1. |
Do you go after food for the she-lion, or get meat so that the young lions may have enough, |
2. |
When they are stretched out in their holes, and are waiting in the brushwood? |
3. |
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? |
4. |
Have you knowledge of the rock-goats? or do you see the roes giving birth to their young? |
5. |
Is the number of their months fixed by you? or is the time when they give birth ordered by you? |
6. |
They are bent down, they give birth to their young, they let loose the fruit of their body. |
7. |
Their young ones are strong, living in the open country; they go out and do not come back again. |
8. |
Who has let the ass of the fields go free? or made loose the bands of the loud-voiced beast? |
9. |
To whom I have given the waste land for a heritage, and the salt land as a living-place. |
10. |
He makes sport of the noise of the town; the voice of the driver does not come to his ears; |
11. |
He goes looking for his grass-lands in the mountains, searching out every green thing. |
12. |
Will the ox of the mountains be your servant? or is his night's resting-place by your food-store? |
13. |
Will he be pulling your plough with cords, turning up the valleys after you? |
14. |
Will you put your faith in him, because his strength is great? will you give the fruit of your work into his care? |
15. |
Will you be looking for him to come back, and get in your seed to the crushing-floor? |
16. |
Is the wing of the ostrich feeble, or is it because she has no feathers, |
17. |
That she puts her eggs on the earth, warming them in the dust, |
18. |
Without a thought that they may be crushed by the foot, and broken by the beasts of the field? |
19. |
She is cruel to her young ones, as if they were not hers; her work is to no purpose; she has no fear. |
20. |
For God has taken wisdom from her mind, and given her no measure of knowledge. |
21. |
When she is shaking her wings on high, she makes sport of the horse and of him who is seated on him. |
22. |
Do you give strength to the horse? is it by your hand that his neck is clothed with power? |
23. |
Is it through you that he is shaking like a locust, in the pride of his loud-sounding breath? |
24. |
He is stamping with joy in the valley; he makes sport of fear. |
25. |
In his strength he goes out against the arms of war, turning not away from the sword. |
26. |
The bow is sounding against him; he sees the shining point of spear and arrow. |
27. |
Shaking with passion, he is biting the earth; he is not able to keep quiet at the sound of the horn; |
28. |
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. |
29. |
Is it through your knowledge that the hawk takes his flight, stretching out his wings to the south? |
30. |
Or is it by your orders that the eagle goes up, and makes his resting-place on high? |
31. |
On the rock is his house, and on the mountain-top his strong place. |
32. |
From there he is watching for food; his eye sees it far off. |
33. |
His young have blood for their drink, and where the dead bodies are, there is he to be seen. |
34. |
... |
35. |
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. |
36. |
And Job said in answer to the Lord, |
37. |
Truly, I am of no value; what answer may I give to you? I will put my hand on my mouth. |
38. |
I have said once, and even twice, what was in my mind, but I will not do so again. |