• God Speaks of Nature and Its Beings

  • 1 “Do you know the time the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the deer?
  • 2 “Can you count the months they fulfill, Or do you know the time they give birth?
  • 3 “They kneel down, they deliver their young, They get rid of their labor pains.
  • 4 “Their offspring become strong, they grow up in the open field; They leave and do not return to them.
  • 5 “Who sent the wild donkey out free? And who opened the bonds of the swift donkey,
  • 6 To whom I gave the wilderness as his home, And the salt land as his dwelling place?
  • 7 “He laughs at the turmoil of the city, He does not hear the shouting of the taskmaster.
  • 8 “He explores the mountains of his pasture, And searches after every green thing.
  • 9 “Will the wild bull be willing to serve you, Or will he spend the night at your feeding trough?
  • 10 “Can you tie down the wild bull in a furrow with ropes, Or will he plow the valleys after you?
  • 11 “Will you trust him because his strength is great, And leave your labor to him?
  • 12 “Will you have faith in him that he will return your grain And gather it from your threshing floor?
  • 13 “The wings of the ostrich flap joyously, With the pinion and feathers of love,
  • 14 For she abandons her eggs to the earth And warms them in the dust,
  • 15 And she forgets that a foot may crush them, Or that a wild animal may trample them.
  • 16 “She treats her young cruelly, as if they were not hers; Though her labor is for nothing, she is unconcerned,
  • 17 Because God has made her forget wisdom, And has not given her a share of understanding.
  • 18 “When she rushes away on high, She laughs at the horse and his rider.
  • 19 “Do you give the horse his might? Do you clothe his neck with a mane?
  • 20 “Do you make him leap like locusts? His majestic snorting is frightening.
  • 21 “He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength; He goes out to meet the battle.
  • 22 “He laughs at fear and is not dismayed; And he does not turn back from the sword.
  • 23 “The quiver rattles against him, The flashing spear and javelin.
  • 24 “He races over the ground with a roar and fury, And he does not stand still when he hears the sound of the trumpet.
  • 25 “As often as the trumpet sounds he says, ‘Aha!’ And he senses the battle from afar, And the thunder of the captains and the war cry.
  • 26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars, Stretching his wings toward the south?
  • 27 “Is it at your command that the eagle flies high, And makes his nest on high?
  • 28 “He dwells and spends his nights on the cliff, On the rocky cliff, an inaccessible place.
  • 29 “From there he tracks food; His eyes look at it from afar.
  • 30 “His young ones also lick up blood greedily; And where the slain are, there he is.”