12 Bible Verses about Animals, Care For
Most Relevant Verses
Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, “Now behold, I am establishing My covenant (binding agreement, solemn promise) with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that is with you—the birds, the livestock, and the wild animals of the earth along with you, of everything that comes out of the ark—every living creature of the earth.
And God remembered and thought kindly of Noah and every living thing and all the animals that were with him in the ark; and God made a wind blow over the land, and the waters receded.
But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing that belongs to the Israelites will die.”’” The Lord set a [definite] time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.” And the Lord did this thing the next day, and all [kinds of] the livestock of Egypt died; but of the livestock of the Israelites, not one died.
For thus says the Lord, ‘You will not see wind or rain, yet that valley will be filled with water, so you and your cattle and your other animals may drink.
“For you will be in harmony with the stones of the field,
And the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.
“Can you [Job] hunt the prey for the lion,
Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions
When they crouch in their dens
And lie in wait in their lair?
“Who provides prey for the raven
When its young cry to God
And wander about without food?
“Do you know the time when the wild goats of the rock give birth [to their young]?
Do you observe the calving of the deer?
“Can you count the months that they carry offspring,
Or do you know the time when they give birth?
“They kneel down, they bring forth their young,
They cast out their labor pains.
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“Their young ones become strong, they grow up in the open field;
They leave and do not return to them.
“Who sent out the wild donkey free [from dependence on man]?
And who has loosed the bonds of the wild donkey [to survive in the wild],
To whom I gave the wilderness as his home
And the salt land as his dwelling place?
“He scorns the tumult of the city,
And does not hear the shouting of the taskmaster.
“He explores the mountains as his pasture
And searches after every green thing.
“Will the wild ox be willing to serve you,
Or remain beside your manger at night?
“Can you bind the wild ox with a harness [to the plow] in the furrow?
Or will he plow the valleys for you?
“Will you trust him because his strength is great
And leave your labor to him?
“Will you have faith and depend on him to return your grain
And gather it from your threshing floor?
“The [flightless] wings of the ostrich wave joyously;
With the pinion (shackles, fetters) and plumage of love,
For she leaves her eggs on the ground
And warms them in the dust,
Forgetting that a foot may crush them,
Or that the wild beast may trample them.
“She treats her young cruelly, as if they were not hers;
Though her labor is in vain because she is unconcerned [for the safety of her brood],
For God has made her forget wisdom,
And has not given her a share of understanding.
“Yet when she lifts herself on high,
[So swift is she that] she laughs at the horse and his rider.
“Have you given the horse his might?
Have you clothed his neck with quivering and a shaking mane?
“Have you [Job] made him leap like a locust?
The majesty of his snorting [nostrils] is terrible.
“He paws in the valley and rejoices in his strength;
He goes out to meet the weapons [of armed men].
“He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
And [in battle] he does not turn back from the sword.
“The quiver rattles against him,
[As do] the flashing spear and the lance [of his rider].
“With fierceness and rage he races to devour the ground,
And he does not stand still at the sound of the [war] trumpet.
“As often as the trumpet sounds he says, ‘Aha!’
And he smells the battle from far away,
And senses the thunder of the captains and the war cry.
“Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars,
Stretching his wings toward the south [as winter approaches]?
“Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up
And makes his nest on high [in an inaccessible place]?
“On the cliff he dwells and remains [securely],
Upon the point of the rock and the inaccessible stronghold.
“From there he spies out the prey;
His eyes see it from far away.
“His young ones suck up blood;
And where the slain are, there is he.”
You [O Lord] make darkness and it becomes night,
In which prowls about every wild beast of the forest.
The young lions roar after their prey
And seek their food from God.
A righteous man has kind regard for the life of his animal,
But even the compassion of the wicked is cruel.
Do not be afraid, you animals of the field,
For the pastures of the wilderness have turned green;
The tree has produced its fruit,
And the fig tree and the vine have yielded in full.
Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 [innocent] persons, who do not know the difference between their right and left hand [and are not yet accountable for sin], as well as many [blameless] animals?”
