Job 39:1-30 NIrV

[1] “Job, do you know when mountain goats have their babies? Do you watch when female deer give birth? [2] Do you count the months until the animals have their babies? Do you know the time when they give birth? [3] They bend their back legs and have their babies. Then their labor pains stop. [4] Their little ones grow strong and healthy in the wild. They leave and do not come home again. [5] “Who let the wild donkeys go free? Who untied their ropes? [6] I gave them the dry and empty land as their home. I gave them salt flats to live in. [7] They laugh at all the noise in town. They do not hear the shouts of the donkey drivers. [8] They wander over the hills to look for grass. They search for anything green to eat. [9] “Job, will wild oxen agree to serve you? Will they stay by your feed box at night? [10] Can you keep them in straight rows with harnesses? Will they plow the valleys behind you? [11] Will you depend on them for their great strength? Will you let them do your heavy work? [12] Can you trust them to haul in your grain? Will they bring it to your threshing floor? [13] “The wings of ostriches flap with joy. But they can’t compare with the wings and feathers of storks. [14] Ostriches lay their eggs on the ground. They let them get warm in the sand. [15] They do not know that something might step on them. A wild animal might walk all over them. [16] Ostriches are mean to their little ones. They treat them as if they did not belong to them. They do not care that their work was useless. [17] I did not provide ostriches with wisdom. I did not give them good sense. [18] But when they spread their feathers to run, they laugh at a horse and its rider. [19] “Job, do you give horses their strength? Do you put flowing manes on their necks? [20] Do you make them jump like locusts? They terrify others with their proud snorting. [21] They paw the ground wildly. They are filled with joy. They charge at their enemies. [22] They laugh at fear. They are not afraid of anything. They do not run away from swords. [23] Many arrows rattle at their sides. Flashing spears and javelins are also there. [24] They are so excited that they race over the ground. They can’t stand still when trumpets are blown. [25] When they hear the trumpets they snort, ‘Aha!’ They catch the smells of battle far away. They hear the shouts of commanders and the battle cries. [26] “Job, are you wise enough to teach hawks where to fly? They spread their wings and fly toward the south. [27] Do you command eagles to fly so high? They build their nests as high as they can. [28] They live on cliffs and stay there at night. High up on the rocks they think they are safe. [29] From there they look for their food. They can see it from far away. [30] Their little ones like to eat blood. Eagles gather where they see dead bodies.”