The Lord Is Speaking to Job

39 “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch the deer giving birth? ² Can you number the months that they carry their young? Or do you know the time when their young are born? ³ They get down and give birth to their young, and get rid of their pains. ⁴ Their young ones become strong. They grow up in the open field. They leave and do not return to them.

⁵ “Who has let the wild donkey go free? Who has taken off the ropes which held the fast donkey? ⁶ I gave him the desert for a home, and the salt land for a place to live. ⁷ He hates the noise of the city. He does not hear the calls of the man who drives him. ⁸ He goes looking for grass to eat on the mountains. He looks for every green thing. ⁹ Will the wild ox be willing to serve you? Will he stay through the night by the food you give him to eat? ¹⁰ Can you tie the wild ox to a plow in the field? Will he follow you to plow the valleys? ¹¹ Will you trust in him because he is very strong, and leave your work to him? ¹² Will you trust him to return and bring your grain to your grain-floor?

¹³ “The wings of the ostrich wave with joy, but are they the wings of love? ¹⁴ For she leaves her eggs to the earth and lets them get warm in the dust. ¹⁵ She forgets that a foot might crush them, or that the wild animal may step on them. ¹⁶ 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 Because God has not given her wisdom or her share of understanding. ¹⁸ When she begins to run, she laughs at the horse and the horseman.

¹⁹ “Do you give the horse his strength? Do you dress his neck with long hair? ²⁰ Do you make him jump like the locust? The powerful noise he makes with his nostrils fills men with fear. ²¹ He hits his foot against the ground in the valley, and has joy in his strength. He goes out to meet the battle. ²² He laughs at fear and is not afraid. He does not turn back from the sword. ²³ The arrows and spears he carries make noise as they hit together. ²⁴ He runs fast over the ground with shaking and anger. He cannot stand still at the sound of the horn. ²⁵ 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 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk flies, spreading his wings toward the south? ²⁷ Is it because the eagle is obeying you that he flies high and makes his nest in a high place? ²⁸ He lives on a high rock. His strong place is on the mountain-top that is hard to reach. ²⁹ From there he looks for his food. His eyes see it from far away. ³⁰ He is where dead bodies are and his young ones drink the blood.”

The Lord Is Speaking to Job

40 Then the Lord said to Job, ² “Will one who finds fault not agree with the All-powerful? He who speaks strong words against God, let him answer.”

³ Job answered the Lord and said, ⁴ “See, I am not important. What can I answer You? I put my hand on my mouth. ⁵ I have spoken once, and I cannot answer; even twice, and I have no more to say.”

⁶ Then the Lord answered out of the storm, and said, ⁷ “Get ready like a man. I will ask you, and you answer Me. ⁸ Will you say what I decide is wrong? Will you say that I have done wrong, that you may be made right? ⁹ Do you have an arm like God? Can you thunder with a voice like His?

¹⁰ “Dress yourself with shining-greatness and great power. Cover yourself with honor and greatness. ¹¹ Pour out your anger that is flowing over. Look on everyone who is proud, and put him to shame. ¹² Look on everyone who is proud, and bring him down. Crush the sinful where they stand. ¹³ Hide them all in the dust together. Shut them up in the hidden place. ¹⁴ Then I will also tell you that your own right hand can save you.

¹⁵ “See now the hippopotamus, which I made as well as you. He eats grass like an ox. ¹⁶ See, his strength is in his body. His power is in his stomach. ¹⁷ He moves his tail like a cedar tree. His legs are made very strong. ¹⁸ His bones are like brass. His legs are like pieces of iron.

¹⁹ “He is the first of the works of God. Let his maker bring him his sword. ²⁰ For sure the mountains bring food to him where all the animals of the field play. ²¹ He lies down under the lotus plants, hidden in the high river grass. ²² He lies in the shadow of the lotus plants, with the willow trees of the river around him. ²³ If a river flows over, he is not afraid. He is sure of himself even if the Jordan rushes against his mouth. ²⁴ Can anyone take him when he is watching? Can anyone catch him and put a ring in his nose?