Testaments

Job - Chapter 39 - Bible Basic English

  1. \
  2. :
  3. \Do you go after food for the she-lion, or get meat so that the young lions may have enough,
  4. \
  5. :
  6. \When they are stretched out in their holes, and are waiting in the brushwood?
  7. \
  8. :
  9. \Who gives in the evening the meat he is searching for, when his young ones are crying to God; when the young lions with loud noise go wandering after their food?
  10. \
  11. :
  12. \Have you knowledge of the rock-goats? or do you see the roes giving birth to their young?
  13. \
  14. :
  15. \Is the number of their months fixed by you? or is the time when they give birth ordered by you?
  16. \
  17. :
  18. \They are bent down, they give birth to their young, they let loose the fruit of their body.
  19. \
  20. :
  21. \Their young ones are strong, living in the open country; they go out and do not come back again.
  22. \
  23. :
  24. \Who has let the ass of the fields go free? or made loose the bands of the loud-voiced beast?
  25. \
  26. :
  27. \To whom I have given the waste land for a heritage, and the salt land as a living-place.
  28. \
  29. :
  30. \He makes sport of the noise of the town; the voice of the driver does not come to his ears;
  31. \
  32. :
  33. \He goes looking for his grass-lands in the mountains, searching out every green thing.
  34. \
  35. :
  36. \Will the ox of the mountains be your servant? or is his night's resting-place by your food-store?
  37. \
  38. :
  39. \Will he be pulling your plough with cords, turning up the valleys after you?
  40. \
  41. :
  42. \Will you put your faith in him, because his strength is great? will you give the fruit of your work into his care?
  43. \
  44. :
  45. \Will you be looking for him to come back, and get in your seed to the crushing-floor?
  46. \
  47. :
  48. \Is the wing of the ostrich feeble, or is it because she has no feathers,
  49. \
  50. :
  51. \That she puts her eggs on the earth, warming them in the dust,
  52. \
  53. :
  54. \Without a thought that they may be crushed by the foot, and broken by the beasts of the field?
  55. \
  56. :
  57. \She is cruel to her young ones, as if they were not hers; her work is to no purpose; she has no fear.
  58. \
  59. :
  60. \For God has taken wisdom from her mind, and given her no measure of knowledge.
  61. \
  62. :
  63. \When she is shaking her wings on high, she makes sport of the horse and of him who is seated on him.
  64. \
  65. :
  66. \Do you give strength to the horse? is it by your hand that his neck is clothed with power?
  67. \
  68. :
  69. \Is it through you that he is shaking like a locust, in the pride of his loud-sounding breath?
  70. \
  71. :
  72. \He is stamping with joy in the valley; he makes sport of fear.
  73. \
  74. :
  75. \In his strength he goes out against the arms of war, turning not away from the sword.
  76. \
  77. :
  78. \The bow is sounding against him; he sees the shining point of spear and arrow.
  79. \
  80. :
  81. \Shaking with passion, he is biting the earth; he is not able to keep quiet at the sound of the horn;
  82. \
  83. :
  84. \When it comes to his ears he says, Aha! He is smelling the fight from far off, and hearing the thunder of the captains, and the war-cries.
  85. \
  86. :
  87. \Is it through your knowledge that the hawk takes his flight, stretching out his wings to the south?
  88. \
  89. :
  90. \Or is it by your orders that the eagle goes up, and makes his resting-place on high?
  91. \
  92. :
  93. \On the rock is his house, and on the mountain-top his strong place.
  94. \
  95. :
  96. \From there he is watching for food; his eye sees it far off.
  97. \
  98. :
  99. \His young have blood for their drink, and where the dead bodies are, there is he to be seen.
  100. \
  101. :
  102. \...
  103. \
  104. :
  105. \Will he who is protesting give teaching to the Ruler of all? Let him who has arguments to put forward against God give an answer.
  106. \
  107. :
  108. \And Job said in answer to the Lord,
  109. \
  110. :
  111. \Truly, I am of no value; what answer may I give to you? I will put my hand on my mouth.
  112. \
  113. :
  114. \I have said once, and even twice, what was in my mind, but I will not do so again.