The Lord God said to the serpent, ¹  “Because you have done this, cursed ²  are you above all the wild beasts and all the living creatures of the field! On your belly you will crawl ³  and dust you will eat ⁴  all the days of your life.

On the other hand, you may slaughter and eat meat as you please when the Lord your God blesses you ¹  in all your villages. ²  Both the ritually pure and impure may eat it, whether it is a gazelle or an ibex.

This is a message ¹  about the animals in the Negev: Through a land of distress and danger, inhabited by lionesses and roaring lions, ²  by snakes and darting adders, ³  they transport ⁴  their wealth on the backs of donkeys, their riches on the humps of camels, to a nation that cannot help them. ⁵ 

I said, ¹  “I will weep and mourn ²  for the grasslands on the mountains, ³  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.”

For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all ¹  says, “I have put an irresistible yoke of servitude on all these nations ²  so they will serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. And they will indeed serve him. I have even given him control over the wild animals.”’” ³ 

You will be driven from human society, and you will live with the wild animals. You will be fed grass like oxen, and seven periods of time will pass by for you before ¹  you understand that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wishes.”

and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh ¹  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.

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, ¹  and they will also divide the dead ox. ² 

I will grant peace in the land so that ¹  you will lie down to sleep without anyone terrifying you. ²  I will remove harmful animals ³  from the land, and no sword of war ⁴  will pass through your land.

All the animals for the burnt offering were 12 young bulls, 12 rams, 12 male lambs in their first year, with their grain offering, and 12 male goats for a purification offering.

All the animals for the sacrifice for the peace offering were 24 young bulls, 60 rams, 60 male goats, and 60 lambs in their first year. These were the dedication offerings for the altar after it was anointed. ¹ 

If the owner ¹  does not live ²  near you or you do not know who the owner is, ³  then you must corral the animal ⁴  at your house and let it stay with you until the owner looks for it; then you must return it to him.

Anyone who survives in any of those places where he is a resident foreigner must be helped by his neighbors ¹  with silver, gold, equipment, and animals, along with voluntary offerings for the temple of God which is in Jerusalem.’”

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.

I will send famine and wild beasts against you and they will take your children from you. ¹  Plague and bloodshed will overwhelm you, ²  and I will bring a sword against you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

I will leave you in the wilderness, you and all the fish of your waterways; you will fall in the open field and will not be gathered up or collected. ¹  I have given you as food to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the skies.

I saw that the ram was butting westward, northward, and southward. No animal ¹  was able to stand before it, and there was none who could deliver from its power. ²  It did as it pleased and acted arrogantly. ³ 

I will attack them like a bear robbed of her cubs – I will rip open their chests. I will devour them there like a lion – like a wild animal would tear them apart.

Moreover, I have called for a drought that will affect the fields, the hill country, the grain, new wine, fresh olive oil, and everything that grows from the ground; it also will harm people, animals, and everything they produce.’” ¹ 

Then God said, “Let us make ¹  humankind ²  in our image, after our likeness, ³  so they may rule ⁴  over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth, ⁵  and over all the creatures that move ⁶  on the earth.”