'Wild' in the Bible

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.

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.

Now the serpent was more shrewd than any of the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Is it really true that God said, 'You must not eat from any tree of the orchard'?"

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.

And all living things that moved on the earth died, including the birds, domestic animals, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all humankind.

But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and domestic animals that were with him in the ark. God caused a wind to blow over the earth and the waters receded.

He will be a wild donkey of a man. He will be hostile to everyone, and everyone will be hostile to him. He will live away from his brothers."

Therefore, take your weapons -- your quiver and your bow -- and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game for me.

Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back,

Bring me some wild game and prepare for me some tasty food. Then I will eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before I die.'

Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau, your firstborn. I've done as you told me. Now sit up and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me."

Isaac said, "Bring some of the wild game for me to eat, my son. Then I will bless you." So Jacob brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and Isaac drank.

He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Esau said to him, "My father, get up and eat some of your son's wild game. Then you can bless me."

Animals torn by wild beasts I never brought to you; I always absorbed the loss myself. You always made me pay for every missing animal, whether it was taken by day or at night.

Come now, let's kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and then say that a wild animal ate him. Then we'll see how his dreams turn out!"

He recognized it and exclaimed, "It is my son's tunic! A wild animal has eaten him! Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!"

I will not drive them out before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild animals multiply against you.

Moses saw that the people were running wild, for Aaron had let them get completely out of control, causing derision from their enemies.

Or when there is a person who touches anything ceremonially unclean, whether the carcass of an unclean wild animal, or the carcass of an unclean domesticated animal, or the carcass of an unclean creeping thing, even if he did not realize it, but he himself has become unclean and is guilty;

"'Any man from the Israelites or from the foreigners who reside in their midst who hunts a wild animal or a bird that may be eaten must pour out its blood and cover it with soil,

your cattle, and the wild animals that are in your land -- all its produce will be for you to eat.

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.

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

He, the God who leads you, will expel the nations little by little. You will not be allowed to destroy them all at once lest the wild animals overrun you.

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

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.

They will be starved by famine, eaten by plague, and bitterly stung; I will send the teeth of wild animals against them, along with the poison of creatures that crawl in the dust.

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.

The Philistine said to David, "Come here to me, so I can give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the field!"

This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand! I will strike you down and cut off your head. This day I will give the corpses of the Philistine army to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the land. Then all the land will realize that Israel has a God

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.

Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on a rock. From the beginning of the harvest until the rain fell on them, she did not allow the birds of the air to feed on them by day, nor the wild animals by night.

Someone went out to the field to gather some herbs and found a wild vine. He picked some of its fruit, enough to fill up the fold of his robe. He came back, cut it up, and threw the slices into the stew pot, not knowing they were harmful.

King Jehoash of Israel sent this message back to King Amaziah of Judah, "A thornbush in Lebanon sent this message to a cedar in Lebanon, 'Give your daughter to my son as a wife.' Then a wild animal of Lebanon came by and trampled down the thorn.

This will be your confirmation that I have spoken the truth: This year you will eat what grows wild, and next year what grows on its own from that. But in the third year you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce.

King Joash of Israel sent this message back to King Amaziah of Judah, "A thorn bush in Lebanon sent this message to a cedar in Lebanon, 'Give your daughter to my son as a wife.' Then a wild animal of Lebanon came by and trampled down the thorn bush.

and that they should make a proclamation and disseminate this message in all their cities and in Jerusalem: "Go to the hill country and bring back olive branches and branches of wild olive trees, myrtle trees, date palms, and other leafy trees to construct temporary shelters, as it is written."

For you will have a pact with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you.

But because it is heavier than the sand of the sea, that is why my words have been wild.

"Does the wild donkey bray when it is near grass? Or does the ox low near its fodder?

But an empty man will become wise, when a wild donkey's colt is born a human being.

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.

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

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

"Are you acquainted with the way the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch as the wild deer give birth to their young?

Who let the wild donkey go free? Who released the bonds of the donkey,

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

Can you bind the wild ox to a furrow with its rope, will it till the valleys, following after you?

She forgets that a foot might crush them, or that a wild animal might trample them.

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

including all the sheep and cattle, as well as the wild animals,

Yes, wild dogs surround me -- a gang of evil men crowd around me; like a lion they pin my hands and feet.

Deliver me from the sword! Save my life from the claws of the wild dogs!

Rescue me from the mouth of the lion, and from the horns of the wild oxen! You have answered me!

Yet you have battered us, leaving us a heap of ruins overrun by wild dogs; you have covered us with darkness.

For every wild animal in the forest belongs to me, as well as the cattle that graze on a thousand hills.

Sound your battle cry against the wild beast of the reeds, and the nations that assemble like a herd of calves led by bulls! They humble themselves and offer gold and silver as tribute. God scatters the nations that like to do battle.

Do not hand the life of your dove over to a wild animal! Do not continue to disregard the lives of your oppressed people!

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

You exalt my horn like that of a wild ox. I am covered with fresh oil.

They provide water for all the animals in the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

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

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.

Wild animals will rest there, the ruined houses will be full of hyenas. Ostriches will live there, wild goats will skip among the ruins.

Wild dogs will yip in her ruined fortresses, jackals will yelp in the once-splendid palaces. Her time is almost up, her days will not be prolonged.

"I will turn her into a place that is overrun with wild animals and covered with pools of stagnant water. I will get rid of her, just as one sweeps away dirt with a broom," says the Lord who commands armies.

They will all be left for the birds of the hills and the wild animals; the birds will eat them during the summer, and all the wild animals will eat them during the winter.

Look at the land of the Chaldeans, these people who have lost their identity! The Assyrians have made it a home for wild animals. They erected their siege towers, demolished its fortresses, and turned it into a heap of ruins.

For the fortress is neglected; the once-crowded city is abandoned. Hill and watchtower are permanently uninhabited. Wild donkeys love to go there, and flocks graze there.

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.

Owls and wild animals will live there, all kinds of wild birds will settle in it. The Lord will stretch out over her the measuring line of ruin and the plumb line of destruction.

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.

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,

"This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth: This year you will eat what grows wild, and next year what grows on its own. But the year after that you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce.

Not even Lebanon could supply enough firewood for a sacrifice; its wild animals would not provide enough burnt offerings.

The wild animals of the desert honor me, the jackals and ostriches, because I put water in the desert and streams in the wilderness, to quench the thirst of my chosen people,

All you wild animals in the fields, come and devour, all you wild animals in the forest!

I planted you in the land like a special vine of the very best stock. Why in the world have you turned into something like a wild vine that produces rotten, foul-smelling grapes?

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.

Then the dead bodies of these people will be left on the ground for the birds and wild animals to eat. There will not be any survivors to scare them away.

I said, "I will weep and mourn for the grasslands on the mountains, I will sing a mournful song for the pastures in the wilderness because they are so scorched no one travels through them. The sound of livestock is no longer heard there. Even the birds in the sky and the wild animals in the fields have fled and are gone."

The people I call my own attack me like birds of prey or like hyenas. But other birds of prey are all around them. Let all the nations gather together like wild beasts. Let them come and destroy these people I call my own.

Wild donkeys stand on the hilltops and pant for breath like jackals. Their eyes are strained looking for food, because there is none to be found."

"I will punish them in four different ways: I will have war kill them. I will have dogs drag off their dead bodies. I will have birds and wild beasts devour and destroy their corpses.

They will die of deadly diseases. No one will mourn for them. They will not be buried. Their dead bodies will lie like manure spread on the ground. They will be killed in war or die of starvation. Their corpses will be food for the birds and wild animals.

In this place I will thwart the plans of the people of Judah and Jerusalem. I will deliver them over to the power of their enemies who are seeking to kill them. They will die by the sword at the hands of their enemies. I will make their dead bodies food for the birds and wild beasts to eat.

I have at this time placed all these nations of yours under the power of my servant, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I have even made all the wild animals subject to him.

For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, "I have put an irresistible yoke of servitude on all these nations so they will serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. And they will indeed serve him. I have even given him control over the wild animals."'"

I will hand them over to their enemies who want to kill them. Their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.

For wild animals are prowling over Mount Zion, which lies desolate.

And I said, "Ah, sovereign Lord, I have never been ceremonially defiled before. I have never eaten a carcass or an animal torn by wild beasts; from my youth up, unclean meat has never entered my mouth."

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!"

"Suppose I were to send wild animals through the land and kill its children, leaving it desolate, without travelers due to the wild animals.

"For this is what the sovereign Lord says: How much worse will it be when I send my four terrible judgments -- sword, famine, wild animals, and plague -- to Jerusalem to kill both people and animals!

On its ruins all the birds of the sky will live, and all the wild animals will walk on its branches.

I will leave you on the ground, I will fling you on the open field, I will allow all the birds of the sky to settle on you, and I will permit all the wild animals to gorge themselves on you.

"This is what you must say to them, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, those living in the ruins will die by the sword, those in the open field I will give to the wild beasts for food, and those who are in the strongholds and caves will die of disease.

They were scattered because they had no shepherd, and they became food for every wild beast.

As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, my sheep have become prey and have become food for all the wild beasts. There was no shepherd, and my shepherds did not search for my flock, but fed themselves and did not feed my sheep,

"'I will make a covenant of peace with them and will rid the land of wild beasts, so that they can live securely in the wilderness and even sleep in the woods.