'Creatures' in the Bible

Then God said, “Let the waters swarm and abundantly produce living creatures, and let birds soar above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.”

Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to (limited to, consistent with) their kind: livestock, crawling things, and wild animals of the earth according to their kinds”; and it was so [because He had spoken them into creation].

but whatever does not have fins and scales in the seas and in the rivers, of all the teeming life in the waters, and of all the living creatures that are in the waters, they are [to be considered] detestable to you.

“You will laugh at violence and famine,And you will not be afraid of the wild beasts of the earth.

“Now ask the animals, and let them teach you [that God does not deal with His creatures according to their character];And ask the birds of the air, and let them tell you;

You crushed the heads of Leviathan (Egypt);You gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.

O Lord, how many and varied are Your works!In wisdom You have made them all;The earth is full of Your riches and Your creatures.

There is the sea, great and broad,In which are swarms without number,Creatures both small and great.

But desert creatures will lie down there,And their houses will be full of owls;Ostriches also will live there, and wild goats will dance there.

Hyenas will howl in their castles,And jackals in their luxurious palaces.Babylon’s time has nearly come,And her days will not be prolonged.

The creatures of the desert will encounter jackalsAnd the hairy goat will call to its kind;Indeed, Lilith (night demon) will settle thereAnd find herself a place of rest.

Within it there were figures resembling four living beings. And this was their appearance: they had human form.

Such were their faces. Their wings were stretched out upward; two [wings] of each one were touching another [the wings of the beings on either side of it], and [the remaining] two [wings of each being] were covering their bodies.

Among the living beings there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches moving back and forth among the living beings. The fire was bright, and lightning was flashing from the fire.

And the living beings moved rapidly back and forth like flashes of lightning.

Now as I looked at the living beings, I saw one wheel on the ground beside the living beings, for each of the four of them.

Whenever the living beings moved, the wheels moved with them; and when the living beings rose from the earth, the wheels rose also.

Wherever the spirit went, the beings went in that direction. And the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit or life of the living beings was in the wheels.

And then I heard the sound of the wings of the living beings as they touched one another and [I heard] the sound of the wheels beside them, a great rushing sound.

These are the living beings that I saw beneath the God of Israel by the River Chebar; and I knew that they were cherubim.

‘Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant,And in it was food for all.The beasts of the field found shade under it,And the birds of the sky nested in its branches,And all living creatures fed themselves from it.

‘He shouted aloud and said this:“Cut down the tree and cut off its branches;Shake off its leaves and scatter its fruit;Let the living creatures run from under itAnd the birds fly from its branches.

“Nevertheless leave the stump with its roots in the ground,Bound with a band of iron and bronzeIn the new grass of the field;And let him be wet with the dew of heaven,And let him feed with the animals in the grass of the earth.

whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and on which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field lived, and in whose branches the birds of the sky nested—

In that the king saw an angelic watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, “Cut the tree down and destroy it; but leave the stump with its roots in the earth, but with a band of iron and bronze around it in the new grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let him feed with the beasts of the field until seven periods of time pass over him,”

and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the animals of the field. You will be given grass to eat like the cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you until you know [without any doubt] that the Most High God rules over the kingdom of mankind and He bestows it on whomever He desires.”’

“And in that day I will make a covenant for IsraelWith the animals of the open countryAnd with the birds of the heavensAnd with the creeping things of the ground.And I will abolish the bow and the sword and [banish] war from the landAnd will make them lie down in safety.

For we know that the whole creation has been moaning together as in the pains of childbirth until now.

and above the ark were the [golden] cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat; but we cannot now go into detail about these things.

It was of His own will that He gave us birth [as His children] by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits of His creatures [a prime example of what He created to be set apart to Himself—sanctified, made holy for His divine purposes].

and especially those who indulge in the corrupt passions of the sin nature, and despise authority.Presumptuous and reckless, self-willed and arrogant [creatures, despising the majesty of the Lord], they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties,

But these [false teachers], like unreasoning animals, [mere] creatures of instinct, born to be captured and destroyed, reviling things they do not understand, will also perish in their own corruption [in their destroying they will be destroyed],

These are the ones who are [agitators] causing divisions—worldly-minded [secular, unspiritual, carnal, merely sensual—unsaved], devoid of the Spirit.

and in front of the throne there was something like a sea or large expanse of glass, like [the clearest] crystal. In the center and around the throne were four living creatures who were full of eyes in front and behind [seeing everything and knowing everything that is around them].

And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes all over and within [underneath their wings]; and day and night they never stop saying,“Holy, holy, holy [is the] Lord God, the Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all], who was and who is and who is to come [the unchanging, eternal God].”

Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanksgiving to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever,

And there between the throne (with the four living creatures) and among the elders I saw a Lamb (Christ) standing, [bearing scars and wounds] as though it had been slain, with seven horns (complete power) and with seven eyes (complete knowledge), which are the seven Spirits of God who have been sent [on duty] into all the earth.

And when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb (Christ), each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of fragrant incense, which are the prayers of the saints (God’s people).

Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and [the voice] of the living creatures and the elders; and they numbered myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands (innumerable),

And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshiped [Him who lives forever and ever].

Then I saw as the Lamb (Christ) broke one of the seven seals [of the scroll initiating the judgments], and I heard one of the four living creatures call out as with a voice of thunder, “Come.”

And I heard something like a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius (a day’s wages), and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.”

And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the [twenty-four] elders and the four living creatures; and they fell to their faces before the throne and worshiped God,

and a third of the living creatures that were in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

And they sang a new song before the throne [of God] and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased (ransomed, redeemed) from the earth.

Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath and indignation of God, who lives forever and ever.

Then the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures also fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah (praise the Lord)!”