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47 Bible verses about caring for animals
Think about the Old Testament, how animal sacrifices were the norm. But even then, there are so many verses showing God pushing back against those sacrifices and calling for animal care. It really makes you think.
Proverbs 12:1010, for instance, says, "The righteous care for the needs of their animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel." That's powerful. God's word includes advocating for animals. It's right there in the Bible.
If you really dig into the prophets, you'll find tons of verses urging care for animals. Hosea 8:1313 puts it plainly: "They offer sacrifices of animals and eat the meat, but the Lord is not pleased with them. Now he will remember their wickedness and punish their sins." It's a good reminder that true worship goes beyond rituals and involves how we treat all of God's creation.
And God created the great sea-monsters, and every living creature that moveth, wherewith the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind: and God saw that it was good.
Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye of much more value than they?
and to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the heavens, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for food: and it was so.
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
And God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind, cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind: and it was so.
And God blessed them: and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.And God blessed them: and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast;\par\tab But the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.
And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every bird of the heavens; with all wherewith the ground teemeth, and all the fishes of the sea, into your hand are they delivered.Every moving thing that liveth shall be food for you; as the green herb have I given you all.
And Jehovah God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, thou shalt forbear to leave him, thou shalt surely release it with him.
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith Jehovah.\par
And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you; of all that go out of the ark, even every beast of the earth.
the hart, and the gazelle, and the roebuck, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the antelope, and the chamois.
but the seventh day is a sabbath unto Jehovah thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks,\par\tab {\i And} look well to thy herds:For riches are not for ever:\par\tab And doth the crown endure unto all generations?The hay is carried, and the tender grass showeth itself,\par\tab And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in.The lambs are for thy clothing,\par\tab And the goats are the price of the field;And {\i there will be} goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household,\par\tab And maintenance for thy maidens.\par
Thy righteousness is like the mountains of God;\par\tab Thy judgments are a great deep:\par\tab O Jehovah, thou preservest man and beast.
And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.
Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest; that thine ox and thine ass may have rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the sojourner, may be refreshed.
Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks,\par\tab {\i And} look well to thy herds:
Thou shalt not see thy brother's ox or his sheep go astray, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely bring them again unto thy brother.And if thy brother be not nigh unto thee, or if thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it home to thy house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it, and thou shalt restore it to him.And so shalt thou do with his ass; and so shalt thou do with his garment; and so shalt thou do with every lost thing of thy brother's, which he hath lost, and thou hast found: thou mayest not hide thyself.Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fallen down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again.
But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee;\par\tab And the birds of the heavens, and they shall tell thee:Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee;\par\tab And the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.Who knoweth not in all these,\par\tab That the hand of Jehovah hath wrought this,In whose hand is the soul of every living thing,\par\tab And the breath of all mankind?
For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; and man hath no preeminence above the beasts: for all is vanity.All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young:thou shalt surely let the dam go, but the young thou mayest take unto thyself; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days.
If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, thou shalt forbear to leave him, thou shalt surely release it with him.
And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea.\par
And Noah builded an altar unto Jehovah, and took of every clean beast, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt-offerings on the altar.
For every beast of the forest is mine,\par\tab And the cattle upon a thousand hills.I know all the birds of the mountains;\par\tab And the wild beasts of the field are mine.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom, {\i and} will gently lead those that have their young.\par
The soul of the wicked desireth evil:\par\tab His neighbor findeth no favor in his eyes.
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? and not one of them shall fall on the ground without your Father:
And he said unto them, {\cf6 Which of you shall have a son or an ox fallen into a well, and will not straightway draw him up on a sabbath day?}
Are not five sparrows sold for two pence? and not one of them is forgotten in the sight of God.But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not: ye are of more value than many sparrows.
For the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the revealing of the sons of God.For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but by reason of him who subjected it, in hopethat the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God.
and should not I have regard for Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?\par
O Jehovah, how manifold are thy works!\par\tab In wisdom hast thou made them all:\par\tab The earth is full of thy riches.Yonder is the sea, great and wide,\par\tab Wherein are things creeping innumerable,\par\tab Both small and great beasts.
For it is written in the law of Moses, {\b Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.} Is it for the oxen that God careth,or saith he it assuredly for our sake? Yea, for our sake it was written: because he that ploweth ought to plow in hope, and he that thresheth, {\i to thresh} in hope of partaking.
And the angel of Jehovah said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I am come forth for an adversary, because thy way is perverse before me:and the ass saw me, and turned aside before me these three times: unless she had turned aside from me, surely now I had even slain thee, and saved her alive.
So then, as we have opportunity, let us work that which is good toward all men, and especially toward them that are of the household of the faith.\par
Are not five sparrows sold for two pence? and not one of them is forgotten in the sight of God.
that the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God.For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth?\par\tab {\i Or} canst thou mark when the hinds do calve?Canst thou number the months that they fulfil?\par\tab Or knowest thou the time when they bring forth?They bow themselves, they bring forth their young,\par\tab They cast out their pains.Their young ones become strong, they grow up in the open field;\par\tab They go forth, and return not again.\par
Thou makest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands;\par\tab Thou hast put all things under his feet:All sheep and oxen,\par\tab Yea, and the beasts of the field,The birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,\par\tab Whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.