Job 39:1–40:24
God Speaks of Nature and Its Beings
1 “Do you know the time the 1amountain goats give birth?
Do you observe the calving of the bdeer?
2 “Can you count the months they fulfill,
Or do you know the time they give birth?
3 “They kneel down, they bring forth their young,
They get rid of their labor pains.
4 “Their offspring become strong, they grow up in the open field;
They leave and do not return to them.
5 “Who sent out the awild donkey free?
And who loosed the bonds of the swift donkey,
6 To whom I gave athe wilderness for a home
And the salt land for his dwelling place?
7 “He scorns the tumult of the city,
The shoutings of the driver he does not hear.
8 “He explores the mountains for his pasture
And searches after every green thing.
9 “Will the awild ox consent to serve you,
Or will he spend the night at your manger?
10 “Can you bind the wild ox in a furrow with 1ropes,
Or will he harrow the valleys after you?
11 “Will you trust him because his strength is great
And leave your labor to him?
12 “Will you have faith in him that he will return your 1grain
And gather it from your threshing floor?
13 “The ostriches’ wings flap joyously
With the pinion and plumage of 1love,
14 For she abandons her eggs to the earth
And warms them in the dust,
15 And she forgets that a foot may crush 1them,
Or that a wild beast may trample 1them.
16 “She treats her young acruelly, as if they were not hers;
Though her labor be in vain, she is 1unconcerned;
17 Because God has made her forget wisdom,
And has not given her a share of understanding.
18 “When she lifts herself 1on high,
She laughs at the horse and his rider.
19 “Do you give the horse his might?
Do you clothe his neck with a mane?
20 “Do you make him aleap like the locust?
His majestic bsnorting is terrible.
21 “1He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength;
He agoes out to meet the weapons.
22 “He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
And he does not turn back from the sword.
23 “The quiver rattles against him,
The flashing spear and javelin.
24 “With shaking and rage he 1races over the ground,
And he does not stand still at the voice of the trumpet.
25 “As often as the trumpet sounds he says, ‘Aha!’
And he scents the battle from afar,
And the thunder of the captains and the war cry.
26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars,
Stretching his wings toward the south?
27 “Is it at your 1command that the eagle mounts up
And makes ahis nest on high?
28 “On the cliff he dwells and lodges,
Upon the rocky crag, an inaccessible place.
29 “From there he aspies out food;
His eyes see it from afar.
30 “His young ones also suck up blood;
And awhere the slain are, there is he.”
1 Then the Lord said to Job,
2 “Will the faultfinder acontend with the Almighty?
Let him who breproves God answer it.”
3 Then Job answered the Lord and said,
4 “Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You?
I alay my hand on my mouth.
5 “Once I have spoken, and aI will not answer;
Even twice, and I will add nothing more.”
6 Then the aLord answered Job out of the storm and said,
7 “Now agird up your loins like a man;
I will bask you, and you instruct Me.
8 “Will you really aannul My judgment?
Will you bcondemn Me cthat you may be justified?
9 “Or do you have an arm like God,
And can you athunder with a voice like His?
10 “aAdorn yourself with eminence and dignity,
And clothe yourself with honor and majesty.
11 “Pour out athe overflowings of your anger,
And look on everyone who is bproud, and make him low.
12 “Look on everyone who is proud, and ahumble him,
And btread down the wicked 1where they stand.
13 “aHide them in the dust together;
Bind 1them in the hidden place.
14 “Then I will also 1confess to you,
That your own right hand can save you.
God’s Power Shown in Creatures
15 “Behold now, 1Behemoth, which aI made 2as well as you;
He eats grass like an ox.
16 “Behold now, his strength in his loins
And his power in the muscles of his belly.
17 “He bends his tail like a cedar;
The sinews of his thighs are knit together.
18 “His bones are tubes of bronze;
His 1limbs are like bars of iron.
19 “He is the afirst of the ways of God;
Let his bmaker bring near his sword.
20 “Surely the mountains abring him food,
And all the beasts of the field bplay there.
21 “Under the lotus plants he lies down,
In the covert of the reeds and the marsh.
22 “The lotus plants cover him with 1shade;
The willows of the brook surround him.
23 “If a river 1rages, he is not alarmed;
He is confident, though the aJordan rushes to his mouth.
24 “Can anyone capture him 1when he is on watch,
With 2barbs can anyone pierce his nose?