Font Size
Job 39
GOD’S WORD Translation
Job 39
GOD’S WORD Translation
The Lord Continues: the Mountain Goats
39 “Do you know the time when the mountain goats give birth?
Do you watch the does when they are in labor?
2 Can you count the months they are pregnant
or know the time when they’ll give birth?
3 They kneel down to give birth and deliver their young.
Then the pain of giving birth is over.
4 Their young are healthy and grow up in the wild.
They leave and don’t come back.
The Wild Donkey
5 “Who lets the wild donkey go free?
Who unties the ropes of the wild donkey?
6 I gave it the desert to live in
and the salt flats as its dwelling place.
7 It laughs at the noise of the city
and doesn’t ⌞even⌟ listen to the shouting of its master.
8 It explores the mountains for its pasture
and looks for anything green.
The Wild Ox
9 “Will the wild ox agree to serve you,
or will it stay at night beside your feeding trough?
10 Can you guide a wild ox in a furrow,
or will it plow the valleys behind you?
11 Can you trust it just because it’s so strong
or leave your labor to it?
12 Can you rely on it to bring your grain back
and take it to your threshing floor? [a]
The Ostrich
13 “Does the ostrich flap its wings in joy,
or do its wings lack feathers? [b]
14 It lays its eggs on the ground
and warms them in the dust.
15 It forgets that a foot may crush them
or a wild animal may trample them.
16 It acts harshly toward its young as if they weren’t its own.
It is not afraid that its work is for nothing
17 because God has deprived it of wisdom
and did not give it any understanding.
18 It laughs at the horse and its rider when it gets up to flee.
The Horse
19 “Can you give strength to a horse
or dress its neck with a flowing mane?
20 Can you make it leap like a locust,
when its snorting causes terror?
21 It paws in strength and finds joy in its power.
It charges into battle.
22 It laughs at fear,
is afraid of nothing,
and doesn’t back away from swords.
23 A quiver of arrows rattles on it
along with the flashing spear and javelin.
24 Anxious and excited, the horse eats up the ground
and doesn’t trust the sound of the ram’s horn.
25 As often as the horn sounds, the horse says, ‘Aha!’
and it smells the battle far away—
the thundering ⌞orders⌟ of the captains and the battle cries.
The Birds of Prey
26 “Does your understanding make a bird of prey fly
and spread its wings toward the south?
27 Is it by your order that the eagle flies high
and makes its nest on the heights?
28 It perches for the night on a cliff.
Its fortress is on a jagged peak.
29 From there it seeks food,
and its eyes see it from far away.
30 Its young ones feed on blood. It is found wherever there are dead bodies.”
Job 39
New International Version
Job 39
New International Version
39 “Do you know when the mountain goats(A) give birth?
Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?(B)
2 Do you count the months till they bear?
Do you know the time they give birth?(C)
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(D) go free?
Who untied its ropes?
6 I gave it the wasteland(E) as its home,
the salt flats(F) as its habitat.(G)
7 It laughs(H) at the commotion in the town;
it does not hear a driver’s shout.(I)
8 It ranges the hills(J) for its pasture
and searches for any green thing.
9 “Will the wild ox(K) consent to serve you?(L)
Will it stay by your manger(M) at night?
10 Can you hold it to the furrow with a harness?(N)
Will it till the valleys behind you?
11 Will you rely on it for its great strength?(O)
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.(P)
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.(Q)
16 She treats her young harshly,(R) 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.(S)
18 Yet when she spreads her feathers to run,
she laughs(T) at horse and rider.
19 “Do you give the horse its strength(U)
or clothe its neck with a flowing mane?
20 Do you make it leap like a locust,(V)
striking terror(W) with its proud snorting?(X)
21 It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength,(Y)
and charges into the fray.(Z)
22 It laughs(AA) at fear, afraid of nothing;
it does not shy away from the sword.
23 The quiver(AB) rattles against its side,
along with the flashing spear(AC) and lance.
24 In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground;
it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.(AD)
25 At the blast of the trumpet(AE) it snorts, ‘Aha!’
It catches the scent of battle from afar,
the shout of commanders and the battle cry.(AF)
26 “Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom
and spread its wings toward the south?(AG)
27 Does the eagle soar at your command
and build its nest on high?(AH)
28 It dwells on a cliff and stays there at night;
a rocky crag(AI) is its stronghold.
29 From there it looks for food;(AJ)
its eyes detect it from afar.
30 Its young ones feast on blood,
and where the slain are, there it is.”(AK)
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.