Job 39:1-7

1 Do you know when mountain goats give birth? Have you watched the deer in labor?

2 Can you count the months they are pregnant^[a] so you can know the time they give birth?

3 They crouch down to give birth to their young; they deliver their newborn.^[b]

4 Their offspring are healthy and grow up in the open field. They leave and do not return.^[c]

5 Who set the wild donkey free? Who released the swift donkey from its harness?

6 I made the wilderness its home, and the salty wasteland^[d] its dwelling.

7 It scoffs at the noise of the village and never hears the shouts of a driver.

Job 39:1-7 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JOB 39

This chapter treats of various creatures, beasts and birds, which Job had little knowledge of, had no concern in the making of them, and scarcely any power over them; as of the goats and hinds, Job 39:1-4; of the wild ass, Job 39:5-8; of the unicorn, Job 39:9-12; of the peacock and ostrich, Job 39:13-18; of the horse, Job 39:19-25; and of the hawk and eagle, Job 39:26-30.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit months they fulfill
• [b]. Or they send away their labor pains
• [c]. Lit return to them
• [d]. Ps 107:34; Jr 17:6