Daily Bread

39 “Do you know when the mountain goats^(A) give birth?
    Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?^(B)
2 Do you count the months till they bear?
    Do you know the time they give birth?^(C)
3 They crouch down and bring forth their young;
    their labor pains are ended.
⁴ Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds;
    they leave and do not return.

⁵ “Who let the wild donkey^(D) go free?
    Who untied its ropes?
⁶ I gave it the wasteland^(E) as its home,
    the salt flats^(F) as its habitat.^(G)
7 It laughs^(H) at the commotion in the town;
    it does not hear a driver’s shout.^(I)
8 It ranges the hills^(J) for its pasture
    and searches for any green thing.

⁹ “Will the wild ox^(K) consent to serve you?^(L)
    Will it stay by your manger^(M) at night?
¹⁰ Can you hold it to the furrow with a harness?^(N)
    Will it till the valleys behind you?
¹¹ Will you rely on it for its great strength?^(O)
    Will you leave your heavy work to it?
¹² Can you trust it to haul in your grain
    and bring it to your threshing floor?

¹³ “The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,
    though they cannot compare
    with the wings and feathers of the stork.^(P)
14 She lays her eggs on the ground
    and lets them warm in the sand,
¹⁵ unmindful that a foot may crush them,
    that some wild animal may trample them.^(Q)
16 She treats her young harshly,^(R) as if they were not hers;
    she cares not that her labor was in vain,
¹⁷ for God did not endow her with wisdom
    or give her a share of good sense.^(S)
18 Yet when she spreads her feathers to run,
    she laughs^(T) at horse and rider.

¹⁹ “Do you give the horse its strength^(U)
    or clothe its neck with a flowing mane?
²⁰ Do you make it leap like a locust,^(V)
    striking terror^(W) with its proud snorting?^(X)
21 It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength,^(Y)
    and charges into the fray.^(Z)
22 It laughs^(AA) at fear, afraid of nothing;
    it does not shy away from the sword.
²³ The quiver^(AB) rattles against its side,
    along with the flashing spear^(AC) and lance.
²⁴ In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground;
    it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.^(AD)
25 At the blast of the trumpet^(AE) it snorts, ‘Aha!’
    It catches the scent of battle from afar,
    the shout of commanders and the battle cry.^(AF)

²⁶ “Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom
    and spread its wings toward the south?^(AG)
27 Does the eagle soar at your command
    and build its nest on high?^(AH)
28 It dwells on a cliff and stays there at night;
    a rocky crag^(AI) is its stronghold.
²⁹ From there it looks for food;^(AJ)
    its eyes detect it from afar.
³⁰ Its young ones feast on blood,
    and where the slain are, there it is.”^(AK)