Job 39:17

That is because I did not allow ostriches to be wise. I did not enable them to be intelligent.

Translation for Translators

In The King James Version

Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding.

In Context

16Ostriches act cruelly towards their chicks; they act as though the chicks belonged to some other ostrich. They are not concerned if their chicks die, and so the laying of the eggs was in vain.

18But, when they get up and begin to run, they scornfully laugh at horses with their riders because the horses cannot run as fast as the ostriches!

Read all of Job 39

Cross References

2 Chronicles 32:31But when messengers who were sent by the rulers of Babylon came and asked about the miracle that God had performed for him, God allowed Hezekiah to say what he himself wanted to say, in order to test whether or not Hezekiah would admit that God had performed a miracle.

Job 35:11He should be able to teach us more than all the wild animals do; he should enable us to become wiser than all the birds are!’

Isaiah 57:17I was angry with my people because they sinned by wanting the things that others had. So because I was angry, I punished them and turned away from them, but they continued sinning.

Matthew Henry on Job 39:14-19

Description of the Peacock and Ostrich. ( b. c. 1520.) 13 Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich? 14 Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust, 15 And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them. 16 She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers: her labour is in vain without fear; 17 Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding. 18 What time she… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study Job 39:17