“The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, but are they the pinions and plumage of love?
For she leaves her eggs to the earth and lets them be warmed on the ground,
forgetting that a foot may crush them and that the wild beast may trample them.
When she rouses herself to flee, she laughs at the horse and his rider.
“Do you give the horse his might? Do you clothe his neck with a mane?
Do you make him leap like the locust? His majestic snorting is terrifying.
He paws in the valley and exults in his strength; he goes out to meet the weapons.
He laughs at fear and is not dismayed; he does not turn back from the sword.
Upon him rattle the quiver, the flashing spear, and the javelin.
With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground; he cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet.
When the trumpet sounds, he says ‘Aha!’ He smells the battle from afar, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
“Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars and spreads his wings toward the south?
Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes his nest on high?
On the rock he dwells and makes his home, on the rocky crag and stronghold.
From there he spies out the prey; his eyes behold it from far away.
His young ones suck up blood, and where the slain are, there is he.”
And the Lord said to Job:
“Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.”
Then Job answered the Lord and said:
Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be in the right?
Pour out the overflowings of your anger, and look on everyone who is proud and abase him.
Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low and tread down the wicked where they stand.
Hide them all in the dust together; bind their faces in the world below.
Behold, his strength in his loins, and his power in the muscles of his belly.
He makes his tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together.
“He is the first of the works of God; let him who made him bring near his sword!
For the mountains yield food for him where all the wild beasts play.
Under the lotus plants he lies, in the shelter of the reeds and in the marsh.
For his shade the lotus trees cover him; the willows of the brook surround him.
Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened; he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth.
Will traders bargain over him? Will they divide him up among the merchants?
Lay your hands on him; remember the battle—you will not do it again!
Behold, the hope of a man is false; he is laid low even at the sight of him.
Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.
Who can open the doors of his face? Around his teeth is terror.
His sneezings flash forth light, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.
The folds of his flesh stick together, firmly cast on him and immovable.
His heart is hard as a stone, hard as the lower millstone.
When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid; at the crashing they are beside themselves.
Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail, nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
The arrow cannot make him flee; for him, sling stones are turned to stubble.
Clubs are counted as stubble; he laughs at the rattle of javelins.
His underparts are like sharp potsherds; he spreads himself like a threshing sledge on the mire.
He makes the deep boil like a pot; he makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
Behind him he leaves a shining wake; one would think the deep to be white-haired.
He sees everything that is high; he is king over all the sons of pride.”
Then Job answered the Lord and said:
I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you;
After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.
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