Job 39:3 · Bible study
Job 39:3 Commentary: God's Care in Wild Animal Birth
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why does God describe mountain goats giving birth?
Research Summary
- Meaning: The wild animals (mountain goats/hinds) give birth without human assistance, showing God's hidden sovereignty over all creation.
- Key words: kāraʿ (kneel down), pālaḥ (cleave open, Piel intensive), shālaḥ (send forth), ḥevlēhem (their sorrows/young).
- Main debate: Does 'cast out their sorrows' refer to expelling the afterbirth or to giving birth to the young who are the fruit of labor pains?
- Theological theme: Divine providence extends to the most hidden and untamed parts of creation, independent of human knowledge or control.
- Best use: A corrective to anthropocentrism, reminding believers that God's care is wider than our awareness.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
They crouch down and bring forth their young; they deliver their newborn.
WEB World English Bible 2000
They bow themselves. They bear their young. They end their labor pains.
KJV King James Version 1769
They bow themselves, they bring forth their young ones, they cast out their sorrows.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
They bow themselves, they bring forth their young, They cast out their pains.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
They bow down, Their young ones they bring forth safely, Their pangs they cast forth.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
They bow themselves, they give birth to their young ones, they cast out their pains;
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
They bow themselves to bring forth young, and they cast them, and send forth roarings.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
¿ Quién preparó al cuervo su alimento, cuando sus pollos claman á Dios, bullendo de un lado á otro por carecer de comida?
Quando se encurvam, produzem seus filhos, e lançam de si suas dores.
Qui prépare au corbeau sa pâture,
Sie beugen sich, lassen los ihre Jungen und werden los ihre Wehen.
Als zij zich krommen, haar jongen met versplijting voortbrengen, haar smarten uitwerpen?
S’accosciano, fanno i lor piccini, e son tosto liberate dalle loro doglie;
Któż gotuje krukowi pokarm jego, gdy dzieci jego do Boga wołają a tułają się, nie mając pokarmu?
Они изгибаются, рождая детей своих, выбрасывая свои ноши;
牠們屈身，將子 生下，就除掉 疼痛。
They are bent down, they give birth to their young, they let loose the fruit of their body.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Job 39:3
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that Job 39:3 describes the birthing process of wild mountain goats and hinds, emphasizing that it occurs without human observation or assistance. Barnes notes that 'they do this without any of the care and attention which shepherds are obliged to show to their flocks at such seasons.' The Hebrew verbs carry vivid physical imagery: kāraʿ (to kneel down), pālaḥ (to cleave open, used in the Piel stem for splitting), and shālaḥ (to send forth). The third line, 'they cast out their sorrows,' has been understood in two ways. Clarke, Gill and Keil & Delitzsch take 'sorrows' (ḥevlēhem) as the afterbirth or the young themselves, the product of labor pains rather than the pains. The Cambridge Bible suggests the phrase may mean the young, by a common poetic figure. Either way, the point is the same: the animals complete the process on their own, under God's unseen care. Matthew Henry applies this to human trust: if God provides for the young of wild creatures, he will not fail to provide for his own children.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The verse depicts the natural birthing process of wild animals occurring under God's unseen supervision, without human aid or observation.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Identity of the animals | The text refers to wild, untamed creatures, mountain goats (yaʿelīm) and hinds (female deer). | Some commentators (Keil & Delitzsch) specify ibex or chamois; others hold the description fits several mountain-dwelling ungulates. The general point about wildness is undisputed. |
| Meaning of 'sorrows' (חבליהם) | The word denotes something associated with labor pains, either the pain itself or its product. | Clarke, Gill and Keil & Delitzsch take it as the afterbirth or the young (the 'pains' metonymically). The Cambridge Bible and Barnes read it as the pains that cease at birth. Both sides agree the line describes the completion of birth. |
| Theological point of the passage | God uses the untamed animal world to demonstrate his superior knowledge, power, and care. | Matthew Henry emphasizes God's provision for his children by analogy with animals. Wesley focuses on God's care for the helpless and despised. Both see comfort, but some modern readings stress the challenge to human pride more than the comfort. |
| Role of this verse in the book of Job | It is part of God's answer to Job, showing Job's limited perspective and God's expansive sovereignty. | Some traditions (Reformed) stress God's absolute sovereignty over nature and suffering. Others (Wesleyan) highlight God's compassion even in the natural order. The verse supports both emphases. |
| Hebrew verb פָּלַח (pālaḥ) and its nuance | The verb means 'to cleave' or 'split,' and is in the Piel stem, indicating intensive or causative action. | Keil & Delitzsch argue the Piel means 'to cause to break through', the mother helps the young to cleave the womb. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown says it means 'to cleave the womb and break forth.' The exact agent (mother or young) is differently emphasized. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Job 39:3 belongs to God's first speech from the whirlwind (Job 38, 39), a long series of questions designed to humble Job and expand his view of the Creator. After chapters of human debate about suffering and justice, God appears and asks Job where he was when the foundations of the earth were laid (Job 38:4). The questions then turn to the animal kingdom, moving from lions and ravens to mountain goats, hinds, wild donkeys, and oxen.
Mountain goats (yaʿelīm) and hinds (female deer) were untamed creatures living in remote rocky places. Their birthing happened far from human settlements, with no shepherd to assist. In ancient Israel, domestic animals like sheep and cattle were carefully managed during birth, a shepherd might pull a stuck lamb or clean a newborn. But these wild animals gave birth alone. The point is sharp: Job cannot even observe these events, let alone control them.
Do you know the time when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears fawns? Can you count the months that they fulfill? Or do you know the time when they give birth?
— Job 39:1, 2 (WEB)
The verb in verse 2, 'fulfill', suggests the animals complete a precise period of gestation that God has set. Humans cannot number those months; God alone marks the calendar of the wild. The verse that follows, Job 39:4, describes the young quickly growing strong and leaving, never to return. The whole sequence underlines how creation operates under God's authority, not human management.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant variants for Job 39:3. The Masoretic text is stable across Hebrew manuscripts for this verse. The key interpretive questions rest on semantics and context, not textual uncertainty.
Reception History
This verse has been read across Christian history as a testimony to God's providential care for all creatures, especially in the hidden moments of life. Matthew Henry, in his early 18th-century commentary, used it to draw comfort for believers: if God watches over the mountain goat in her labor, he surely watches over his children in theirs. Geneva Bible notes on the surrounding passage (though focused on the raven) reinforced a similar application, God provides even for creatures deemed unclean or despicable. In the Wesleyan tradition, John Wesley saw in these verses evidence that God's compassion extends to the lowest and most helpless. The verse also appears in discussions of natural theology, where the intricacy of animal birth is cited as evidence of divine design. More recently, the passage has been used in pastoral care for those facing prolonged suffering or hidden struggles, reminding them that God sees what no one else observes.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Hidden labor. The wild animals kneel and give birth with no human present. The Hebrew verb kāraʿ pictures them bowing low, a posture of surrender. God sees what no person watches.
- Unassisted delivery. The Piel form of pālaḥ, 'they cleave open', implies forceful, effective action. No midwife, no shepherd, no human skill is needed. God has built the process into creation itself.
- Cast-off pain. The 'sorrows' (whether afterbirth or the young) are released freely. The pain ends cleanly. God's care extends to the moment of relief, not just the moment of struggle.
Five-point outline
- The wildness of the witness. Mountain goats and hinds are untamable. They live where humans cannot go. Their very independence testifies to a Creator who sustains them without our help.
- The hidden calendar. God asks Job if he can count the months of gestation (v. 2). Job cannot. There are thousands of biological processes outside human knowledge.
- The crouch of birth. The kneeling posture is both a physical necessity and an image of humility. These creatures submit to the design God placed in them.
- The breaking through. The young 'cleave open' the womb, a violent, life-giving act. God ordains the breaking as well as the healing.
- The swift departure. Verse 4 shows the young growing strong and leaving, never to return. God provides for independence, not permanent dependency.
Illustration hooks
- A farmer who cannot help. A livestock owner watches a deer give birth at the edge of a field. She wants to assist but knows that interference will scare the doe. She stands still, trusting the animal's instincts, instincts placed there by God.
- A parent watching a child struggle. A mother sees her teenager fail at a task and longs to step in. She learns to let the child work through it, believing that God's care surrounds him even when she cannot control the outcome.
- A person in chronic pain. Someone suffering from a long illness reads this verse and notices that the 'sorrows' are cast off. The pain has an end, though they cannot see when. They hold onto the hope that God sees the whole process, not just the present ache.
Questions your congregation is asking
- If God cares for wild animals without human help, does that mean I shouldn't help others who are struggling?
- Why would God spend time describing mountain goats in a book about suffering? What has that got to do with my pain?
- Does modern biology, which explains animal birth in natural terms, remove God from the picture? Or does it deepen the wonder?
Leading a Discussion
This verse appears in God's speech to Job, a man who had lost everything and demanded answers. Instead of explaining why Job suffered, God points to the wild animals and their hidden births. The point is not that Job's questions are wrong, but that the world is larger than Job's suffering. The same God who oversees the mountain goat's labor also oversees Job's life, and ours.
Discussion questions
- Read Job 39:1, 4 aloud. What do you notice about the way God describes the birth process? Why do you think he uses such physical, vivid language?
- The Hebrew verbs in verse 3 are active and forceful, 'they kneel down, they cleave open, they send forth.' What does this energy tell you about how God views the natural world?
- The identity of the 'sorrows' in verse 3 is debated: afterbirth, the young themselves, or the pain. How does each interpretation affect what the verse says about God's care?
- In verse 4 the young leave and do not return. How does God's provision extend beyond the moment of birth into independence? Where do you see that pattern in your own life?
- Job could not watch these births or assist them. What areas of your life feel 'hidden', unseen by others and beyond your control? How does this passage speak to those areas?
- Some Christians read passages like this as evidence that God works through natural processes, not around them. Others emphasize miraculous intervention. How does this verse support both perspectives?
- If you were Job, hearing God describe the birth of mountain goats, how would you respond? Would you feel comforted, challenged, or something else?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that the creatures mentioned in Job 39:3 bow to give birth and cast out chebleyhem which is the placenta or afterbirth. This shows they follow a natural pattern of reproduction.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes highlights the contrast between domesticated flocks, which require a shepherd's attention at birth, and wild animals, which give birth alone in the wilderness under God's direct and invisible care. This shows God's tender oversight over his creatures at their most vulnerable moment, completely apart from human observation or help.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Some read the phrase as meaning the animals get rid of their pain when their young are born. Others understand it as referring to the young themselves. Both views come from a pattern used often in poetry.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note highlights that God provides food for the raven, a creature considered unclean under the law, when its young cry out helplessly. This detail underscores that God's providential care extends to all his creatures, even those humans might overlook or despise, teaching that no one is beyond his provision.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill observes that hinds experience great difficulty giving birth and that nature provides specific aids, including thunder and a particular herb, to ease their labor. He notes the precise Hebrew meaning of "cast out their sorrows" as referring either to the young themselves or the afterbirth, which the hind then eats. This detailed observation highlights the creature's remarkable birth struggle.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
Christians who hold this view understand that the creatures in Job 39:3 suffer because their young push their way out of their bodies. They see these pains as resulting from the birth of their offspring. This gives hope that even in suffering there is a reason rooted in creation.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch note that God knows the exact time when these animals give birth. He also directs their lives so they grow strong and leave home to live on their own.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange notes that God’s display of power through the storm and various creatures serves both to confirm Job’s earlier words about God’s greatness and to force him to give up any criticism of God’s ways. This experience leads Job to submit in complete humility.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes that humans do not know when wild animals give birth or how many months pass between births. He says these creatures are cared for by God even as each one is fed.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley highlights the contrast between noble and contemptible creatures to show God's care extends to both. He points out that young ravens are abandoned so early that only God's special provision keeps them alive, reasoning that if God provides for such helpless birds, He will surely provide for His own children.