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God Speaks of Nature and Its Beings

¹ "Do you know the time the ^(F1)(C1)mountain goats give birth?
Do you observe the calving of the ^(C2)deer?

² "Can you count the months they fulfill,
Or do you know the time they give birth?

³ "They kneel down, they deliver their young,
They get rid of their labor pains.

⁴ "Their offspring become strong, they grow up in the open field;
They leave and do not return to them.

⁵ "Who sent the ^(C1)wild donkey out free?
And who opened the bonds of the swift donkey,

⁶ To whom I gave ^(C1)the wilderness as his home,
And the salt land as his dwelling place?

⁷ "He laughs at the turmoil of the city,
He does not hear the shouting of the taskmaster.

⁸ "He explores the mountains of his pasture,
And searches after every green thing.

⁹ "Will the ^(C1)wild bull be willing to serve you,
Or will he spend the night at your feeding trough?

¹⁰ "Can you tie down the wild bull in a furrow with ^(F1)ropes,
Or will he ^(F2)plow the valleys after you?

¹¹ "Will you trust him because his strength is great,
And leave your labor to him?

¹² "Will you have faith in him that he will return your ^(F1)grain
And gather it from your threshing floor?

¹³ "The wings of the ostrich flap joyously,
With the pinion and feathers of ^(F1)love,

¹⁴ For she abandons her eggs to the earth
And warms them in the dust,

¹⁵ And she forgets that a foot may crush ^(F1)them,
Or that a wild animal may trample ^(F1)them.

¹⁶ "She treats her young ^(C1)cruelly, as if they were not hers;
Though her labor is for nothing, she is ^(F1)unconcerned,

¹⁷ Because God has made her forget wisdom,
And has not given her a share of understanding.

¹⁸ "When she rushes away on high,
She laughs at the horse and his rider.

¹⁹ "Do you give the horse his might?
Do you clothe his neck with a mane?

²⁰ "Do you make him ^(C1)leap like locusts?
His majestic ^(C2)snorting is frightening.

²¹ "^(F1)He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength;
He ^(C1)goes out to meet the battle.

²² "He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
And he does not turn back from the sword.

²³ "The quiver rattles against him,
The flashing spear and javelin.

²⁴ "He ^(F1)races over the ground with a roar and fury,
And he does not stand still when he hears the sound of the trumpet.

²⁵ "As often as the trumpet sounds he says, 'Aha!'
And he senses the battle from afar,
And the thunder of the captains and the war cry.

²⁶ "Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars,
Stretching his wings toward the south?

²⁷ "Is it at your ^(F1)command that the eagle flies high,
And makes ^(C1)his nest on high?

²⁸ "He dwells and spends his nights on the cliff,
On the rocky cliff, an inaccessible place.

²⁹ "From there he ^(C1)tracks food;
His eyes look at it from afar.

³⁰ "His young ones also lick up blood greedily;
And ^(C1)where the slain are, there he is."