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 bring forth 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 out the wild donkey free?
And who loosed the bonds of the swift donkey, ⁶ To whom I gave the wilderness for a home
And the salt land for his dwelling place? ⁷ “He scorns the tumult of the city,
The shoutings of the driver he does not hear. ⁸ “He explores the mountains for his pasture
And searches after every green thing. ⁹ “Will the wild ox consent to serve you,
Or will he spend the night at your manger? ¹⁰ “Can you bind the wild ox in a furrow with ropes,
Or will he harrow 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 ostriches’ wings flap joyously
With the pinion and plumage 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 beast may trample them. ¹⁶ “She treats her young cruelly, as if they were not hers;
Though her labor be in vain, she is unconcerned; ¹⁷ Because God has made her forget wisdom,
And has not given her a share of understanding. ¹⁸ “When she lifts herself 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 the locust?
His majestic snorting is terrible. ²¹ “He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength;
He goes out to meet the weapons. 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 “With shaking and rage he races over the ground,
And he does not stand still at the voice of the trumpet. ²⁵ “As often as the trumpet sounds he says, ‘Aha!’
And he scents 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 mounts up
And makes his nest on high? ²⁸ “On the cliff he dwells and lodges,
Upon the rocky crag, an inaccessible place. ²⁹ “From there he spies out food;
His eyes see it from afar. ³⁰ “His young ones also suck up blood;
And where the slain are, there is he.”