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Job 39
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| 39:1
Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? or
canst thou mark when the hinds do calve? |
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| 39:2
Canst thou number the months that they fulfil? or knowest thou the time
when they bring forth? |
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| 39:3
They bow themselves, they bring forth their young ones, they cast out
their sorrows. |
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| 39:4
Their young ones are in good liking, they grow up with corn; they go
forth, and return not unto them. |
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| 39:5
Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the
wild ass? |
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| 39:6
Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings. |
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| 39:7
He scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the crying of
the driver. |
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| 39:8
The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every
green thing. |
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| 39:9
Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? |
 (39:9-11)
"Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee?"
The unicorn referred to here is probably not the single-horned mythical creature, but rather
a wild ox that was mistranslated in the KJV.
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| 39:10
Canst thou bind the
unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after
thee?
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| 39:11
Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy
labour to him? |
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| 39:12
Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it
into thy barn? |
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| 39:13
Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto
the ostrich? |
(39:13-16)
Ostriches
are not cruel and stupid birds who abandon their eggs to die after laying them, as these verses imply. They are, in fact, careful and
attentive parents. The male scoops out a hollow for the eggs, which are incubated by the females during the day and by the
darker colored male at night -- an arrangement that helps to conceal them from foes. After the eggs are hatched, they are
cared for by the mother for over a month, at which time the chicks can keep up with running adults.
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| 39:14
Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust,
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| 39:15
And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may
break them.
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| 39:16
She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not her's: her
labour is in vain without fear;
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| 39:17
Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her
understanding. |
As noted above, the bible is wrong about ostriches being cruel and
inattentive parents. But if they were, whose fault would it be? Why would God deprive them of the
tools that are needed to do the job right?
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| 39:18
What time she lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider.
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| 39:19
Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with
thunder? |
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| 39:20
Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils is
terrible. |
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| 39:21
He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to
meet the armed men. |
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| 39:22
He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from
the sword. |
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| 39:23
The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield. |
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| 39:24
He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage: neither believeth he
that it is the sound of the trumpet. |
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| 39:25
He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off,
the thunder of the captains, and the shouting. |
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| 39:26
Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south? |
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| 39:27
Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high?
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(39:27-30) "The eagle ... seeketh the prey.... Her young ones suck up blood."
God is pleased with the way that predators kill and devour their prey.
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| 39:28
She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the
strong place.
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| 39:29
From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off. |
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| 39:30
Her young ones also suck up blood: and where the slain are, there is she.
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Contradictions
Cruelty and Violence 
Women 
Good Stuff 
Family Values 
Language 
Interpretation
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