the overflowings of thine anger;

And look upon every one that is proud, and abase him.

¹²Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low;

And tread down the wicked where they stand.

¹³Hide them in the dust together;

Bind their faces in the hidden place.

¹⁴Then will I also confess of thee

That thine own right hand can save thee.

¹⁵Behold now, behemoth, which I made as well as thee;

He eateth grass as an ox.

¹⁶Lo now, his strength is in his loins,

And his force is in the muscles of his belly.

¹⁷He moveth his tail like a cedar:

The sinews of his thighs are knit together.

¹⁸His bones are as tubes of brass;

His limbs are like bars of iron.

¹⁹He is the chief of the ways of God:

He only that made him giveth him his sword.

²⁰Surely the mountains bring him forth food,

Where all the beasts of the field do play.

²¹He lieth under the lotus-trees,

In the covert of the reed, and the fen.

²²The lotus-trees cover him with their shade;

The willows of the brook compass him about.

²³Behold, if a river overflow, he trembleth not;

He is confident, though a Jordan swell even to his mouth.

²⁴Shall any take him when he is on the watch,

Or pierce through his nose with a snare?

41Canst thou draw out leviathan with a fishhook?

Or press down his tongue with a cord?

²Canst thou put a rope into his nose?

Or pierce his jaw through with a hook?

³Will he make many supplications unto thee?

Or will he speak soft words unto thee?

⁴Will he make a covenant with thee,

That thou shouldest take him for a servant for ever?

⁵Wilt thou play with him as with a bird?

Or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?

⁶Will the bands of fishermen make traffic of him?

Will they part him among the merchants?

⁷Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons,

Or his head with fish-spears?

⁸Lay thy hand upon him;

Remember the battle, and do so no more.

⁹Behold, the hope of him is in vain:

Will not one be cast down even at the sight of him?

¹⁰None is so fierce that he dare stir him up;

Who then is he that can stand before me?

¹¹Who hath first given unto me, that I should repay him?

Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.

¹²I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,

Nor his mighty strength, nor his goodly frame.

¹³Who can strip off his outer garment?

Who shall come within his jaws?

¹⁴Who can open the doors of his face?

Round about his teeth is terror.

¹⁵His strong scales are his pride,

Shut up together as with a close seal.

¹⁶One is so near to another,

That no air can come between them.

¹⁷They are joined one to another;

They stick together, so that they cannot be sundered.

¹⁸His sneezings flash forth light,

And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.

¹⁹Out of his mouth go burning torches,

And sparks of fire leap forth.

²⁰Out of his nostrils a smoke goeth,

As of a boiling pot and burning rushes.

²¹His breath kindleth coals,

And a flame goeth forth from his mouth.

²²In his neck abideth strength,

And terror danceth before him.

²³The flakes of his flesh are joined together:

They are firm upon him; they cannot be moved.

²⁴His heart is as firm as a stone;

Yea, firm as the nether millstone.

²⁵When he raiseth himself up, the mighty are afraid:

By reason of consternation they are beside themselves.

²⁶If one lay at him with the sword, it cannot avail;

Nor the spear, the dart, nor the pointed shaft.

²⁷He counteth iron as straw,

And brass as rotten wood.

²⁸The arrow cannot make him flee:

Sling-stones are turned with him into stubble.

²⁹Clubs are counted as stubble:

He laugheth at the rushing of the javelin.

³⁰His underparts are like sharp potsherds:

He spreadeth as it were a threshing-wain upon the mire.

³¹He maketh the deep to boil like a pot:

He maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.

³²He maketh a path to shine after him;

One would think the deep to be hoary.

³³Upon earth there is not his like,

That is made without fear.

³⁴He beholdeth everything that is high:

He is king over all the sons of pride.