1 “ Do you know the time when the wild mountain goats bear young? Or can you mark when the deer gives birth?

2 C an you number the months that they fulfill? Or do you know the time when they bear young?

3 T hey bow down, They bring forth their young, They deliver their offspring.

4 T heir young ones are healthy, They grow strong with grain; They depart and do not return to them.

5 “ Who set the wild donkey free? Who loosed the bonds of the onager,

6 W hose home I have made the wilderness, And the barren land his dwelling?

7 H e scorns the tumult of the city; He does not heed the shouts of the driver.

8 T he range of the mountains is his pasture, And he searches after every green thing.

9 “ Will the wild ox be willing to serve you? Will he bed by your manger?

10 C an you bind the wild ox in the furrow with ropes? Or will he plow the valleys behind you?

11 W ill you trust him because his strength is great? Or will you leave your labor to him?

12 W ill you trust him to bring home your grain, And gather it to your threshing floor?

13 “ The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, But are her wings and pinions like the kindly stork’s?

14 F or she leaves her eggs on the ground, And warms them in the dust;

15 S he forgets that a foot may crush them, Or that a wild beast may break them.

16 S he treats her young harshly, as though they were not hers; Her labor is in vain, without concern,

17 B ecause God deprived her of wisdom, And did not endow her with understanding.

18 W hen she lifts herself on high, She scorns the horse and its rider.

19 “ Have you given the horse strength? Have you clothed his neck with thunder?

20 C an you frighten him like a locust? His majestic snorting strikes terror.

21 H e paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength; He gallops into the clash of arms.

22 H e mocks at fear, and is not frightened; Nor does he turn back from the sword.

23 T he quiver rattles against him, The glittering spear and javelin.

24 H e devours the distance with fierceness and rage; Nor does he come to a halt because the trumpet has sounded.

25 A t the blast of the trumpet he says, ‘Aha!’ He smells the battle from afar, The thunder of captains and shouting.

26 “ Does the hawk fly by your wisdom, And spread its wings toward the south?

27 D oes the eagle mount up at your command, And make its nest on high?

28 O n the rock it dwells and resides, On the crag of the rock and the stronghold.

29 F rom there it spies out the prey; Its eyes observe from afar.

30 I ts young ones suck up blood; And where the slain are, there it is. ”