25 “Who has cut open a channel for the torrents

and a way for the ⌊thunder bolts⌋,l

26 to bring rain on a land ⌊where no one lives⌋,m

a desert ⌊where no humans live⌋,n

27 to satisfy desert and wasteland,

and to cause the ground to put forth the rising of grass?

28 Is there a father for the rain,

or who fathered the drops of dew?

29 From whose womb did the ice come forth,

and who fathered the frost of heaven?

30 Like stone the waters become hard,

and the faces of the deep freeze.

31 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades,

or can you loosen the cords of Orion?

32 Can you lead forth the southern constellations at their appointed time,

oro can you lead the Bear with its children?

33 Do you know heaven’s statutes,

or can you establish their rule on the earth?

34 Can you lift up your voice to the clouds

so thatp a flood of water may cover you?

35 Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go?

And will they say to you, ‘Here we are’?

36 Who has put wisdom in the ibis,q

or who has given understanding to the rooster?r

37 Who can number the clouds with wisdom?

Ors who can tilt heaven’s jars,

38 at the flowing of the dust into a cast

and the clods cling together?

39 “Can you hunt prey for the lion?

And can you satisfy the hunger of strong lions

40 when they are crouched in the dens,

when they lie in the thicket in an ambush?

41 Who prepares for the crow its prey,

when its young ones cry to God for help,

and they wander around ⌊for lack of food⌋?t

39 “Do you know the time when the goats of the rocks give birth?

Do you observe the doe deer’s giving birth?

2 Can you number the months they fulfill,

and do you know the time of its giving birth?

3 When they crouch, they bring forth their young ones;

they get rid of their labor pains.a

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

they go forth and do not return to them.

5 “Who has sent forth the wild ass free?

And who has released the wild donkey’s bonds,

6 to which I have given the wilderness as its house

and the salt flat as its dwelling place?

7 It scorns the city’s turmoil;

it does not hear the driver’s shouts.

8 It explores the mountains as its pasture

and searches after every kind of green plant.

9 “Is the wild ox willing to serve you,

or will he spend the night at your feeding trough?

10 Can you tie the wild ox with its rope to a furrow,

or will it harrow the valleys after you?

11 Can you trust it because its strength is great,

or will you hand your labor over to it?

12 Can you rely on it that it will return your grain

and that it will gather it to your threshing floor?

13 “The wingsb of the female ostrich flapc—

are theyd the pinions of the stork ore the falcon?

14 Indeed, it leaves its eggs to the earth,

and it lets them be warmed on the ground,

15 and it forgets that a foot might crush an egg,f

and ⌊a wild animal⌋g might trample it.h

16 It deals cruelly with its young ones, as if they were not its own,

as if without fear that its labor were in vain,

17 because God made it forget wisdom,

and he did not give it a share in understanding.

18 When it spreads its wings ⌊aloft⌋,i

it laughs at the horse and its rider.

19 “Do you give power to the horse?

Do you clothe its neck with a mane?

20 Do you make it leap like the locust?

The majesty of its snorting is terrifying.

21 They paw in the valley, and it exults with strength;

it goes out to meet the battle.

22 It laughs at danger and is not dismayed,

and it does not turn back from ⌊before⌋j the sword.

23 Upon it the quiver rattles

along with the flash of the spear and the short sword.

24 With roar and rage ⌊it races over the ground⌋,k

and it cannot stand still at the sound of the horn.

25 ⌊Whenever⌋l a horn sounds, it says, ‘Aha!’

And it smells the battle from a distance—

the thunder of the commanders and the war cry.

26 “Does the hawk soar by your wisdom?

Does it spread its wings to the south?

27 Or does the eagle fly high at your command

and construct its nest high?

28 It lives on the rock and spends the night

⌊on the rock point and the mountain stronghold⌋.m

29 From there it spies out the prey;

its eyes look from far away.

30 And its young ones lick blood greedily,

and where the dead carcasses are, there they are.”

40 Thena Yahweh answered Job and said,

2 “Shall a faultfinder contend with Shaddai?

Anyone who argues with God must answer it.”