1 “ ¿Conoces tú el tiempo en que paren las cabras monteses ? ¿Has observado el parto de las ciervas ?

“Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch the deer giving birth?

2 ¿ Puedes contar los meses de su gestación, O conoces el tiempo en que han de parir?

Can you number the months that they carry their young? Or do you know the time when their young are born?

3 S e encorvan, paren sus crías, Y se libran de sus dolores de parto.

They get down and give birth to their young, and get rid of their pains.

4 S us crías se fortalecen, crecen en campo abierto; Se van y no vuelven a ellas.

Their young ones become strong. They grow up in the open field. They leave and do not return to them.

5 ¿ Quién dejó en libertad al asno montés ? ¿Y quién soltó las ataduras del asno veloz,

“Who has let the wild donkey go free? Who has taken off the ropes which held the fast donkey?

6 A l cual di por hogar el desierto, Y por morada la tierra salada ?

I gave him the desert for a home, and the salt land for a place to live.

7 S e burla del tumulto de la ciudad, No escucha los gritos del arriero.

He hates the noise of the city. He does not hear the calls of the man who drives him.

8 E xplora los montes buscando su pasto, Y anda tras toda hierba verde.

He goes looking for grass to eat on the mountains. He looks for every green thing.

9 ¿ Consentirá en servirte el búfalo, O pasará la noche en tu pesebre?

Will the wild ox be willing to serve you? Will he stay through the night by the food you give him to eat?

10 ¿ Puedes atar al búfalo con coyundas para el surco, O rastrillará los valles en pos de ti?

Can you tie the wild ox to a plow in the field? Will he follow you to plow the valleys?

11 ¿ Confiarás en él por ser grande su fuerza Y le confiarás tu labor?

Will you trust in him because he is very strong, and leave your work to him?

12 ¿ Tendrás fe en él de que te devolverá tu grano, Y de que lo recogerá de tu era?

Will you trust him to return and bring your grain to your grain-floor?

13 B aten alegres las alas del avestruz, ¿Acaso con el ala y plumaje del amor ?

“The wings of the ostrich wave with joy, but are they the wings of love?

14 P orque abandona sus huevos en la tierra, Y sobre el polvo los calienta;

For she leaves her eggs to the earth and lets them get warm in the dust.

15 S e olvida de que algún pie los puede aplastar, O una bestia salvaje los puede pisotear.

She forgets that a foot might crush them, or that the wild animal may step on them.

16 T rata a sus hijos con crueldad, como si no fueran suyos; Aunque su trabajo sea en vano, le es indiferente;

She is bad in the way she acts toward her young, as if they were not hers. Her work of giving birth is for nothing, for she does not care.

17 P orque Dios le ha hecho olvidar la sabiduría, Y no le ha dado su porción de inteligencia.

Because God has not given her wisdom or her share of understanding.

18 P ero cuando se levanta en alto, Se burla del caballo y de su jinete.

When she begins to run, she laughs at the horse and the horseman.

19 ¿ Das tú al caballo su fuerza? ¿Revistes su cuello de crines?

“Do you give the horse his strength? Do you dress his neck with long hair?

20 ¿ Le haces saltar como la langosta? Terrible es su formidable resoplido;

Do you make him jump like the locust? The powerful noise he makes with his nostrils fills men with fear.

21 E scarba en el valle, y se regocija en su fuerza; Sale al encuentro de las armas.

He hits his foot against the ground in the valley, and has joy in his strength. He goes out to meet the battle.

22 S e burla del temor y no se acobarda, Ni retrocede ante la espada.

He laughs at fear and is not afraid. He does not turn back from the sword.

23 R esuena contra él la aljaba, La lanza reluciente y la jabalina.

The arrows and spears he carries make noise as they hit together.

24 C on ímpetu y furor corre sobre la tierra; Y no se está quieto al sonido de la trompeta.

He runs fast over the ground with shaking and anger. He cannot stand still at the sound of the horn.

25 C ada vez que la trompeta suena, como que dice: ‘¡Ea!’ Y desde lejos olfatea la batalla, Las voces atronadoras de los capitanes y el grito de guerra.

When the horn sounds, he laughs without fear. He smells the battle from far away. He hears the thunder of the captains, and the war cry.

26 ¿ Acaso por tu sabiduría se eleva el gavilán, Extendiendo sus alas hacia el sur?

“Is it by your understanding that the hawk flies, spreading his wings toward the south?

27 ¿ Acaso a tu mandato se remonta el águila Y hace en las alturas su nido ?

Is it because the eagle is obeying you that he flies high and makes his nest in a high place?

28 E n la peña mora y se aloja, Sobre la cima del despeñadero, lugar inaccesible.

He lives on a high rock. His strong place is on the mountain-top that is hard to reach.

29 D esde allí acecha la presa; Desde muy lejos sus ojos la divisan.

From there he looks for his food. His eyes see it from far away.

30 S us polluelos chupan la sangre; Y donde hay muertos, allí está ella.”

He is where dead bodies are and his young ones drink the blood.”