71 Bible Verses about Animals

But Abel brought some of the firstborn of his flock -- even the fattest of them. And the Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering,

Let me walk among all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, and the spotted or speckled goats. These animals will be my wages.

You must give them the best of your grain, new wine, and olive oil, as well as the best of your wool when you shear your flocks.

butter from the herd and milk from the flock, along with the fat of lambs, rams and goats of Bashan, along with the best of the kernels of wheat; and from the juice of grapes you drank wine.

King Solomon sacrificed 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep. Then the king and all the people dedicated God's temple.

For the music director; a well-written song by the Korahites. As a deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God!

the ibex, the gazelle, the deer, the wild goat, the antelope, the wild oryx, and the mountain sheep.

The three sons of Zeruiah were there -- Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. (Now Asahel was as quick on his feet as one of the gazelles in the field.)

He gives me the agility of a deer; he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain.

Some of the Gadites joined David at the stronghold in the desert. They were warriors who were trained for battle; they carried shields and spears. They were as fierce as lions and could run as quickly as gazelles across the hills.

And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are too, and they will be tormented there day and night forever and ever.

The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures threw themselves to the ground and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne, saying: "Amen! Hallelujah!"

And all the angels stood there in a circle around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground before the throne and worshiped God,

This is a message about the animals in the Negev: Through a land of distress and danger, inhabited by lionesses and roaring lions, by snakes and darting adders, they transport their wealth on the backs of donkeys, their riches on the humps of camels, to a nation that cannot help them.

"Then I kept on watching because of the arrogant words of the horn that was speaking. I was watching until the beast was killed and its body destroyed and thrown into the flaming fire.

When they invaded with their cattle and tents, they were as thick as locusts. Neither they nor their camels could be counted. They came to devour the land.

His possessions included 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys; in addition he had a very great household. Thus he was the greatest of all the people in the east.

and he did treat Abram well on account of her. Abram received sheep and cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

In this way Jacob became extremely prosperous. He owned large flocks, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys.

However, you must not eat these from among those that chew the cud and have divided hooves: The camel is unclean to you because it chews the cud even though its hoof is not divided.

You are to kill the bull before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting

Every day you are to prepare a bull for a purification offering for atonement. You are to purge the altar by making atonement for it, and you are to anoint it to set it apart as holy.

He must bring the bull to the entrance of the Meeting Tent before the Lord, lay his hand on the head of the bull, and slaughter the bull before the Lord.

And when you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or a sacrifice for discharging a vow or as a peace offering to the Lord,

He arranged the wood, cut up the bull, and placed it on the wood.

Of Dan he said: Dan is a lion's cub; he will leap forth from Bashan.

On the seventh day, before the sun set, the men of the city said to him, "What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?" He said to them, "If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have solved my riddle!"

If that happens even the bravest soldier -- one who is lion-hearted -- will virtually melt away. For all Israel knows that your father is a warrior and that those who are with him are brave.

If I lift myself up, you hunt me as a fierce lion, and again you display your power against me.

He is like a lion that wants to tear its prey to bits, like a young lion crouching in hidden places.

God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the cattle according to their kinds, and all the creatures that creep along the ground according to their kinds. God saw that it was good.

He took away all the livestock he had acquired in Paddan Aram and all his moveable property that he had accumulated. Then he set out toward the land of Canaan to return to his father Isaac.

But the Lord will distinguish between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, and nothing will die of all that the Israelites have."'"

but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or the resident foreigner who is in your gates.

Now the Reubenites and the Gadites possessed a very large number of cattle. When they saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were ideal for cattle,

You must never bring the pay of a female prostitute or the wage of a male prostitute into the temple of the Lord your God in fulfillment of any vow, for both of these are abhorrent to the Lord your God.

Dogs will eat the members of your family who die in the city, and the birds of the sky will eat the ones who die in the country."' Indeed, the Lord has announced it!

They washed off the chariot at the pool of Samaria (this was where the prostitutes bathed); dogs licked his blood, just as the Lord had said would happen.

They return in the evening; they growl like a dog and prowl around outside the city.

Like one who grabs a wild dog by the ears, so is the person passing by who becomes furious over a quarrel not his own.

For it is written in the law of Moses, "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." God is not concerned here about oxen, is he?

Look at the birds in the sky: They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you more valuable than they are?

Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn, yet God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than the birds!

You must not muzzle your ox when it is treading grain.

"Look! I now confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you and with every living creature that is with you, including the birds, the domestic animals, and every living creature of the earth with you, all those that came out of the ark with you -- every living creature of the earth.

You must not plow with an ox and a donkey harnessed together.

Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took two of his young servants with him, along with his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he started out for the place God had spoken to him about.

Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?"

You who ride on light-colored female donkeys, who sit on saddle blankets, you who walk on the road, pay attention!

He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys and possessed thirty cities. To this day these towns are called Havvoth Jair -- they are in the land of Gilead.

You will subdue a lion and a snake; you will trample underfoot a young lion and a serpent.

Their wine is snakes' poison, the deadly venom of cobras.

Her fortresses will be overgrown with thorns; thickets and weeds will grow in her fortified cities. Jackals will settle there; ostriches will live there.

The Lord said, "I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins. Jackals will make their home there. I will destroy the towns of Judah so that no one will be able to live in them."

Babylon will become a heap of ruins. Jackals will make their home there. It will become an object of horror and of hissing scorn, a place where no one lives.

The pig is unclean to you because its hoof is divided (the hoof is completely split in two), even though it does not chew the cud.

They sit among the tombs and keep watch all night long. They eat pork, and broth from unclean sacrificial meat is in their pans.

"As for those who consecrate and ritually purify themselves so they can follow their leader and worship in the sacred orchards, those who eat the flesh of pigs and other disgusting creatures, like mice -- they will all be destroyed together," says the Lord.

Do not give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before pigs; otherwise they will trample them under their feet and turn around and tear you to pieces.

A large herd of pigs was feeding some distance from them.

You must not muzzle your ox when it is treading grain.

You must not plow with an ox and a donkey harnessed together.

but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or the resident foreigner who is in your gates.

"If an ox gores a man or a woman so that either dies, then the ox must surely be stoned and its flesh must not be eaten, but the owner of the ox will be acquitted. But if the ox had the habit of goring, and its owner was warned, and he did not take the necessary precautions, and then it killed a man or a woman, the ox must be stoned and the man must be put to death. If a ransom is set for him, then he must pay the redemption for his life according to whatever amount was set for him. read more.
If the ox gores a son or a daughter, the owner will be dealt with according to this rule. If the ox gores a male servant or a female servant, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver, and the ox must be stoned. "If a man opens a pit or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, the owner of the pit must repay the loss. He must give money to its owner, and the dead animal will become his. If the ox of one man injures the ox of his neighbor so that it dies, then they will sell the live ox and divide its proceeds, and they will also divide the dead ox. Or if it is known that the ox had the habit of goring, and its owner did not take the necessary precautions, he must surely pay ox for ox, and the dead animal will become his.

"If a man steals an ox or a sheep and kills it or sells it, he must pay back five head of cattle for the ox, and four sheep for the one sheep. "If a thief is caught breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there will be no blood guilt for him. If the sun has risen on him, then there is blood guilt for him. A thief must surely make full restitution; if he has nothing, then he will be sold for his theft. read more.
If the stolen item should in fact be found alive in his possession, whether it be an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he must pay back double.

Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, come with me from Lebanon. Descend from the crest of Amana, from the top of Senir, the summit of Hermon, from the lions' dens and the mountain haunts of the leopards.

A wolf will reside with a lamb, and a leopard will lie down with a young goat; an ox and a young lion will graze together, as a small child leads them along.

So like a lion from the thicket their enemies will kill them. Like a wolf from the desert they will destroy them. Like a leopard they will lie in wait outside their cities and totally destroy anyone who ventures out. For they have rebelled so much and done so many unfaithful things.

But there is little hope for you ever doing good, you who are so accustomed to doing evil. Can an Ethiopian change the color of his skin? Can a leopard remove its spots?

So I will pounce on them like a lion; like a leopard I will lurk by the path.

David replied to Saul, "Your servant has been a shepherd for his father's flock. Whenever a lion or bear would come and carry off a sheep from the flock,

Hushai went on to say, "You know your father and his men -- they are soldiers and are as dangerous as a bear out in the wild that has been robbed of her cubs. Your father is an experienced soldier; he will not stay overnight with the army.

When he turned around and saw them, he called God's judgment down on them. Two female bears came out of the woods and ripped forty-two of the boys to pieces.

It is better for a person to meet a mother bear being robbed of her cubs, than to encounter a fool in his folly.

Like a roaring lion or a roving bear, so is a wicked ruler over a poor people.

They return in the evening; they growl like a dog and prowl around outside the city.

Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that hovers over its young, so the Lord spread out his wings and took him, he lifted him up on his pinions.

who teaches us more than the wild animals of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?'

Go to the ant, you sluggard; observe its ways and be wise! It has no commander, overseer, or ruler, yet it prepares its food in the summer; it gathers at the harvest what it will eat.

ants are creatures with little strength, but they prepare their food in the summer; rock badgers are creatures with little power, but they make their homes in the crags; locusts have no king, but they all go forward by ranks; read more.
a lizard you can catch with the hand, but it gets into the palaces of the king.

Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead, those who rely on war horses, and trust in Egypt's many chariots and in their many, many horsemen. But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel and do not seek help from the Lord.

Moreover, he must not accumulate horses for himself or allow the people to return to Egypt to do so, for the Lord has said you must never again return that way.

He removed from the entrance to the Lord's temple the statues of horses that the kings of Judah had placed there in honor of the sun god. (They were kept near the room of Nathan Melech the eunuch, which was situated among the courtyards.) He burned up the chariots devoted to the sun god.

"Do you give the horse its strength? Do you clothe its neck with a mane?

Do not be like an unintelligent horse or mule, which will not obey you unless they are controlled by a bridle and bit.

The Lord said to him, "Take for me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon."

He must lay his hand on the head of the male goat and slaughter it in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered before the Lord -- it is a sin offering.

"He must then slaughter the sin offering goat which is for the people. He is to bring its blood inside the veil-canopy, and he is to do with its blood just as he did to the blood of the bull: He is to sprinkle it on the atonement plate and in front of the atonement plate.

Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to the Lord. The Lord's messenger did an amazing thing as Manoah and his wife watched.

Finally they brought the goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and they placed their hands on them.

The Lord's shout bends the large trees and strips the leaves from the forests. Everyone in his temple says, "Majestic!"

"But now, ask the animals and they will teach you, or the birds of the sky and they will tell you. Or speak to the earth and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea declare to you.

The wild animals go to their lairs, and in their dens they remain.

For the hills bring it food, where all the wild animals play.

You make it dark and night comes, during which all the beasts of the forest prowl around. The lions roar for prey, seeking their food from God. When the sun rises, they withdraw and sleep in their dens. read more.
Men then go out to do their work, and labor away until evening. How many living things you have made, O Lord! You have exhibited great skill in making all of them; the earth is full of the living things you have made. Over here is the deep, wide sea, which teems with innumerable swimming creatures, living things both small and large.

Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was close by, said, "If even a fox were to climb up on what they are building, it would break down their wall of stones!"

Samson went and captured three hundred jackals and got some torches. He tied the jackals in pairs by their tails and then tied a torch to each pair.

Each one will be handed over to the sword; their corpses will be eaten by jackals.

The Beloved to Her Lover: Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes, that ruin the vineyards -- for our vineyard is in bloom.

Jesus said to him, "Foxes have dens, and the birds in the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

The first lamb you are to prepare in the morning, and the second lamb you are to prepare around sundown.

If he presents a sheep as his offering, he must present it before the Lord.

"'But if he brings a sheep as his offering, for a sin offering, he must bring a flawless female.

and he must bring his penalty for guilt to the Lord for his sin that he has committed, a female from the flock, whether a female sheep or a female goat, for a sin offering. So the priest will make atonement on his behalf for his sin.

He must rededicate to the Lord the days of his separation and bring a male lamb in its first year as a reparation offering, but the former days will not be counted because his separation was defiled.

So Absalom's servants did to Amnon exactly what Absalom had instructed. Then all the king's sons got up; each one rode away on his mule and fled.

Then Absalom happened to come across David's men. Now as Absalom was riding on his mule, it went under the branches of a large oak tree. His head got caught in the oak and he was suspended in midair, while the mule he had been riding kept going.

Do not be like an unintelligent horse or mule, which will not obey you unless they are controlled by a bridle and bit.

and he told them, "Take your master's servants with you, put my son Solomon on my mule, and lead him down to Gihon.

This is the kind of plague that will devastate horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the other animals in those camps.

The Lord said to him, "Take for me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon."

Abraham looked up and saw behind him a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.

"You are to take one ram, and Aaron and his sons are to lay their hands on the ram's head,

"When a person commits a trespass and sins by straying unintentionally from the regulations about the Lord's holy things, then he must bring his penalty for guilt to the Lord, a flawless ram from the flock, convertible into silver shekels according to the standard of the sanctuary shekel, for a guilt offering.

But if the individual has no close relative to whom reparation can be made for the wrong, the reparation for the wrong must be paid to the Lord for the priest, in addition to the ram of atonement by which atonement is made for him.

He was in the wilderness forty days, enduring temptations from Satan. He was with wild animals, and angels were ministering to his needs.

The wild animals go to their lairs, and in their dens they remain.

You make it dark and night comes, during which all the beasts of the forest prowl around. The lions roar for prey, seeking their food from God. When the sun rises, they withdraw and sleep in their dens. read more.
Men then go out to do their work, and labor away until evening. How many living things you have made, O Lord! You have exhibited great skill in making all of them; the earth is full of the living things you have made. Over here is the deep, wide sea, which teems with innumerable swimming creatures, living things both small and large.

Wild animals and wild dogs will congregate there; wild goats will bleat to one another. Yes, nocturnal animals will rest there and make for themselves a nest.

Like wild donkeys in the desert they go out to their labor, seeking diligently for food; the wasteland provides food for them and for their children.

God brought them out of Egypt. They have, as it were, the strength of a wild bull.

May the firstborn of his bull bring him honor, and may his horns be those of a wild ox; with them may he gore all peoples, all the far reaches of the earth. They are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.

Is the wild ox willing to be your servant? Will it spend the night at your feeding trough?

He makes Lebanon skip like a calf and Sirion like a young ox.

Wild oxen will be slaughtered along with them, as well as strong bulls. Their land is drenched with blood, their soil is covered with fat.

I will send the wild animals against you and they will bereave you of your children, annihilate your cattle, and diminish your population so that your roads will become deserted.

So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and they bit the people; many people of Israel died. Then the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord that he would take away the snakes from us." So Moses prayed for the people.

and who brought you through the great, fearful desert of venomous serpents and scorpions, an arid place with no water. He made water flow from a flint rock and

Your carcasses will be food for every bird of the sky and wild animal of the earth, and there will be no one to chase them off.

I will send famine and wild beasts against you and they will take your children from you. Plague and bloodshed will overwhelm you, and I will bring a sword against you. I, the Lord, have spoken!"

Noah built an altar to the Lord. He then took some of every kind of clean animal and clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

When a person touches anything unclean (whether human uncleanness, or an unclean animal, or an unclean detestable creature) and eats some of the meat of the peace offering sacrifice which belongs to the Lord, that person will be cut off from his people.'"

Therefore you must distinguish between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean, and you must not make yourselves detestable by means of an animal or bird or anything that creeps on the ground -- creatures I have distinguished for you as unclean.

You must not eat any forbidden thing. These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, the ibex, the gazelle, the deer, the wild goat, the antelope, the wild oryx, and the mountain sheep. read more.
You may eat any animal that has hooves divided into two parts and that chews the cud. However, you may not eat the following animals among those that chew the cud or those that have divided hooves: the camel, the hare, and the rock badger. (Although they chew the cud, they do not have divided hooves and are therefore ritually impure to you). Also the pig is ritually impure to you; though it has divided hooves, it does not chew the cud. You may not eat their meat or even touch their remains. These you may eat from among water creatures: anything with fins and scales you may eat, but whatever does not have fins and scales you may not eat; it is ritually impure to you. All ritually clean birds you may eat. These are the ones you may not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, the kite, the black kite, the dayyah after its species, every raven after its species, the ostrich, the owl, the seagull, the falcon after its species, the little owl, the long-eared owl, the white owl, the jackdaw, the carrion vulture, the cormorant, the stork, the heron after its species, the hoopoe, the bat, and any winged thing on the ground are impure to you -- they may not be eaten. You may eat any clean bird.

He saw heaven opened and an object something like a large sheet descending, being let down to earth by its four corners. In it were all kinds of four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth and wild birds. Then a voice said to him, "Get up, Peter; slaughter and eat!" read more.
But Peter said, "Certainly not, Lord, for I have never eaten anything defiled and ritually unclean!" The voice spoke to him again, a second time, "What God has made clean, you must not consider ritually unclean!"

What the gazam-locust left the 'arbeh-locust consumed, what the 'arbeh-locust left the yeleq-locust consumed, and what the yeleq-locust left the hasil-locust consumed!

I sent terror ahead of you to drive out before you the two Amorite kings. I gave you the victory; it was not by your swords or bows.

So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and they bit the people; many people of Israel died.

Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?"

The Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, in order to display these signs of mine before him, and in order that in the hearing of your son and your grandson you may tell how I made fools of the Egyptians and about my signs that I displayed among them, so that you may know that I am the Lord." So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh and told him, "Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: 'How long do you refuse to humble yourself before me? Release my people so that they may serve me! read more.
But if you refuse to release my people, I am going to bring locusts into your territory tomorrow. They will cover the surface of the earth, so that you will be unable to see the ground. They will eat the remainder of what escaped -- what is left over for you -- from the hail, and they will eat every tree that grows for you from the field. They will fill your houses, the houses of your servants, and all the houses of Egypt, such as neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen since they have been in the land until this day!'" Then Moses turned and went out from Pharaoh. Pharaoh's servants said to him, "How long will this man be a menace to us? Release the people so that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not know that Egypt is destroyed?" So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, "Go, serve the Lord your God. Exactly who is going with you?" Moses said, "We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, and with our sheep and our cattle we will go, because we are to hold a pilgrim feast for the Lord." He said to them, "The Lord will need to be with you if I release you and your dependents! Watch out! Trouble is right in front of you! No! Go, you men only, and serve the Lord, for that is what you want." Then Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh's presence. The Lord said to Moses, "Extend your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up over the land of Egypt and eat everything that grows in the ground, everything that the hail has left." So Moses extended his staff over the land of Egypt, and then the Lord brought an east wind on the land all that day and all night. The morning came, and the east wind had brought up the locusts! The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and settled down in all the territory of Egypt. It was very severe; there had been no locusts like them before, nor will there be such ever again. They covered the surface of all the ground, so that the ground became dark with them, and they ate all the vegetation of the ground and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green remained on the trees or on anything that grew in the fields throughout the whole land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you! So now, forgive my sin this time only, and pray to the Lord your God that he would only take this death away from me." Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord, and the Lord turned a very strong west wind, and it picked up the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. Not one locust remained in all the territory of Egypt. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not release the Israelites.

When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she crouched down under Balaam. Then Balaam was angry, and he beat his donkey with a staff.

A righteous person cares for the life of his animal, but even the most compassionate acts of the wicked are cruel.

David seized from him 1,700 charioteers and 20,000 infantrymen. David cut the hamstrings of all but a hundred of the chariot horses.

David seized from him 1,000 chariots, 7,000 charioteers, and 20,000 infantrymen. David cut the hamstrings of all but a hundred of Hadadezer's chariot horses.

For every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and sea creature is subdued and has been subdued by humankind.

Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness, so they may rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move on the earth."

Every living creature of the earth and every bird of the sky will be terrified of you. Everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea are under your authority.

you appoint them to rule over your creation; you have placed everything under their authority,

You put all things under his control." For when he put all things under his control, he left nothing outside of his control. At present we do not yet see all things under his control,

The Lord said to him, "Take for me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon."

"This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord has commanded: 'Instruct the Israelites to bring you a red heifer without blemish, which has no defect and has never carried a yoke.

Then the elders of the city nearest to the corpse must take from the herd a heifer that has not been worked -- that has never pulled with the yoke --

For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow sprinkled on those who are defiled consecrated them and provided ritual purity,

David replied to Saul, "Your servant has been a shepherd for his father's flock. Whenever a lion or bear would come and carry off a sheep from the flock,

Samson went down to Timnah. When he approached the vineyards of Timnah, he saw a roaring young lion attacking him.

As the prophet from Judah was traveling, a lion attacked him on the road and killed him. His corpse was lying on the road, and the donkey and the lion just stood there beside it.

In the morning, at the earliest sign of daylight, the king got up and rushed to the lions' den.

Each one also brought to the assigned location his quota of barley and straw for the various horses.

Mordecai wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king's signet ring. He then sent letters by couriers on horses, who rode royal horses that were very swift.

Camel caravans will cover your roads, young camels from Midian and Ephah. All the merchants of Sheba will come, bringing gold and incense and singing praises to the Lord.

"How can you say, 'I have not made myself unclean. I have not paid allegiance to the gods called Baal.' Just look at the way you have behaved in the Valley of Hinnom! Think about the things you have done there! You are like a flighty, young female camel that rushes here and there, crisscrossing its path.

So," the Lord God says, "my raging fury will be poured out on this land. It will be poured out on human beings and animals, on trees and crops. And it will burn like a fire which cannot be extinguished."

How long must the land be parched and the grass in every field be withered? How long must the animals and the birds die because of the wickedness of the people who live in this land? For these people boast, "God will not see what happens to us."

I will kill everything living in Jerusalem, people and animals alike! They will die from terrible diseases.

"Son of man, suppose a country sins against me by being unfaithful, and I stretch out my hand against it, cut off its bread supply, cause famine to come on it, and kill both people and animals.

"Or suppose I were to bring a sword against that land and say, 'Let a sword pass through the land,' and I were to kill both people and animals.

"I am sending you out like sheep surrounded by wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

"Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves.

The hired hand, who is not a shepherd and does not own sheep, sees the wolf coming and abandons the sheep and runs away. So the wolf attacks the sheep and scatters them.

I know that after I am gone fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.

Then Abraham ran to the herd and chose a fine, tender calf, and gave it to a servant, who quickly prepared it.

Now the woman had a well-fed calf at her home that she quickly slaughtered. Taking some flour, she kneaded bread and baked it without leaven.

They lie around on beds decorated with ivory, and sprawl out on their couches. They eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the middle of the pen.

Bring the fattened calf and kill it! Let us eat and celebrate,

He will love and bless you, and make you numerous. He will bless you with many children, with the produce of your soil, your grain, your new wine, your oil, the offspring of your oxen, and the young of your flocks in the land which he promised your ancestors to give you.

So now go and make a new cart. Get two cows that have calves and that have never had a yoke placed on them. Harness the cows to the cart and take their calves from them back to their stalls.

thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.

The rock badger is unclean to you because it chews the cud even though its hoof is not divided.

The wild goats live in the high mountains; the rock badgers find safety in the cliffs.

rock badgers are creatures with little power, but they make their homes in the crags;

Every living creature of the earth and every bird of the sky will be terrified of you. Everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea are under your authority. You may eat any moving thing that lives. As I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.

You may eat any among the animals that has a divided hoof (the hooves are completely split in two) and that also chews the cud.

"'These you can eat from all creatures that are in the water: Any creatures in the water that have both fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the streams, you may eat.

However, this you may eat from all the winged swarming things that walk on all fours, which have jointed legs to hop with on the land. These you may eat from them: the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, the grasshopper of any kind.

These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, the ibex, the gazelle, the deer, the wild goat, the antelope, the wild oryx, and the mountain sheep. You may eat any animal that has hooves divided into two parts and that chews the cud.

"As for those who consecrate and ritually purify themselves so they can follow their leader and worship in the sacred orchards, those who eat the flesh of pigs and other disgusting creatures, like mice -- they will all be destroyed together," says the Lord.

"'Now this is what is unclean to you among the swarming things that swarm on the land: the rat, the mouse, the large lizard of any kind,

They inquired, "What is the guilt offering that we should send to him?" They replied, "The Philistine leaders number five. So send five gold sores and five gold mice, for it is the same plague that has afflicted both you and your leaders.

If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen under its load, you must not ignore him, but be sure to help him with it.

If you happen to notice a bird's nest along the road, whether in a tree or on the ground, and there are chicks or eggs with the mother bird sitting on them, you must not take the mother from the young.

Then he said to them, "Which of you, if you have a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?"

You will subdue a lion and a snake; you will trample underfoot a young lion and a serpent.

A wolf will reside with a lamb, and a leopard will lie down with a young goat; an ox and a young lion will graze together, as a small child leads them along.

A baby will play over the hole of a snake; over the nest of a serpent an infant will put his hand.

No lions will be there, no ferocious wild animals will be on it -- they will not be found there. Those delivered from bondage will travel on it,

Look, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions and on the full force of the enemy, and nothing will hurt you.

This is a message about the animals in the Negev: Through a land of distress and danger, inhabited by lionesses and roaring lions, by snakes and darting adders, they transport their wealth on the backs of donkeys, their riches on the humps of camels, to a nation that cannot help them.

He sucks the poison of serpents; the fangs of a viper kill him.

They hatch the eggs of a poisonous snake and spin a spider's web. Whoever eats their eggs will die, a poisonous snake is hatched.

Do not be like an unintelligent horse or mule, which will not obey you unless they are controlled by a bridle and bit.

but, despite their wealth, people do not last, they are like animals that perish.

I also thought to myself, "It is for the sake of people, so God can clearly show them that they are like animals. For the fate of humans and the fate of animals are the same: As one dies, so dies the other; both have the same breath. There is no advantage for humans over animals, for both are fleeting. Both go to the same place, both come from the dust, and to dust both return. read more.
Who really knows if the human spirit ascends upward, and the animal's spirit descends into the earth?

You must bring into the ark two of every kind of living creature from all flesh, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Of the birds after their kinds, and of the cattle after their kinds, and of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you so you can keep them alive.

You must take with you seven of every kind of clean animal, the male and its mate, two of every kind of unclean animal, the male and its mate, and also seven of every kind of bird in the sky, male and female, to preserve their offspring on the face of the earth.

And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.

male and female, came into the ark to Noah, just as God had commanded him.

In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month -- on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst open and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.

Then the demons begged him, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs." And he said, "Go!" So they came out and went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep slope into the lake and drowned in the water.

Jesus gave them permission. So the unclean spirits came out and went into the pigs. Then the herd rushed down the steep slope into the lake, and about two thousand were drowned in the lake.

So the demons came out of the man and went into the pigs, and the herd of pigs rushed down the steep slope into the lake and drowned.

Along with Hiram's fleet, the king had a fleet of large merchant ships that sailed the sea. Once every three years the fleet came into port with cargoes of gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

"Look now at Behemoth, which I made as I made you; it eats grass like the ox.

They did so; Aaron extended his hand with his staff, he struck the dust of the ground, and it became gnats on people and on animals. All the dust of the ground became gnats throughout all the land of Egypt.

It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt and will cause boils to break out and fester on both people and animals in all the land of Egypt." So they took soot from a furnace and stood before Pharaoh, Moses threw it into the air, and it caused festering boils to break out on both people and animals.

So now, send instructions to gather your livestock and all your possessions in the fields to a safe place. Every person or animal caught in the field and not brought into the house -- the hail will come down on them, and they will die!"'"

and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn son of the slave girl who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle.

God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: cattle, creeping things, and wild animals, each according to its kind." It was so.

The Lord God formed out of the ground every living animal of the field and every bird of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.

"I made the earth and the people and animals on it by my mighty power and great strength, and I give it to whomever I see fit.

So that day Laban removed the male goats that were streaked or spotted, all the female goats that were speckled or spotted (all that had any white on them), and all the dark-colored lambs, and put them in the care of his sons. Then he separated them from Jacob by a three-day journey, while Jacob was taking care of the rest of Laban's flocks. But Jacob took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees. He made white streaks by peeling them, making the white inner wood in the branches visible. read more.
Then he set up the peeled branches in all the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. He set up the branches in front of the flocks when they were in heat and came to drink. When the sheep mated in front of the branches, they gave birth to young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. Jacob removed these lambs, but he made the rest of the flock face the streaked and completely dark-colored animals in Laban's flock. So he made separate flocks for himself and did not mix them with Laban's flocks. When the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would set up the branches in the troughs in front of the flock, so they would mate near the branches. But if the animals were weaker, he did not set the branches there. So the weaker animals ended up belonging to Laban and the stronger animals to Jacob. In this way Jacob became extremely prosperous. He owned large flocks, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys.

If he said, 'The speckled animals will be your wage,' then the entire flock gave birth to speckled offspring. But if he said, 'The streaked animals will be your wage,' then the entire flock gave birth to streaked offspring. In this way God has snatched away your father's livestock and given them to me.

Noah built an altar to the Lord. He then took some of every kind of clean animal and clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

But Abel brought some of the firstborn of his flock -- even the fattest of them. And the Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering,

You must take with you seven of every kind of clean animal, the male and its mate, two of every kind of unclean animal, the male and its mate, and also seven of every kind of bird in the sky, male and female, to preserve their offspring on the face of the earth. For in seven days I will cause it to rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the ground every living thing that I have made." read more.
And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him. Noah was 600 years old when the floodwaters engulfed the earth. Noah entered the ark along with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives because of the floodwaters. Pairs of clean animals, of unclean animals, of birds, and of everything that creeps along the ground,

David seized from him 1,700 charioteers and 20,000 infantrymen. David cut the hamstrings of all but a hundred of the chariot horses.

David seized from him 1,000 chariots, 7,000 charioteers, and 20,000 infantrymen. David cut the hamstrings of all but a hundred of Hadadezer's chariot horses.

the ibex, the gazelle, the deer, the wild goat, the antelope, the wild oryx, and the mountain sheep.

the Mediterranean gecko, the spotted lizard, the wall gecko, the skink, and the chameleon.

the Mediterranean gecko, the spotted lizard, the wall gecko, the skink, and the chameleon.

the Mediterranean gecko, the spotted lizard, the wall gecko, the skink, and the chameleon.

"'Now this is what is unclean to you among the swarming things that swarm on the land: the rat, the mouse, the large lizard of any kind,

The Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all the wild beasts and all the living creatures of the field! On your belly you will crawl and dust you will eat all the days of your life.

So the Lord said, "I will wipe humankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth -- everything from humankind to animals, including creatures that move on the ground and birds of the air, for I regret that I have made them."

I am about to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy from under the sky all the living creatures that have the breath of life in them. Everything that is on the earth will die,

a strutting rooster, a male goat, and a king with his army around him.

The hare is unclean to you because it chews the cud even though its hoof is not divided.

Along with Hiram's fleet, the king had a fleet of large merchant ships that sailed the sea. Once every three years the fleet came into port with cargoes of gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

Who really knows if the human spirit ascends upward, and the animal's spirit descends into the earth?

and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the life's breath returns to God who gave it.

Then God's anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him. Now he was riding on his donkey and his two servants were with him. And the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn in his hand, so the donkey turned aside from the road and went into the field. But Balaam beat the donkey, to make her turn back to the road. Then the angel of the Lord stood in a path among the vineyards, where there was a wall on either side. read more.
And when the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she pressed herself into the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall. So he beat her again. Then the angel of the Lord went farther, and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she crouched down under Balaam. Then Balaam was angry, and he beat his donkey with a staff. Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?" And Balaam said to the donkey, "You have made me look stupid; I wish there were a sword in my hand, for I would kill you right now." The donkey said to Balaam, "Am not I your donkey that you have ridden ever since I was yours until this day? Have I ever attempted to treat you this way?" And he said, "No." Then the Lord opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way with his sword drawn in his hand; so he bowed his head and threw himself down with his face to the ground. The angel of the Lord said to him, "Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? Look, I came out to oppose you because what you are doing is perverse before me. The donkey saw me and turned from me these three times. If she had not turned from me, I would have killed you but saved her alive."

The wild boars of the forest ruin it; the insects of the field feed on it.

For every wild animal in the forest belongs to me, as well as the cattle that graze on a thousand hills. I keep track of every bird in the hills, and the insects of the field are mine. Even if I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and all it contains belong to me.

They also attacked the tents of the herdsmen in charge of the livestock. They carried off many sheep and camels and then returned to Jerusalem.

"Look now at Behemoth, which I made as I made you; it eats grass like the ox.

If from a human point of view I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what did it benefit me? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.

But Jacob traveled to Succoth where he built himself a house and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place was called Succoth.

You are like a wild female donkey brought up in the wilderness. In her lust she sniffs the wind to get the scent of a male. No one can hold her back when she is in heat. None of the males need wear themselves out chasing after her. At mating time she is easy to find.

And to all the animals of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to all the creatures that move on the ground -- everything that has the breath of life in it -- I give every green plant for food." It was so.

So the man named all the animals, the birds of the air, and the living creatures of the field, but for Adam no companion who corresponded to him was found.

and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.

Then God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Every living creature of the earth and every bird of the sky will be terrified of you. Everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea are under your authority. You may eat any moving thing that lives. As I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. read more.
But you must not eat meat with its life (that is, its blood) in it.

but, despite their wealth, people do not last, they are like animals that perish.

But these men, like irrational animals -- creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed -- do not understand whom they are insulting, and consequently in their destruction they will be destroyed,