39:1 “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?
39:2 Do you count the months till they bear? Do you know the time they give birth?
39:3 They crouch down and bring forth their young; their labor pains are ended.
39:4 Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds; they leave and do not return.
39:5 “Who let the wild donkey go free? Who untied its ropes?
39:6 I gave it the wasteland as its home, the salt flats as its habitat.
39:7 It laughs at the commotion in the town; it does not hear a driver’s shout.
39:8 It ranges the hills for its pasture and searches for any green thing.
39:9 “Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will it stay by your manger at night?
39:10 Can you hold it to the furrow with a harness? Will it till the valleys behind you?
39:11 Will you rely on it for its great strength? Will you leave your heavy work to it?
39:12 Can you trust it to haul in your grain and bring it to your threshing floor?
39:13 “The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, though they cannot compare with the wings and feathers of the stork.
39:14 She lays her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand,
39:15 unmindful that a foot may crush them, that some wild animal may trample them.
39:16 She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers; she cares not that her labor was in vain,
39:17 for God did not endow her with wisdom or give her a share of good sense.
39:18 Yet when she spreads her feathers to run, she laughs at horse and rider.
39:19 “Do you give the horse its strength or clothe its neck with a flowing mane?
39:20 Do you make it leap like a locust, striking terror with its proud snorting?
39:21 It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength, and charges into the fray.
39:22 It laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; it does not shy away from the sword.
39:23 The quiver rattles against its side, along with the flashing spear and lance.
39:24 In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground; it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.
39:25 At the blast of the trumpet it snorts, ‘Aha!’ It catches the scent of battle from afar, the shout of commanders and the battle cry.
39:26 “Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread its wings toward the south?
39:27 Does the eagle soar at your command and build its nest on high?
39:28 It dwells on a cliff and stays there at night; a rocky crag is its stronghold.
39:29 From there it looks for food; its eyes detect it from afar.
39:30 Its young ones feast on blood, and where the slain are, there it is.”