New International Version NIV
Common English Bible CEB
1 “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?
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Do you know when mountain goats give birth; do you observe the birthing of does?
2 Do you count the months till they bear? Do you know the time they give birth?
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Can you count the months of pregnancy; do you know when they give birth?
3 They crouch down and bring forth their young; their labor pains are ended.
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They crouch, split open for their young, send forth their offspring.
4 Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds; they leave and do not return.
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Their young are healthy; they grow up in the open country, leave and never return.
5 “Who let the wild donkey go free? Who untied its ropes?
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Who freed the wild donkey, loosed the ropes of the onager
6 I gave it the wasteland as its home, the salt flats as its habitat.
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to whom I gave the desert as home, his dwelling place in the salt flats?
7 It laughs at the commotion in the town; it does not hear a driver’s shout.
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He laughs at the clamor of the town, doesn't hear the driver's shout,
8 It ranges the hills for its pasture and searches for any green thing.
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searches the hills for food and seeks any green sprout.
9 “Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will it stay by your manger at night?
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Will the wild ox agree to be your slave, or will it spend the night in your crib?
10 Can you hold it to the furrow with a harness? Will it till the valleys behind you?
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Can you bind it with a rope to a plowed row; will it plow the valley behind you?
11 Will you rely on it for its great strength? Will you leave your heavy work to it?
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Will you trust it because its strength is great so that you can leave your work to it?
12 Can you trust it to haul in your grain and bring it to your threshing floor?
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Can you rely on it to bring back your grain to gather into your threshing floor?
13 “The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, though they cannot compare with the wings and feathers of the stork.
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The ostrich's wings flap joyously, but her wings and plumage are like a stork.
14 She lays her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand,
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She leaves her eggs on the earth, lets them warm in the dust,
15 unmindful that a foot may crush them, that some wild animal may trample them.
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then forgets that a foot may crush them or a wild animal trample them.
16 She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers; she cares not that her labor was in vain,
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She treats her young harshly as if they were not hers, without worrying that her labor might be in vain;
17 for God did not endow her with wisdom or give her a share of good sense.
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God didn't endow her with sense, didn't give her some good sense.
18 Yet when she spreads her feathers to run, she laughs at horse and rider.
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When she flaps her wings high, she laughs at horse and rider.
19 “Do you give the horse its strength or clothe its neck with a flowing mane?
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Did you give strength to the horse, clothe his neck with a mane,
20 Do you make it leap like a locust, striking terror with its proud snorting?
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cause him to leap like a locust, his majestic snorting, a fright?
21 It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength, and charges into the fray.
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He paws in the valley, prances proudly, charges at battle weapons,
22 It laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; it does not shy away from the sword.
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laughs at fear, unafraid. He doesn't turn away from the sword;
23 The quiver rattles against its side, along with the flashing spear and lance.
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a quiver of arrows flies by him, flashing spear and dagger.
24 In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground; it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.
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Excitedly, trembling, he swallows the ground; can't stand still at a trumpet's blast.
25 At the blast of the trumpet it snorts, ‘Aha!’ It catches the scent of battle from afar, the shout of commanders and the battle cry.
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At a trumpet's sound, he says, "Aha!" smells the battle from afar, hears officers' shouting and the battle cry.
26 “Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread its wings toward the south?
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Is it due to your understanding that the hawk flies, spreading its wings to the south?
27 Does the eagle soar at your command and build its nest on high?
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Or at your command does the eagle soar, the vulture build a nest on high?
28 It dwells on a cliff and stays there at night; a rocky crag is its stronghold.
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They dwell on an outcropping of rock, their fortress on rock's edge.
29 From there it looks for food; its eyes detect it from afar.
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From there they search for food; their eyes notice it from afar,
30 Its young ones feast on blood, and where the slain are, there it is.”
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and their young lap up blood; where carcasses lie, there they are.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible