Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth?
Or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve?
Canst thou number the months that they fulfil?
Or knowest thou the time when they bring forth?
They bow themselves, they bring forth their young,
They cast out their pains.
Their young ones become strong, they grow up in the open field;
They go forth, and {Or, return not unto them}return not again.
Who hath sent out the wild ass free?
Or who hath loosed the bonds of the swift ass,
Whose home I have made the wilderness,
And the salt land his dwelling-place?
He scorneth the tumult of the city,
Neither heareth he the shoutings of the {Or, taskmaster}driver.
The range of the mountains is his pasture,
And he searcheth after every green thing.
Will the wild-ox be content to serve thee?
Or will he abide by thy crib?
Canst thou bind the wild-ox with his band in the furrow?
Or will he harrow the valleys after thee?
Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great?
Or wilt thou leave to him thy labor?
Wilt thou confide in him, that he will bring home thy seed,
And gather the grain of thy threshing-floor?
The wings of the ostrich wave proudly;
But are they the pinions and plumage of {Or, a stork}love?
For she leaveth her eggs on the earth,
And warmeth them in the dust,
And forgetteth that the foot may crush them,
Or that the wild beast may trample them.
She {Or, is hardened against}dealeth hardly with her young ones, as if they were not hers:
Though her labor be in vain, she is without fear;
Because God hath {Hebrew: made her to forget wisdom.}deprived her of wisdom,
Neither hath he imparted to her understanding.
What time she {Or, rouseth herself up to flight}lifteth up herself on high,
She scorneth the horse and his rider.
Hast thou given the horse his might?
Hast thou clothed his neck with the {Hebrew: shaking.}quivering mane?
Hast thou made him to leap as a locust?
The glory of his snorting is terrible.
{Hebrew: They paw.}He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength:
He goeth out to meet {Or, the weapons}the armed men.
He mocketh at fear, and is not dismayed;
Neither turneth he back from the sword.
The quiver rattleth {Or, upon}against him,
The flashing spear and the javelin.
He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage;
Neither {Or, standeth he still at &c.}believeth he that it is the voice of the trumpet.
As oft as the trumpet soundeth he saith, Aha!
And he smelleth the battle afar off,
The thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
Is it by thy wisdom that the hawk soareth,
And stretcheth her wings toward the south?
Is it at thy command that the eagle mounteth up,
And maketh her nest on high?
On the cliff she dwelleth, and maketh her home,
Upon the point of the cliff, and the stronghold.
From thence she spieth out the prey;
Her eyes behold it afar off.
Her young ones also suck up blood:
And where the slain are, there is she.
Querverweise zu Hiob 39,16 Hiob 39,16
Even the jackals draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones:The daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.
The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter,
The labor of fools wearieth every one of them; for he knoweth not how to go to the city.
and toward her {Or, after-birth}young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children whom she shall bear; for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly, in the siege and in the distress wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.
Behold, is it not of Jehovah of hosts that the peoples labor for the fire, and the nations weary themselves for vanity?
Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her heart yearned over her son, and she said, Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, It shall be neither mine nor thine; divide it.
Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.
And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to-day, and we will eat my son to-morrow.
So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him; and she hath hid her son.
See, O Jehovah, and behold to whom thou hast done thus!Shall the women eat their fruit, the children that are dandled in the hands?Shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?
without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, unmerciful: