37 Bible Verses about Animals, religious role of

I will gather up man and beast: I will gather up the fowls in the air and the fish in the sea, to the great decay of the wicked: and will utterly destroy the men out of the land, sayeth the LORD.

And said, "I will destroy mankind which I have made, from off the face of the earth: both man, beast, worm and fowl of the air, for it repenteth me that I have made them."

And the LORD called Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of witness, saying, "Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, 'Whosoever of you shall bring a gift unto the LORD, shall bring it of the cattle: even of the oxen and of the sheep.

I will offer unto thee fat burnt-sacrifices with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks and goats. Selah.

And Noah made an altar unto the LORD, and took of all manner of clean beasts and all manner of clean fowls, and offered sacrifice upon the altar.

If any man bring a peace offering of the oxen: whether it be male or female, he shall bring such as is without blemish, before the LORD,

All the oxen that were brought for the burnt offerings were twelve and the rams twelve and the lambs twelve of a year old apiece, with the meat offerings: with he goats for sin offerings. And all the oxen of the peace offerings were twenty four, the rams sixty, the goats sixty, and lambs of a year old apiece sixty and this was the dedication of the altar, after that it was anointed.

Thou shalt therefore offer Passover unto the LORD thy God, and sheep and oxen in the place which the LORD shall choose to make his name dwell there.

If ye offer the blind, is not that evil? And if ye offer the lame and sick, is not that evil? Yea offer it unto thy prince: shall he be content with thee, or accept thy person, sayeth the LORD of Hosts?

Thou shalt not offer unto the LORD that which hath his stones bruised, broken, plucked out or cut away, neither shalt make any such in your land, neither of a stranger's hand shall ye offer an offering to your God of any such. For they mar all in that they have deformities in them, and therefore cannot be accepted for you.'"

If there be any deformity therein, whether it be lame or blind or whatsoever evil favouredness it hath, thou shalt not offer it unto the LORD thy God:

Now say ye, 'It is but labour and travail,' and thus have ye thought scorn at it, sayeth the LORD of Hosts; offering robbery, yea the lame and the sick. Ye have brought me in a meat offering? Should I accept it of your hand? sayeth the LORD. Cursed be the dissembler, which hath in his flock one that is male, and when he maketh a vow, offereth a spotted one unto the LORD. For I am a great King, sayeth the LORD of Hosts, and my name is fearful among the Heathen.

that ye should put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and them that are clean. Make not your souls therefore abominable with beasts and fowls, and with all manner thing that creepeth upon the ground, which I have separated unto you to hold them unclean. Be holy unto me, for I the LORD am holy and have severed you from other nations: that ye should be mine.

Ye shall be holy people unto me, and therefore shall ye eat no flesh that is torn of beasts in the field. But shall cast it to dogs."

Of a beast that dieth alone or is rent with wild beasts, he shall not eat, to defile himself therewith: I am the LORD.

Notwithstanding, thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy cities, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee both the unclean and the clean mayest thou eat, even as the roe and the hart: only eat not the blood, but pour it upon the earth as water.

Then said I, "O LORD God: Behold, my soul was yet never stained, for from my youth up to this hour. I did never eat of a dead carcass, or that which was slain of wild beasts, neither came there ever any unclean flesh in my mouth."

On the morrow as they went on their journey and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went upon the top of the house to pray, about the sixth hour. Then waxed he a hungered, and would have eaten. But while they made ready for him, he fell into a trance, and saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel come down unto him, as it had been a great sheet, knit at the four corners, and was let down to the earth,read more.
wherein were all manner of four footed beasts of the earth and vermin and worms, and fouls of the air. And there came a voice to him, "Rise, Peter. Kill and eat." But Peter said, "God forbid Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean."

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, "Sanctify unto me all the firstborn that open all manner matrices among the children of Israel, as well of men as of beasts: for they are mine."

"'If it be of the beasts of which men bring an offering unto the LORD: all that any man giveth of such unto the LORD, shall be holy. He may not alter it nor change it: a good for a bad or a bad for good. If he change beast for beast, then both the same beast and it also wherewith it was changed shall be holy. If it be any manner of unclean beast of which men may not offer unto the LORD, let him bring the beast before the priestread more.
and let the priest value it. And whether it be good or bad as the priest setteth it, so shall it be. And if he will buy it again, let him give the fifth part more to that it was set at.

All that breaketh the matrix of all flesh that men bring unto the LORD, both of man and beast, shall be thine. Neverthelater, the firstborn of man shall be redeemed, and the firstborn of unclean beasts shall be redeemed.

"If a man open a well or dig a pit and cover it not, but that an ox or an ass fall therein, the owner of the pit shall make it good and give money unto their master, and the dead beast shall be his. If one man's ox hurt another's that he die: then they shall sell the live ox and divide the money, and the dead ox also they shall divide.read more.
But and if it be known that the ox hath used to push in time's past, then because his master hath not kept him, he shall pay ox for ox, and the dead shall be his own."

but he that killeth a beast shall pay for it, beast for beast. If a man maim his neighbour, as he hath done, so shall it be done to him again: broke for broke, eye for eye and tooth for tooth: even as he hath maimed a man, so shall he be maimed again.read more.
So now he that killeth a beast shall pay for it: but he that killeth a man, shall die for it.

Whosoever lieth with a beast, shall be slain for it.

"'Keep mine ordinances. Let none of thy cattle gender with a contrary kind, neither sow thy field with mingled seed, neither shalt thou put on any garment of linen and woollen.

If any beast of which ye eat die, he that toucheth the dead carcass shall be unclean until the evening.

And the LORD said unto Moses, "Stretch forth thine hand unto heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt: upon man and beast, and upon all the herbs of the field in the field of Egypt." And Moses stretched out his rod unto heaven, and the LORD thundered and hailed, so that the fire ran along upon the ground. And the LORD so hailed in the land of Egypt that there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, so grievous that there was none such in all the land of Egypt, since people inhabited it.read more.
And the hail smote in the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast. And the hail smote all the herbs of the field and broke all the trees of the field:

He smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and of beast.

"Upon the mountains will I take up a lamentation and sorrowful cry, and a mourning upon the fair plains of the wilderness: Namely, how they are so burnt up, that no man goeth there any more. Yea, a man shall not hear one beast cry there. Birds and cattle are all gone from thence.

Moreover, thus sayeth the LORD God: Because that Edom hath avenged and eased himself upon the house of Judah, therefore thus sayeth the LORD: I will reach out mine hand upon Edom, and take away man and beast out of it. From Teman unto Dedan will I make it desolate; they shall be slain with the sword.

O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath consumed the goodly pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burnt up all the trees of the field. Yea, the wild beasts cry also unto thee: for the water rivers are dried up, and the fire hath consumed the pastures of the wilderness.

For the wrong that thou hast done in Lebanon shall overwhelm thee, and the wild beasts shall make thee afraid: because of men's blood, and for the wrong done in the land, in the city, and to all such as dwell therein.

And so shall this plague go over horses, mules, camels, asses, and all the beasts that shall be in the host, like as yonder plague was.

And if ye walk contrary unto me and will not hearken unto me, I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins. I will send in wild beasts upon you, which shall rob you of your children and destroy your cattle, and make you so few in number that your highways shall grow unto a wilderness.

Say thou these words unto them, 'Thus sayeth the LORD God: As truly as I live, all ye that dwell in this wilderness, shall be slain with the sword. Whatsoever is upon the field, will I give unto the beasts to be devoured: those that be in strongholds and dens, shall die of the pestilence.

While these words were yet in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, "O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee be it spoken, 'Thy kingdom is departed from thee. Thou shalt be cast out of men's company: thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, so that thou shalt eat grass like as an ox, till seven years be come and gone over thee: even until thou knowest, that the highest hath power upon the kingdoms of men, and that he may give them, unto whom it pleaseth him.'"

I will destroy her vineyards and fig trees, though she sayeth, 'Lo, here are my rewards, that my lovers have given me.' I will make it a wood, and the wild beasts shall eat it up.