1“Are you acquainted with the way

the mountain goats give birth?

Do you watch as the wild deer give birth to their young?

2Do you count the months they must fulfill,

and do you know the time they give birth?

3They crouch, they bear their young,

they bring forth the offspring they have carried.

4Their young grow strong, and grow up in the open;

they go off, and do not return to them.

5Who let the wild donkey go free?

Who released the bonds of the donkey,

6to whom I appointed the steppe for its home,

the salt wastes as its dwelling place?

7It scorns the tumult in the town;

it does not hear the shouts of a driver.

8It ranges the hills as its pasture,

and searches after every green plant.

9Is the wild ox willing to be your servant?

Will it spend the night at your feeding trough?

10Can you bind the wild ox to a furrow with its rope,

will it till the valleys, following after you?

11Will you rely on it because its strength is great?

Will you commit your labor to it?

12Can you count on it to bring in your grain,

and gather the grain to your threshing floor?

13“The wings of the ostrich flap with joy,

but are they the pinions and plumage of a stork?

14For she leaves her eggs on the ground,

and lets them be warmed on the soil.

15She forgets that a foot might crush them,

or that a wild animal might trample them.

16She is harsh with her young,

as if they were not hers;

she is unconcerned

about the uselessness of her labor.

17For God deprived her of wisdom,

and did not impart understanding to her.

18But as soon as she springs up,

she laughs at the horse and its rider.

19“Do you give the horse its strength?

Do you clothe its neck with a mane?

20Do you make it leap like a locust?

Its proud neighing is terrifying!

21It paws the ground in the valley,

exulting mightily,

it goes out to meet the weapons.

22It laughs at fear and is not dismayed;

it does not shy away from the sword.

23On it the quiver rattles;

the lance and javelin flash.

24In excitement and impatience it consumes the ground;

it cannot stand still when the trumpet is blown.

25At the sound of the trumpet, it says, ‘Aha!’

And from a distance it catches the scent of battle,

the thunderous shouting of commanders,

and the battle cries.

26“Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars,

and spreads its wings toward the south?

27Is it at your command that the eagle soars,

and builds its nest on high?

28It lives on a rock and spends the night there,

on a rocky crag and a fortress.

29From there it spots its prey,

its eyes gaze intently from a distance.

30And its young ones devour the blood,

and where the dead carcasses are,

there it is.”