“Will the wild ox consent to serve you,
Or will he spend the night at your manger?

“The ostriches’ wings flap joyously
With the pinion and plumage of love,

“Do you know the time the mountain goats give birth?
Do you observe the calving of the deer?

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

“Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up
And makes his nest on high?

“Who sent out the wild donkey free?
And who loosed the bonds of the swift donkey,

“Can you bind the wild ox in a furrow with ropes,
Or will he harrow the valleys after you?

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

“His young ones also suck up blood;
And where the slain are, there is he.”

“As often as the trumpet sounds he says, ‘Aha!’
And he scents the battle from afar,
And the thunder of the captains and the war cry.

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

To whom I gave the wilderness for a home
And the salt land for his dwelling place?

“The quiver rattles against him,
The flashing spear and javelin.

“He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength;
He goes out to meet the weapons.

“She treats her young cruelly, as if they were not hers;
Though her labor be in vain, she is unconcerned;

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

“With shaking and rage he races over the ground,
And he does not stand still at the voice of the trumpet.

“Will you have faith in him that he will return your grain
And gather it from your threshing floor?

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

“Do you make him leap like the locust?
His majestic snorting is terrible.

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

“On the cliff he dwells and lodges,
Upon the rocky crag, an inaccessible place.

“He explores the mountains for his pasture
And searches after every green thing.

“When she lifts herself on high,
She laughs at the horse and his rider.

“He scorns the tumult of the city,
The shoutings of the driver he does not hear.

“From there he spies out food;
His eyes see it from afar.

“Will you trust him because his strength is great
And leave your labor to him?

And she forgets that a foot may crush them,
Or that a wild beast may trample them.

“They kneel down, they bring forth their young,
They get rid of their labor pains.

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