Job 39:1-10

1 "Do you know the time when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch the does when they are in labor?

2 Can you count the months they are pregnant or know the time when they'll give birth?

3 They kneel down to give birth and deliver their young. Then the pain of giving birth is over.

4 Their young are healthy and grow up in the wild. They leave and don't come back.

5 "Who lets the wild donkey go free? Who unties the ropes of the wild donkey?

6 I gave it the desert to live in and the salt flats as its dwelling place.

7 It laughs at the noise of the city and doesn't [even] listen to the shouting of its master.

8 It explores the mountains for its pasture and looks for anything green.

9 "Will the wild ox agree to serve you, or will it stay at night beside your feeding trough?

10 Can you guide a wild ox in a furrow, or will it plow the valleys behind you?

Job 39:1-10 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.