Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Animals » Instincts of
They return at evening, they howl and snarl like dogs,
And go [prowling] around the city.
“As an eagle that protects its nest,
That flutters over its young,
He spread out His wings and took them,
He carried them on His pinions.
Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth
And makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?’
Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider her ways and be wise! -- " Which, having no chief, overseer, or ruler, Provides her food in the summer and gathers her supplies in the harvest.
The ants are a people not strong, yet they lay up their food in the summer; The conies are but a feeble folk, yet they make their houses in the rocks; The locusts have no king, yet they go forth all of them by bands; read more.
The lizard you can seize with your hands, yet it is in kings' palaces.
The lizard you can seize with your hands, yet it is in kings' palaces.
“Even the stork in the sky
Knows her seasons [of migration],
And the turtledove, the swallow and the crane
Observe the time of their return.
But My people do not know
The law of the Lord.
Birds » Called » Fowls of heaven
Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth
And makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?’
Birds » Instinct of, inferior to man's reason
Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth
And makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?’
Man » Wiser than other creatures
Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth
And makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?’
Religion » Natural
yet He did not leave Himself without some witness [as evidence of Himself], in that He kept constantly doing good things and showing you kindness, and giving you rains from heaven and productive seasons, filling your hearts with food and happiness.”
For ask now the animals, and they will teach you [that God does not deal with His creatures according to their character]; ask the birds of the air, and they will tell you; Or speak to the earth [with its other forms of life], and it will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare [this truth] to you. Who [is so blind as] not to recognize in all these [that good and evil are promiscuously scattered throughout nature and human life] that it is God's hand which does it [and God's way]? read more.
In His hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind. Is it not the task of the ear to discriminate between [wise and unwise] words, just as the mouth distinguishes [between desirable and undesirable] food? With the aged [you say] is wisdom, and with length of days comes understanding. But [only] with [God] are [perfect] wisdom and might; He [alone] has [true] counsel and understanding. Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be built again; He shuts a man in, and none can open. He withholds the waters, and the land dries up; again, He sends forth [rains], and they overwhelm the land or transform it. With Him are might and wisdom; the deceived and the deceiver are His [and in His power].
In His hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind. Is it not the task of the ear to discriminate between [wise and unwise] words, just as the mouth distinguishes [between desirable and undesirable] food? With the aged [you say] is wisdom, and with length of days comes understanding. But [only] with [God] are [perfect] wisdom and might; He [alone] has [true] counsel and understanding. Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be built again; He shuts a man in, and none can open. He withholds the waters, and the land dries up; again, He sends forth [rains], and they overwhelm the land or transform it. With Him are might and wisdom; the deceived and the deceiver are His [and in His power].
But no one says, Where is God my Maker, Who gives songs of rejoicing in the night, Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens? [The people] cry out because of the pride of evil men, but He does not answer.
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows and proclaims His handiwork. Day after day pours forth speech, and night after night shows forth knowledge. There is no speech nor spoken word [from the stars]; their voice is not heard. read more.
Yet their voice [in evidence] goes out through all the earth, their sayings to the end of the world. Of the heavens has God made a tent for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; and it rejoices as a strong man to run his course. Its going forth is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the ends of it; and nothing [yes, no one] is hidden from the heat of it.
Yet their voice [in evidence] goes out through all the earth, their sayings to the end of the world. Of the heavens has God made a tent for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; and it rejoices as a strong man to run his course. Its going forth is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the ends of it; and nothing [yes, no one] is hidden from the heat of it.
For as I passed along and carefully observed your objects of worship, I came also upon an altar with this inscription, To the unknown god. Now what you are already worshiping as unknown, this I set forth to you. The God Who produced and formed the world and all things in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in handmade shrines. Neither is He served by human hands, as though He lacked anything, for it is He Himself Who gives life and breath and all things to all [people]. read more.
And He made from one [common origin, one source, one blood] all nations of men to settle on the face of the earth, having definitely determined [their] allotted periods of time and the fixed boundaries of their habitation (their settlements, lands, and abodes), So that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after Him and find Him, although He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being; as even some of your [own] poets have said, For we are also His offspring.
And He made from one [common origin, one source, one blood] all nations of men to settle on the face of the earth, having definitely determined [their] allotted periods of time and the fixed boundaries of their habitation (their settlements, lands, and abodes), So that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after Him and find Him, although He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being; as even some of your [own] poets have said, For we are also His offspring.
For God's [holy] wrath and indignation are revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who in their wickedness repress and hinder the truth and make it inoperative. For that which is known about God is evident to them and made plain in their inner consciousness, because God [Himself] has shown it to them. For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks). So [men] are without excuse [altogether without any defense or justification],
But they have not all heeded the Gospel; for Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed (had faith in) what he has heard from us? So faith comes by hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the preaching [of the message that came from the lips] of Christ (the Messiah Himself). But I ask, Have they not heard? Indeed they have; [for the Scripture says] Their voice [that of nature bearing God's message] has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the far bounds of the world.