Job 39–40

39Do you know when mountain goats give birth?

Have you watched the deer in labor?

²Can you count the months they are pregnant ^w

so you can know the time they give birth?

³They crouch down to give birth to their young;

they deliver their newborn. ^x

⁴Their offspring are healthy and grow up in the open field.

They leave and do not return. ^y

⁵Who set the wild donkey free?

Who released the swift donkey from its harness?

⁶I made the wilderness ^zits home,

and the salty ^awasteland its dwelling.

⁷It scoffs at the noise of the village

and never hears the shouts of a driver. ^b

⁸It roams the mountains for its pastureland,

searching for anything green.

⁹Would the wild ox be willing to serve you?

Would it spend the night by your feeding trough?

¹⁰Can you hold the wild ox ^cto a furrow by its harness?

Will it plow the valleys behind you?

¹¹Can you depend on it because its strength is great?

Would you leave it to do your hard work?

¹²Can you trust the wild ox to harvest your grain

and bring it to your threshing floor?

¹³The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,

but are her feathers and plumage like the stork’s? ^de

¹⁴She abandons her eggs on the ground

and lets them be warmed in the sand.

¹⁵She forgets that a foot may crush them

or that some wild animal may trample them.

¹⁶She treats her young harshly, as if they were not her own,

with no fear that her labor may have been in vain.

¹⁷For God has deprived her of wisdom;

He has not endowed her with understanding. ^f

¹⁸When she proudly ^gspreads her wings,

she laughs at the horse and its rider.

¹⁹Do you give strength to the horse?

Do you adorn his neck with a mane? ^h

²⁰Do you make him leap like a locust?

His proud snorting fills one with terror.

²¹He paws ⁱin the valley and rejoices in his strength;

He charges into battle. ^j

²²He laughs at fear, since he is afraid of nothing;

he does not run from the sword.

²³A quiver rattles at his side,

along with a flashing spear and a lance. ^k

²⁴He charges ahead ^lwith trembling rage;

he cannot stand still at the trumpet’s sound.

²⁵When the trumpet blasts, he snorts defiantly. ^m

He smells the battle from a distance;

he hears the officers’ shouts and the battle cry.

²⁶Does the hawk take flight by your understanding

and spread its wings to the south?

²⁷Does the eagle soar at your command

and make its nest ⁿon high?

²⁸It lives on a cliff where it spends the night;

its stronghold is on a rocky crag.

²⁹From there it searches for prey; ^o

its eyes penetrate the distance.

³⁰Its brood gulps down blood,

and where the slain are, it is there. ^p

40The Lord answered Job:

²Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him?

Let him who argues with God give an answer. ^q

³Then Job answered the Lord:

⁴I am so insignificant. How can I answer You? ^r

I place my hand over my mouth.

⁵I have spoken once, and I will not reply;

twice, but now I can add nothing. ^s

⁶Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind: ^t

⁷Get ready to answer Me like a man;

When I question ^uyou, you will inform Me.

⁸Would you really challenge My justice?

Would you declare Me guilty ^vto justify yourself? ^w

⁹Do you have an arm like God’s?

Can you thunder with a voice like His?

¹⁰Adorn yourself with majesty ^xand splendor,

and clothe yourself with honor and glory.

¹¹Unleash your raging anger; ^y

look on every proud person and humiliate him. ^z

¹²Look on every proud person and humble him; ^a

trample the wicked where they stand. ^b

¹³Hide them together in the dust;

imprison them in the grave. ^c

¹⁴Then I will confess to you

that your own right hand ^dcan deliver you. ^e

¹⁵Look at Behemoth,

which I made along with you.

He eats grass like an ox.

¹⁶Look at the strength of his loins

and the power in the muscles of his belly.

¹⁷He stiffens his tail like a cedar tree;

the tendons of his thighs are woven firmly together.

¹⁸His bones are bronze tubes;

his limbs are like iron rods.

¹⁹He is the foremost of God’s works; ^f

only his Maker can draw the sword against him.

²⁰The hills yield food for him,

while all sorts of wild animals play there.

²¹He lies under the lotus plants,

hiding in the protection ^gof marshy reeds.

²²Lotus plants cover him with their shade;

the willows by the brook surround him.

²³Though the river rages, Behemoth is unafraid;

he remains confident, even if the Jordan surges up to his mouth.

²⁴Can anyone capture him while he looks on, ^h

or pierce his nose with snares?