Moff JOB Chapter 39

39 

Do you know how wild goats breed upon the hills?

Can you control the calving of the hinds?

2 

Do you fix their appointed time?

Do you know when they are to bear?

3 

Down they bend, and the womb opens,

as they drop their young--

4 

lusty offspring, thriving in the open,

that run off and return not to the herd.

5 

Who gave the wild ass his freedom?

Who let the swift ass roam at large,

6 

whose home I make the steppes,

whose dwelling is the salty land?

7 

He scorns the noisy town,

he hears no driver’s shout;

8 

he scours the hills for pasture,

in search of any green thing.

9 

Will the wild ox be content to slave for you?

Will he stay in your stable?

10 

Can you rope him to your plough?

Will he harrow the furrows for you?

11 

Will you trust to his tremendous strength,

and let him do your fieldwork?

12 

Will you rely on him to come

and carry corn home to your threshing-floor?

19 

Do you supply the war-horse with his strength,

or cover his neck with the tossing mane?

20 

Do you make him leap forward like a locust,

snorting bravely, furiously?

21 

He paws the valley proudly,

facing the clash of arms;

22 

he mocks at fear, unterrified,

he flies not from the sword;

23 

the quiver rattles against him,

the glittering spear and javelin,

24 

but on he charges in wild rage,

straight ahead, never swerving;

25 

the trumpet sounds--‘Aha!’ he cries,

scenting the battle from afar,

where captains thunder, ’mid the shouts of war.

26 

Does your wit send the hawk to soar

and spread her wings for the south?

27 

Does your word make the eagle mount

to nest aloft among the hills?

28 

Her home is high upon the cliffs,

on the peak of the crag she perches;

29 

she spies her prey from the height,

with eyes that see from far;

30 

her young ones suck up blood,

and where the slain are, there is she.

13 

[[The ostrich flaps her wings in pride;

but is the feathered creature kind?

14 

She leaves her eggs upon the earth

to warm and hatch out in the dust,

15 

forgetting that a foot may crush them,

or a wild beast tread on them--

16 

harsh to her young, as if they were not hers,

unheeding though her labour is in vain;

17 

for God makes her devoid of 17 sense,

he denies her intelligence.

18 

Let hunters come, and she will scour the plain,

scorning the horse and its rider.]]

40 

Will critics still dispute with the Almighty?

2 

To argue with God, answer all these questions.

8 

Will you seek to discredit my just ruling?

To justify yourself, will you condemn me?

9 

If you have an arm like God’s

if you can thunder with a voice like his,

10 

then deck yourself in majesty and pomp,

array yourself in grandeur and in glory;

11 

pour out the fury of your wrath

abase all who are proud,

12 

lay all the lofty low,

and crush the wicked on the spot,

13 

bury them all in the dust,

and shroud their faces with the darkness;

14 

then I will offer praise to you,

because your own right hand wins victory!”

3 Then Eyob replied to the Eternal:

4 

“I am of small account: how can I answer thee?

I lay my hand upon my lips;

5 

once I have spoken--never again!

twice--but I will not say one other word!

42 

I admit thou canst do anything,

2 

that nothing is too hard for thee.

3 

I thoughtlessly confused the issues;

I spoke without intelligence,

of wonders far beyond my ken.

5 

I had heard of thee by hearsay,

but now mine eyes have seen thee;

6 

so I despise myself,

in dust and ashes I repent.”

7 Now after the Eternal had spoken thus to Eyob, the Eternal said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My anger is hot against you and your two friends, for, unlike my servant Eyob, you have not told the truth about me." 8 But go to my servant Eyob with seven bullocks and seven rams: offer them as a burnt-sacrifice for yourselves, and my servant Eyob shall intercede for you; out of regard for him, I will not wreak destruction upon you for your impiety.” 9 Whereupon Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Minaean, went and did as the Eternal had told them; and the Eternal paid regard to Eyob’s intercession. 10 Also, when Eyob prayed for his friends, the Eternal turned his own fortunes; the Eternal gave Eyob twice as much as he had before. 11 Then came all his brothers and sisters and his old friends; they dined with Eyob in his house, condoling with him and consoling him for all the misery that the Eternal had brought upon him; they each presented him with a piece of money and a gold ring.

12 In the end, then, the Eternal made Eyob more prosperous than he had been at first; he had fourteen thousand sheep and goats, six thousand camels, a thousand pair of oxen, and a thousand she-asses; 13 also, he had seven sons, and three daughters 14 whom he called Ringdove, Cassia, and Applescent. 15 In all the world there were no women to be found as handsome as the daughters of Eyob; their father even let them share the right of inheritance along with their brothers. 16 After this Eyob lived for a hundred and forty years; he lived to see his grandsons and great-grandsons--four generations. 17 Then Eyob died, old, after a full life.