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 his ropes?

39:6 I gave him the wasteland as his home, the salt flats as his habitat.

39:7 He laughs at the commotion in the town; he does not hear a driver's shout.

39:8 He ranges the hills for his pasture and searches for any green thing.

39:9 "Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will he stay by your manger at night?

39:10 Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness? Will he till the valleys behind you?

39:11 Will you rely on him for his great strength? Will you leave your heavy work to him?

39:12 Can you trust him to bring in your grain and gather it to your threshing floor?

39:13 "The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, but they cannot compare with the pinions 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 his strength or clothe his neck with a flowing mane?

39:20 Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting?

39:21 He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength, and charges into the fray.

39:22 He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; he does not shy away from the sword.

39:23 The quiver rattles against his side, along with the flashing spear and lance.

39:24 In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground; he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.

39:25 At the blast of the trumpet he snorts, 'Aha!' He 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 his wings toward the south?

39:27 Does the eagle soar at your command and build his nest on high?

39:28 He dwells on a cliff and stays there at night; a rocky crag is his stronghold.

39:29 From there he seeks out his food; his eyes detect it from afar.

39:30 His young ones feast on blood, and where the slain are, there is he."