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

“Do you know the time when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears fawns?

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

Can you number the months that they fulfill? Or do you know the time when they give birth?

3 T hey get down and give birth to their young, and get rid of their pains.

They bow themselves, they bear their young. They end their labor pains.

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

Their young ones become strong. They grow up in the open field. They go out, and don’t return again.

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

“Who has set the wild donkey free? Or who has loosened the bonds of the swift donkey,

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

Whose home I have made the wilderness, and the salt land his dwelling place?

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

He scorns the tumult of the city, neither does he hear the shouting of the driver.

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

The range of the mountains is his pasture, He searches after every green thing.

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

“Will the wild ox be content to serve you? Or will he stay by your feeding trough?

10 C an you tie the wild ox to a plow in the field? Will he follow you to plow the valleys?

Can you hold the wild ox in the furrow with his harness? Or will he till the valleys after you?

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

Will you trust him, because his strength is great? Or will you leave to him your labor?

12 W ill you trust him to return and bring your grain to your grain-floor?

Will you confide in him, that he will bring home your seed, and gather the grain of your threshing floor?

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

“The wings of the ostrich wave proudly; but are they the feathers and plumage of love?

14 F or she leaves her eggs to the earth and lets them get warm in the dust.

For she leaves her eggs on the earth, warms them in the dust,

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

and forgets that the foot may crush them, or that the wild animal may trample them.

16 S he 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.

She deals harshly with her young ones, as if they were not hers. Though her labor is in vain, she is without fear,

17 B ecause God has not given her wisdom or her share of understanding.

because God has deprived her of wisdom, neither has he imparted to her understanding.

18 W hen she begins to run, she laughs at the horse and the horseman.

When she lifts up herself on high, she scorns the horse and his rider.

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

“Have you given the horse might? Have you clothed his neck with a quivering mane?

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

Have you made him to leap as a locust? The glory of his snorting is awesome.

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

He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength. He goes out to meet the armed men.

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

He mocks at fear, and is not dismayed, neither does he turn back from the sword.

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

The quiver rattles against him, the flashing spear and the javelin.

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

He eats up the ground with fierceness and rage, neither does he stand still at the sound of the trumpet.

25 W hen 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.

As often as the trumpet sounds he snorts, ‘Aha!’ He smells the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

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

“Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars, and stretches her wings toward the south?

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

Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up, and makes his nest on high?

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

On the cliff he dwells, and makes his home, on the point of the cliff, and the stronghold.

29 F rom there he looks for his food. His eyes see it from far away.

From there he spies out the prey. His eyes see it afar off.

30 H e is where dead bodies are and his young ones drink the blood.”

His young ones also suck up blood. Where the slain are, there he is.”