Job 39:7-17

7 They laugh at all of the noise in town. They do not hear the shouts of the donkey drivers.

8 They wander over the hills to look for grass. They search for anything green to eat.

9 "Job, will wild oxen agree to serve you? Will they stay by your feed box at night?

10 Can you keep them in straight rows with harnesses? Will they plow the valleys behind you?

11 Will you depend on them for their great strength? Will you let them do your heavy work?

12 Can you trust them to bring in your grain? Will they take it to your threshing floor?

13 "The wings of ostriches flap with joy. But they can't compare with the wings and feathers of storks.

14 Ostriches lay their eggs on the ground. They let them get warm in the sand.

15 They do not know that something might step on them. A wild animal might walk all over them.

16 Ostriches are mean to their little ones. They treat them as if they did not belong to them. They do not care that their work was useless.

17 I did not provide ostriches with wisdom. I did not give them good sense.

Job 39:7-17 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.