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39. The Lord Speaks

¹ “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
   Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?
² Do you count the months till they bear?
   Do you know the time they give birth?
³ They crouch down and bring forth their young;
   their labor pains are ended.
⁴ Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds;
   they leave and do not return.

    ⁵ “Who let the wild donkey go free?
   Who untied its ropes?
⁶ I gave it the wasteland as its home,
   the salt flats as its habitat.
⁷ It laughs at the commotion in the town;
   it does not hear a driver’s shout.
⁸ It ranges the hills for its pasture
   and searches for any green thing.

    ⁹ “Will the wild ox consent to serve you?
   Will it stay by your manger at night?
¹⁰ Can you hold it to the furrow with a harness?
   Will it till the valleys behind you?
¹¹ Will you rely on it for its great strength?
   Will you leave your heavy work to it?
¹² Can you trust it to haul in your grain
   and bring it to your threshing floor?

    ¹³ “The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,
   though they cannot compare
   with the wings and feathers of the stork.
¹⁴ She lays her eggs on the ground
   and lets them warm in the sand,
¹⁵ unmindful that a foot may crush them,
   that some wild animal may trample them.
¹⁶ She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers;
   she cares not that her labor was in vain,
¹⁷ for God did not endow her with wisdom
   or give her a share of good sense.
¹⁸ Yet when she spreads her feathers to run,
   she laughs at horse and rider.

    ¹⁹ “Do you give the horse its strength
   or clothe its neck with a flowing mane?
²⁰ Do you make it leap like a locust,
   striking terror with its proud snorting?
²¹ It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength,
   and charges into the fray.
²² It laughs at fear, afraid of nothing;
   it does not shy away from the sword.
²³ The quiver rattles against its side,
   along with the flashing spear and lance.
²⁴ In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground;
   it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.
²⁵ At the blast of the trumpet it snorts, ‘Aha!’
   It catches the scent of battle from afar,
   the shout of commanders and the battle cry.

    ²⁶ “Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom
   and spread its wings toward the south?
²⁷ Does the eagle soar at your command
   and build its nest on high?
²⁸ It dwells on a cliff and stays there at night;
   a rocky crag is its stronghold.
²⁹ From there it looks for food;
   its eyes detect it from afar.
³⁰ Its young ones feast on blood,
   and where the slain are, there it is.”