Job 39:13-18

13 "The ostrich's wings flap wildly, though its pinions lack plumage.
14 For it leaves its eggs to the earth, and lets them be warmed on the ground,
15 forgetting that a foot may crush them, and that a wild animal may trample them.
16 It deals cruelly with its young, as if they were not its own; though its labor should be in vain, yet it has no fear;
17 because God has made it forget wisdom, and given it no share in understanding.
18 When it spreads its plumes aloft, it laughs at the horse and its rider.

Job 39:13-18 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 2

  • [a]. Meaning of Heb uncertain
  • [b]. Meaning of Heb uncertain
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.