Job 39

¹“Do you know the time when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears fawns?

²Can you count the months that they fulfill? Or do you know the time when they give birth?

³They bow themselves. They bear their young. They end their labor pains.

⁴Their young ones become strong. They grow up in the open field. They go out, and don’t return again.

⁵“Who has set the wild donkey free? Or who has loosened the bonds of the swift donkey,

⁶whose home I have made the wilderness, and the salt land his dwelling place?

⁷He scorns the tumult of the city, neither does he hear the shouting of the driver.

⁸The range of the mountains is his pasture. He searches after every green thing.

⁹“Will the wild ox be content to serve you? Or will he stay by your feeding trough?

¹⁰Can you hold the wild ox in the furrow with his harness? Or will he till the valleys after you?

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

¹²Will you confide in him, that he will bring home your seed, and gather the grain of your threshing floor?

¹³“The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, but are they the feathers and plumage of love?

¹⁴For she leaves her eggs on the earth, warms them in the dust,

¹⁵and forgets that the foot may crush them, or that the wild animal may trample them.

¹⁶She deals harshly with her young ones, as if they were not hers. Though her labor is in vain, she is without fear,

¹⁷because God has deprived her of wisdom, neither has he imparted to her understanding.

¹⁸When she lifts up herself on high, she scorns the horse and his rider.

¹⁹“Have you given the horse might? Have you clothed his neck with a quivering mane?

²⁰Have you made him to leap as a locust? The glory of his snorting is awesome.

²¹He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength. He goes out to meet the armed men.

²²He mocks at fear, and is not dismayed, neither does he turn back from the sword.

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

²⁴He eats up the ground with fierceness and rage, neither does he stand still at the sound of the trumpet.

²⁵As often as the trumpet sounds he snorts, ‘Aha!’ He smells the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

²⁶“Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars, and stretches her wings toward the south?

²⁷Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up, and makes his nest on high?

²⁸On the cliff he dwells and makes his home, on the point of the cliff and the stronghold.

²⁹From there he spies out the prey. His eyes see it afar off.

³⁰His young ones also suck up blood. Where the slain are, there he is.”

Previous Job 38

Next Job 40

God continues His first speech to Job by presenting a series of rhetorical questions about wild animals, highlighting the intricate design and behavior of creatures beyond human control or understanding. Through vivid descriptions of mountain goats, wild donkeys, oxen, ostriches, horses, hawks, and eagles, God demonstrates His sovereign wisdom in creation. These examples serve to humble Job by showing that if he cannot comprehend or govern the animal kingdom, he certainly cannot question God's governance of moral and spiritual matters.

Context

This chapter continues God's first speech that began in chapter 38, building the case for divine wisdom and sovereignty before Job's humble response in chapter 40.

Key Themes

Outline

1-4
Mountain Goats and Deer God asks if Job knows the birthing times and processes of wild mountain animals.
5-8
The Wild Donkey Questions focus on who gave the wild donkey its freedom and made the wilderness its home.
9-12
The Wild Ox God challenges whether Job can domesticate the powerful wild ox for agricultural work.
13-18
The Ostrich The ostrich is presented as lacking wisdom yet possessing remarkable speed that surpasses horses.
19-25
The War Horse God describes the horse's courage, strength, and fearless enthusiasm for battle.
26-30
Birds of Prey The hawk and eagle demonstrate God's wisdom in their soaring abilities and predatory instincts.

The Lord's First Speech

38:1–39:30

wisdom speech solemn

God speaks to Job from a whirlwind, challenging him with rhetorical questions about creation and the natural world to demonstrate divine sovereignty and human limitations. This divine speech reveals God's incomprehensible power and wisdom in governing the universe.

person_contrast

God's barrage of 70 rhetorical questions about creation's mysteries transforms Job from defendant to student, reversing the entire book's legal framework into a cosmic classroom.

Insight Character Study

God's barrage of 70 rhetorical questions about creation's mysteries transforms Job from defendant to student, reversing the entire book's legal framework into a cosmic classroom.