Christian Standard Bible

English Standard Version

1Do you know when mountain goats give birth? Have you watched the deer in labor?

1“Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the does?

2Can you count the months they are pregnant so you can know the time they give birth?

2Can you number the months that they fulfill, and do you know the time when they give birth,

3They crouch down to give birth to their young; they deliver their newborn.

3when they crouch, bring forth their offspring, and are delivered of their young?

4Their offspring are healthy and grow up in the open field. They leave and do not return.

4Their young ones become strong; they grow up in the open; they go out and do not return to them.

5Who set the wild donkey free? Who released the swift donkey from its harness?

5“Who has let the wild donkey go free? Who has loosed the bonds of the swift donkey,

6I made the desert its home, and the salty wasteland its dwelling.

6to whom I have given the arid plain for his home and the salt land for his dwelling place?

7It scoffs at the noise of the village and never hears the shouts of a driver.

7He scorns the tumult of the city; he hears not the shouts of the driver.

8It roams the mountains for its pastureland, searching for anything green.

8He ranges the mountains as his pasture, and he searches after every green thing.

9Would the wild ox be willing to serve you? Would it spend the night by your feeding trough?

9“Is the wild ox willing to serve you? Will he spend the night at your manger?

10Can you hold the wild ox to a furrow by its harness? Will it plow the valleys behind you?

10Can you bind him in the furrow with ropes, or will he harrow the valleys after you?

11Can you depend on it because its strength is great? Would you leave it to do your hard work?

11Will you depend on him because his strength is great, and will you leave to him your labor?

12Can you trust the wild ox to harvest your grain and bring it to your threshing floor?

12Do you have faith in him that he will return your grain and gather it to your threshing floor?

13The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, but are her feathers and plumage like the stork's?

13“The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, but are they the pinions and plumage of love?

14She abandons her eggs on the ground and lets them be warmed in the sand.

14For she leaves her eggs to the earth and lets them be warmed on the ground,

15She forgets that a foot may crush them or that some wild animal may trample them.

15forgetting that a foot may crush them and that the wild beast may trample them.

16She treats her young harshly, as if they were not her own, with no fear that her labor may have been in vain.

16She deals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers; though her labor be in vain, yet she has no fear,

17For God has deprived her of wisdom; he has not endowed her with understanding.

17because God has made her forget wisdom and given her no share in understanding.

18When she proudly spreads her wings, she laughs at the horse and its rider.

18When she rouses herself to flee, she laughs at the horse and his rider.

19Do you give strength to the horse? Do you adorn his neck with a mane?

19“Do you give the horse his might? Do you clothe his neck with a mane?

20Do you make him leap like a locust? His proud snorting fills one with terror.

20Do you make him leap like the locust? His majestic snorting is terrifying.

21He paws in the valley and rejoices in his strength; he charges into battle.

21He paws in the valley and exults in his strength; he goes out to meet the weapons.

22He laughs at fear, since he is afraid of nothing; he does not run from the sword.

22He laughs at fear and is not dismayed; he does not turn back from the sword.

23A quiver rattles at his side, along with a flashing spear and a javelin.

23Upon him rattle the quiver, the flashing spear, and the javelin.

24He charges ahead with trembling rage; he cannot stand still at the trumpet's sound.

24With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground; he cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet.

25When the trumpet blasts, he snorts defiantly. He smells the battle from a distance; he hears the officers' shouts and the battle cry.

25When the trumpet sounds, he says ‘Aha!’ He smells the battle from afar, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

26Does the hawk take flight by your understanding and spread its wings to the south?

26“Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars and spreads his wings toward the south?

27Does the eagle soar at your command and make its nest on high?

27Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes his nest on high?

28It lives on a cliff where it spends the night; its stronghold is on a rocky crag.

28On the rock he dwells and makes his home, on the rocky crag and stronghold.

29From there it searches for prey; its eyes penetrate the distance.

29From there he spies out the prey; his eyes behold it from far away.

30Its brood gulps down blood, and where the slain are, it is there.

30His young ones suck up blood, and where the slain are, there is he.”

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.