הֲיָדַעְתָּ עֵת לֶדֶת יַעֲלֵי־סָלַע חֹלֵל אַיָּלוֹת תִּשְׁמֹר

Have you ever known the time when ibexes give birth? Will you mark, do you remember precisely, the calving of hinds?

תִּסְפֹּר יְרָחִים תְּמַלֶּאנָה וְיָדַעְתָּ עֵת לִדְתָּנָה

Will you count the months of their reaching term, the months of their pregnancy until they give birth, and know the time when they give birth, so that you can assist them?

תִּכְרַעְנָה יַלְדֵיהֶן תְּפַלַּחְנָה חֶבְלֵיהֶם תְּשַׁלַּחְנָה

When they crouch, their young emerge from their sundered bodies, and they cast off their labor pains, as their birth pangs elapse on their own. Man can feed domestic animals and even help them give birth, whereas wild animals are nourished and procreate without any human knowledge or involvement at all.

יַחְלְמוּ בְנֵיהֶם יִרְבּוּ בַבָּר יָצְאוּ וְלֹא־שָׁבוּ לָמוֹ

Their young, those of wild goats and hinds, grow strong; they grow outside in the wild; they emerge on their own and do not return to them, their mothers.

מִי־שִׁלַּח פֶּרֶא חָפְשִׁי וּמֹסְרוֹת עָרוֹד מִי פִתֵּחַ

Who sent the onager [pereh] (see commentary on 6:5) free, so that it cannot be tamed at all? Who loosened the reins of the wild ass [arod],

אֲשֶׁר־שַׂמְתִּי עֲרָבָה בֵיתוֹ ומִשְׁכְּנוֹתָיו מְלֵחָה

for whom I rendered, established, the wilderness his home, and salt land, desert regions, his dwelling?

יִשְׂחַק לַהֲמוֹן קִרְיָה תְּשֻׁאוֹת נוֹגֵשׂ לֹא יִשְׁמָע

Since this animal lives only in uninhabited areas, he scoffs at the tumult of the city, the sounds of work that can be heard there. He does not hear the shouts of the oppressor, who is tyrannizing others.

יְתוּר הָרִים מִרְעֵהוּ וְאַחַר כָּל יָרוֹק יִדְרוֹשׁ

He scouts the hills for his pasture, he roams and explores the mountains for his pasture, and seeks everything green, vegetation.

היֹאבֶה רֵים עָבְדֶךָ אִם־יָלִין עַל־אֲבוּסֶךָ

Will the aurochs, large, strong wild animals, be willing to serve you? Will he stay the night near your trough and feed there? Many creatures in the world are not dependent upon man and receive no assistance from him.

הֲתִקְשָׁר־רֵים בְּתֶלֶם עֲבֹתוֹ אִם־יְשַׂדֵּד עֲמָקִים אַחֲרֶיךָ

Can you bind the aurochs with his rope to a furrow, to have him plow there? Will he loosen, turn over, the soil of valleys after you?

הֲתִבְטַח־בּוֹ כִּי־רַב כֹּחוֹ ותַעֲזֹב אֵלָיו יְגִיעֶךָ

Will you trust him because his strength is great? Will you therefore leave your toil in your sown field for him?

הֲתַאֲמִין בּוֹ כִּי־יָשִׁיב זַרְעֶךָ וְגָרְנְךָ יֶאֱסֹף

Will you trust him that he will restore your seed and gather from your threshing floor? Perhaps you might try to train the wild ox and harness it for your labor in light of its size and power. However, it is too strong for humans to control and use for their needs.

כְּנַף־רְנָנִים נֶעֱלָסָה אִם אֶבְרָה לחֲסִידָה וְנֹצָה

The chapter now describes wonders involving birds: Did you create the wing of the songbird [renanim], which beats joyously? Are its pinions and plumage of a stork? Did you create the wing joints and feathers of the stork? Some maintain that renanim refers to a songbird, while others say that it refers to a bird with colorful wings, which glorifies itself in its colors.

כִּי־תַעֲזֹב לָאָרֶץ בֵּצֶיהָ וְעַל־עָפָר תְּחַמֵּם

For it leaves its eggs on the earth, as this bird does not nest in trees or on rocks but on the ground, and warms them on dust,

וַתִּשְׁכַּח כִּי רֶגֶל תְּזוּרֶהָ וְחַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה תְּדוּשֶׁהָ

and it forgets, does not take into account, that a foot of any creature may step on an egg and crush it or a beast of the field may trample it.

הִקְשִׁיחַ בָּנֶיהָ לְלֹא־לָהּ לְרִיק יְגִיעָהּ בְּלִי־פָחַד

It, that bird, is harsh to its young, as certain birds become estranged from their offspring and abandon them, as though they are not from it; its toil in hatching the eggs is in vain, without concern that its fledglings might be taken from it,

כִּי־הִשָּׁהּ אֱלוֹהַּ חָכְמָה וְלֹא־חָלַק לָהּ בַּבִּינָה

for God deprived it of wisdom, or made it forget its wisdom, and did not allot understanding to it.

כָּעֵת בַּמָּרוֹם תַּמְרִיא תִּשְׂחַק לַסּוּס וּלְרֹכְבוֹ

In time, when it wishes to fly, it will soar on high and scoff at the horse and its rider, as they cannot harm it, since God watches over this bird.

התִתֵּן לַסּוּס גְּבוּרָה התַלְבִּישׁ צַוָּארוֹ רַעְמָה

Do you give the horse strength? Do you clothe its neck with a mane?

התַרְעִישֶׁנּוּ כָּאַרְבֶּה הוֹד נַחְרוֹ אֵימָה

Do you cause it to reverberate like a locust? Do you enable the horse to emit a noise like that which is produced by locusts when they swarm upon fields? The glory of its snorting is terror, terrifying.

יַחְפְּרוּ בָעֵמֶק וְיָשִׂישׂ בְּכֹחַ יֵצֵא לִקְרַאת־נָשֶׁק

When it, a war horse, gallops, it gouges in the valley and rejoices with strength; it issues forth toward weapons. This animal is ready for battle.

יִשְׂחַק לְפַחַד וְלֹא יֵחָת וְלֹא־יָשׁוּב מִפְּנֵי־חָרֶב

It scoffs at fear and is not dismayed; it does not retreat from a sword.

עָלָיו תִּרְנֶה אַשְׁפָּה לַהַב חֲנִית וכִידוֹן

Upon it the quiver rattles, a noise produced by the blade of the spear and javelin striking the arrows in the quiver.

בְּרַעַשׁ וְרֹגֶז יְגַמֶּא־אָרֶץ ולֹא־יַאֲמִין כִּי־קוֹל שׁוֹפָר

Noisily and speedily it swallows the land, or gallops over the land, and in its joy does not forbear due to the sound of the shofar that it hears, calling the soldiers to war and warning them about the approaching enemy. The animal lusts so greatly for war that it can scarcely believe the battle has arrived.

בְּדֵי שֹׁפָר יֹאמַר הֶאָח וּמֵרָחוֹק יָרִיחַ מִלְחָמָה רַעַם שָׂרִים וּתְרוּעָה

With the sounding of the shofar, which signals the commencement of battle, it says: Hurrah. The horse rejoices in anticipation of war. From afar it smells the war and hears the thundering of the officers of war and the shouting. Unlike the wild animals discussed in previous verses, war horses are constantly in close contact with humans.

הֲמִבִּינָתְךָ יַאֲבֶר נֵץ יִפְרֹשׂ כְּנָפָו לְתֵימָן

Is it by your understanding that the hawk flies, stretches its wings to the south? Migrating hawks pass through the Land of Israel on their way south. Is the hawk’s knowledge that it must fly southward for the winter derived from human understanding?

אִם־עַל־פִּיךָ יַגְבִּיהַּ נשֶׁר וְכִי יָרִים קִנּוֹ

Does the eagle ascend to fly at your directive and raise on high places its nest?

סֶלַע יִשְׁכֹּן וְיִתְלֹנָן עַל־שֶׁן־סֶלַע וּמְצוּדָה

On a rock it dwells and stays the night, sleeps, on the crag of the rock and the stronghold.

מִשָּׁם חָפַר אֹכֶל לְמֵרָחוֹק עֵינָיו יַבִּיטוּ

From there, the mountain heights, it spies food; its eyes look afar.

וְאֶפְרֹחָו יְעַלְעוּ דָם וּבַאֲשֶׁר חֲלָלִים שָׁם הוּא

The eagle itself eats some of the carrion it finds, while it brings a portion for its offspring in the nest: Its young swallow blood, as they too are nourished from carcasses; where the slain are found, there it is.