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1.
"Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?
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2.
Do you count the months till they bear? Do you know the time they give birth?
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3.
They crouch down and bring forth their young; their labor pains are ended.
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4.
Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds; they leave and do not return.
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5.
"Who let the wild donkey go free? Who untied his ropes?
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6.
I gave him the wasteland as his home, the salt flats as his habitat.
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7.
He laughs at the commotion in the town; he does not hear a driver's shout.
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8.
He ranges the hills for his pasture and searches for any green thing.
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9.
"Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will he stay by your manger at night?
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10.
Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness? Will he till the valleys behind you?
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11.
Will you rely on him for his great strength? Will you leave your heavy work to him?
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12.
Can you trust him to bring in your grain and gather it to your threshing floor?
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13.
"The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, but they cannot compare with the pinions and feathers of the stork.
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14.
She lays her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand,
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15.
unmindful that a foot may crush them, that some wild animal may trample them.
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16.
She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers; she cares not that her labor was in vain,
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17.
for God did not endow her with wisdom or give her a share of good sense.
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18.
Yet when she spreads her feathers to run, she laughs at horse and rider.
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19.
"Do you give the horse his strength or clothe his neck with a flowing mane?
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20.
Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting?
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21.
He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength, and charges into the fray.
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22.
He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; he does not shy away from the sword.
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23.
The quiver rattles against his side, along with the flashing spear and lance.
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24.
In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground; he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.
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25.
At the blast of the trumpet he snorts, 'Aha!' He catches the scent of battle from afar, the shout of commanders and the battle cry.
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26.
"Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread his wings toward the south?
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27.
Does the eagle soar at your command and build his nest on high?
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28.
He dwells on a cliff and stays there at night; a rocky crag is his stronghold.
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29.
From there he seeks out his food; his eyes detect it from afar.
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30.
His young ones feast on blood, and where the slain are, there is he."
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