New International Version NIV
New King James Version NKJV
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 the time when the wild mountain goats bear young? Or can you mark when the deer gives birth?
2 Do you count the months till they bear? Do you know the time they give birth?
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Can you number the months that they fulfill? Or do you know the time when they bear young?
3 They crouch down and bring forth their young; their labor pains are ended.
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They bow down, They bring forth their young, They deliver their offspring.
4 Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds; they leave and do not return.
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Their young ones are healthy, They grow strong with grain; They depart and do not return to them.
5 “Who let the wild donkey go free? Who untied its ropes?
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"Who set the wild donkey free? Who loosed the bonds of the onager,
6 I gave it the wasteland as its home, the salt flats as its habitat.
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Whose home I have made the wilderness, And the barren land his dwelling?
7 It laughs at the commotion in the town; it does not hear a driver’s shout.
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He scorns the tumult of the city; He does not heed the shouts of the driver.
8 It ranges the hills for its pasture and searches for any green thing.
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The range of the mountains is his pasture, And he searches after every green thing.
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 be willing to serve you? Will he bed by your manger?
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 the wild ox in the furrow with ropes? Or will he plow the valleys 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 him because his strength is great? Or will you leave your labor to him?
12 Can you trust it to haul in your grain and bring it to your threshing floor?
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Will you trust him to bring home your grain, And gather it to 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 wings of the ostrich wave proudly, But are her wings and pinions like the kindly stork's?
14 She lays her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand,
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For she leaves her eggs on the ground, And warms them in the dust;
15 unmindful that a foot may crush them, that some wild animal may trample them.
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She forgets that a foot may crush them, Or that a wild beast may break 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 though they were not hers; Her labor is in vain, without concern,
17 for God did not endow her with wisdom or give her a share of good sense.
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Because God deprived her of wisdom, And did not endow her with understanding.
18 Yet when she spreads her feathers to run, she laughs at horse and rider.
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When she lifts herself on high, She scorns the horse and its rider.
19 “Do you give the horse its strength or clothe its neck with a flowing mane?
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"Have you given the horse strength? Have you clothed his neck with thunder?
20 Do you make it leap like a locust, striking terror with its proud snorting?
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Can you frighten him like a locust? His majestic snorting strikes terror.
21 It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength, and charges into the fray.
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He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength; He gallops into the clash of arms.
22 It laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; it does not shy away from the sword.
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He mocks at fear, and is not frightened; Nor does he turn back from the sword.
23 The quiver rattles against its side, along with the flashing spear and lance.
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The quiver rattles against him, The glittering spear and javelin.
24 In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground; it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.
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He devours the distance with fierceness and rage; Nor does he come to a halt because the trumpet has sounded.
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 the blast of the trumpet he says, 'Aha!' He smells the battle from afar, The thunder of captains and shouting.
26 “Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread its wings toward the south?
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"Does the hawk fly by your wisdom, And spread its wings toward the south?
27 Does the eagle soar at your command and build its nest on high?
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Does the eagle mount up at your command, And make its nest on high?
28 It dwells on a cliff and stays there at night; a rocky crag is its stronghold.
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On the rocks it dwells and resides, On the crag of the rock and the stronghold.
29 From there it looks for food; its eyes detect it from afar.
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From there it spies out the prey; Its eyes observe from afar.
30 Its young ones feast on blood, and where the slain are, there it is.”
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Its young ones suck up blood; And where the slain are, there it is."
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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.