1 "Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn? |
2 Do you count the months till they bear? Do you know the time they give birth? |
3 They crouch down and bring forth their young; their labor pains are ended. |
4 Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds; they leave and do not return. |
5 "Who let the wild donkey go free? Who untied his ropes? |
6 I gave him the wasteland as his home, the salt flats as his habitat. |
7 He laughs at the commotion in the town; he does not hear a driver's shout. |
8 He ranges the hills for his pasture and searches for any green thing. |
9 "Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will he stay by your manger at night? |
10 Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness? Will he till the valleys behind you? |
11 Will you rely on him for his great strength? Will you leave your heavy work to him? |
12 Can you trust him to bring in your grain and gather it to your threshing floor? |
13 "The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, but they cannot compare with the pinions and feathers of the stork. |
14 She lays her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand, |
15 unmindful that a foot may crush them, that some wild animal may trample them. |
16 She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers; she cares not that her labor was in vain, |
17 for God did not endow her with wisdom or give her a share of good sense. |
18 Yet when she spreads her feathers to run, she laughs at horse and rider. |
19 "Do you give the horse his strength or clothe his neck with a flowing mane? |
20 Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting? |
21 He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength, and charges into the fray. |
22 He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; he does not shy away from the sword. |
23 The quiver rattles against his side, along with the flashing spear and lance. |
24 In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground; he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds. |
25 At the blast of the trumpet he snorts, 'Aha!' He catches the scent of battle from afar, the shout of commanders and the battle cry. |
26 "Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread his wings toward the south? |
27 Does the eagle soar at your command and build his nest on high? |
28 He dwells on a cliff and stays there at night; a rocky crag is his stronghold. |
29 From there he seeks out his food; his eyes detect it from afar. |
30 His young ones feast on blood, and where the slain are, there is he." |