Psalm 8:8
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
Genesis 1:20-25
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
20 And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.” 21 So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good.(A) 22 God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”(B) 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind and the cattle of every kind and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.(C)
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Psalm 148:10
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
10 Wild animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds!
Job 38:39-39:30
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
39 “Can you hunt the prey for the lion
or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,(A)
40 when they crouch in their dens
or lie in wait in their covert?(B)
41 Who provides for the raven its prey,
when its young ones cry to God
and wander about for lack of food?(C)
39 “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
Do you observe the calving of the deer?(D)
2 Can you number the months that they fulfill,
and do you know the time when they give birth,
3 when they crouch to give birth to their offspring
and are delivered of their young?(E)
4 Their young ones become strong; they grow up in the open;
they go forth and do not return to them.
5 “Who has let the wild ass go free?
Who has loosed the bonds of the swift ass,(F)
6 to which I have given the steppe for its home,
the salt land for its dwelling place?(G)
7 It scorns the tumult of the city;
it does not hear the shouts of the driver.
8 It ranges the mountains as its pasture,
and it searches after every green thing.
9 “Is the wild ox willing to serve you?
Will it spend the night at your crib?(H)
10 Can you tie it in the furrow with ropes,
or will it harrow the valleys after you?
11 Will you depend on it because its strength is great,
and will you hand over your labor to it?
12 Do you have faith in it that it will return
and bring your grain to your threshing floor?[a]
13 “The ostrich’s wings flap wildly,
though its pinions lack plumage.[b]
14 For it leaves its eggs to the earth
and lets them be warmed on the ground,
15 forgetting that a foot may crush them
and that a wild animal may trample them.
16 It deals cruelly with its young, as if they were not its own;
though its labor should be in vain, yet it has no fear;(I)
17 because God has made it forget wisdom
and given it no share in understanding.(J)
18 When it spreads its plumes aloft,[c]
it laughs at the horse and its rider.
19 “Do you give the horse its might?
Do you clothe its neck with mane?(K)
20 Do you make it leap like the locust?
Its majestic snorting is terrible.(L)
21 It paws[d] violently, exults mightily;
it goes out to meet the weapons.(M)
22 It laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
it does not turn back from the sword.
23 Upon it rattle the quiver,
the flashing spear, and the javelin.
24 With fierceness and rage it swallows the ground;
it cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet.(N)
25 When the trumpet sounds, it says ‘Aha!’
From a distance it smells the battle,
the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.(O)
26 “Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars
and spreads its wings toward the south?
27 Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up
and makes its nest on high?(P)
28 It lives on the rock and makes its home
in the fastness of the rocky crag.
29 From there it spies the prey;
its eyes see it from far away.(Q)
30 Its young ones suck up blood,
and where the slain are, there it is.”(R)
Job 40:15-41:34
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
15 “Look at Behemoth,
which I made just as I made you;
it eats grass like an ox.(A)
16 Its strength is in its loins
and its power in the muscles of its belly.
17 It makes its tail stiff like a cedar;
the sinews of its thighs are knit together.
18 Its bones are tubes of bronze,
its limbs like bars of iron.
19 “It is the first of the great acts of God;
only its Maker can approach it with the sword.(B)
20 For the mountains yield food for it
where all the wild animals play.(C)
21 Under the lotus plants it lies,
in the covert of the reeds and in the marsh.
22 The lotus trees cover it for shade;
the willows of the wadi surround it.(D)
23 Even if the river is turbulent, it is not frightened;
it is confident though Jordan rushes against its mouth.
24 Can one take it with hooks[a]
or pierce its nose with a snare?(E)
41 [b]“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook
or press down its tongue with a cord?(F)
2 Can you put a rope in its nose
or pierce its jaw with a hook?(G)
3 Will it make many supplications to you?
Will it speak soft words to you?
4 Will it make a covenant with you
to be taken as your servant forever?
5 Will you play with it as with a bird
or put it on a leash for your young women?
6 Will traders bargain over it?
Will they divide it up among the merchants?
7 Can you fill its skin with harpoons
or its head with fishing spears?
8 Lay hands on it;
think of the battle; you will not do it again!
9 [c]Any hope of capturing it[d] will be disappointed;
one is overwhelmed even at the sight of it.
10 No one is so fierce as to dare to stir it up.
Who can stand before it?[e](H)
11 Who can confront it[f] and be safe?[g]
—under the whole heaven, who?[h](I)
12 “I will not keep silent concerning its limbs
or its mighty strength or its splendid frame.
13 Who can strip off its outer garment?
Who can penetrate its double coat of mail?[i]
14 Who can open the doors of its face?
There is terror all around its teeth.
15 Its back[j] is made of shields in rows,
shut up closely as with a seal.
16 One is so near to another
that no air can come between them.
17 They are joined one to another;
they clasp each other and cannot be separated.
18 Its sneezes flash forth light,
and its eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.(J)
19 From its mouth go flaming torches;
sparks of fire leap out.
20 Out of its nostrils comes smoke,
as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
21 Its breath kindles coals,
and a flame comes out of its mouth.
22 In its neck abides strength,
and terror dances before it.
23 The folds of its flesh cling together;
it is firmly cast and immovable.
24 Its heart is as hard as stone,
as hard as the lower millstone.
25 When it raises itself up the gods are afraid;
at the crashing they are beside themselves.
26 Though the sword reaches it, it does not avail,
nor does the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
27 It counts iron as straw
and bronze as rotten wood.
28 The arrow cannot make it flee;
slingstones, for it, are turned to chaff.
29 Clubs are counted as chaff;
it laughs at the rattle of javelins.
30 Its underparts are like sharp potsherds;
it spreads itself like a threshing sledge on the mire.
31 It makes the deep boil like a pot;
it makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
32 It leaves a shining wake behind it;
one would think the deep to be white-haired.
33 On earth it has no equal,
a creature without fear.(K)
34 It surveys everything that is lofty;
it is king over all that are proud.”
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.