Explore the diverse meanings of hunting in the Bible, from literal pursuits in the wilderness to metaphorical quests for righteousness. These Bible hunting verses unravel the rich tapestry of meanings associated with hunting in the sacred Scriptures.

God’s Sovereignty in Nature and Hunting

• Genesis 1:26 – “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.'”
• Job 12:7-10 – “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.”
• Psalm 50:10-11 – “For every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine.”
• Psalm 104:24-25 – “How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number—living things both large and small.”
• Matthew 6:26 – “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”
• Psalm 147:9 – “He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call.”
• Job 38:39-41 – “‘Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in a thicket? Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?'”
• Job 39:1-3 – “‘Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn? Do you count the months till they bear? Do you know the time they give birth? They crouch down and bring forth their young; their labor pains are ended.'”
• Genesis 9:2-3 – “‘The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.'”
• Psalm 8:6-8 – “‘You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.'”

Ethical Hunting and God’s Care for Animals

• Proverbs 12:10 – “The righteous care for the needs of their animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.”
• Luke 12:6 – “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.”
• Jonah 4:11 – “‘And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?'”
• Genesis 2:19-20 – “Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.”
• Exodus 23:4-5 – “‘If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it.'”
• Matthew 10:29 – “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.”
• Psalm 36:6 – “Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep. You, Lord, preserve both people and animals.”
• Hosea 2:18 – “‘In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky and the creatures that move along the ground. Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety.'”

God’s Provision through Hunting

• Genesis 27:3 – “Now then, get your equipment—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me.”
• Genesis 10:9 – “He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. That is why it is said, ‘Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.'”
• Genesis 21:20 – “God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer.”
• Leviticus 17:13 – “‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth.'”
• 1 Samuel 26:20 – “‘Now do not let my blood fall to the ground far from the presence of the Lord. The king of Israel has come out to look for a flea—as one hunts a partridge in the mountains.'”
• Proverbs 6:5 – “Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.”
• Lamentations 3:52 – “Those who were my enemies without cause hunted me like a bird.”
• Psalm 7:2 – “or they will tear me apart like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.”
• 1 Samuel 17:34-36 – “‘Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.'”

Hunting and Ethical Conduct in the Bible

• Exodus 20:13 – “‘You shall not murder.'”
• Deuteronomy 22:6-7 – “‘If you come across a bird’s nest beside the road, either in a tree or on the ground, and the mother is sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother with the young. You may take the young, but be sure to let the mother go, so that it may go well with you and you may have a long life.'”
• Romans 1:20 – “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”
• Job 37:10 – “The breath of God produces ice, and the broad waters become frozen.”
• Ecclesiastes 3:19-21 – “‘Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. Who knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?'”
• Colossians 1:16 – “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.”
• Job 12:10 – “In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.”
• Jeremiah 12:4 – “‘How long will the land lie parched and the grass in every field be withered? Because those who live in it are wicked, the animals and birds have perished. Even the fish are swept away.'”

Hunting and Stewardship of Earth 

• Genesis 1:28 – “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.'”
• Isaiah 11:6-9 – “‘The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.'”
• Leviticus 25:23-24 – “‘The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers. Throughout the land that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land.'”
• Psalm 115:16 – “The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to mankind.”
• Ezekiel 34:2-3 – “‘Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock.'”
• Jeremiah 2:7 – “‘I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable.'”
• Hosea 4:3 – “‘Because of this the land mourns, and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea are swept away.'”
• Revelation 11:18 – “‘The nations were angry, and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your people who revere your name, both great and small—and for destroying those who destroy the earth.'”
• Job 40:15-24 – “‘Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox. What strength it has in its loins, what power in the muscles of its belly! Its tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of its thighs are close-knit. Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs like rods of iron. It ranks first among the works of God, yet its Maker can approach it with his sword.'”

Reflections on Life, Hunting, and Nature

• Ecclesiastes 3:11 – “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”
• Psalm 104:27-28 – “All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things.”
• Psalm 91:3 – “Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.”
• Isaiah 40:31 – “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
• Job 28:7-8 – “‘No bird of prey knows that hidden path, no falcon’s eye has seen it. Proud beasts do not set foot on it, and no lion prowls there.'”
• Proverbs 30:24-28 – “‘Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise: Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer; hyraxes are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags; locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks; a lizard can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings’ palaces.'”
• Song of Solomon 2:12 – “‘Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.'”
• Amos 5:8 – “‘He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns midnight into dawn and darkens day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land—the Lord is his name.'”
• Psalm 29:9 – “The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, ‘Glory!'”
• Jeremiah 12:11 – “‘It has been made a wasteland, parched and desolate before me; the whole land is made desolate because no one takes it to heart.'”

The Beauty of Creation and Symbolism of Hunting in Scripture

• Psalm 19:1-4 – “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
• Psalm 96:11-12 – “Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.”
• Isaiah 55:12 – “You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.”
• Job 12:7-9 – “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?”
• Genesis 2:9 – “The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
• Psalm 104:14-16 – “He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate—bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens human hearts, oil to make their faces shine, and bread that sustains their hearts. The trees of the Lord are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.”
• Psalm 8:3-4 – “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”
• Job 38:25-27 – “‘Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm, to water a land where no one lives, an uninhabited desert, to satisfy a desolate wasteland and make it sprout with grass?'”

The Majesty of Wildlife and Hunting

• Job 39:19-24 – “‘Do you give the horse its strength or clothe its neck with a flowing mane? Do you make it leap like a locust, striking terror with its proud snorting? It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength, and charges into the fray. It laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; it does not shy away from the sword. The quiver rattles against its side, along with the flashing spear and lance. In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground; it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.'”
• Psalm 50:11 – “I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine.”
• Job 39:26-30 – “‘Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread its wings toward the south? Does the eagle soar at your command and build its nest on high? It dwells on a cliff and stays there at night; a rocky crag is its stronghold. From there it looks for food; its eyes detect it from afar. Its young ones feast on blood, and where the slain are, there it is.'”
• Psalm 104:25-26 – “There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number—living things both large and small. There the ships go to and fro, and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.”
• Proverbs 30:29-31 – “‘There are three things that are stately in their stride, four that move with stately bearing: a lion, mighty among beasts, who retreats before nothing; a strutting rooster, a he-goat, and a king secure against revolt.'”
• Genesis 1:24-25 – “And God said, ‘Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the wild animals and all the creatures that move along the ground.’ And it was so.”
• Daniel 4:14-15 – “‘He called in a loud voice: Cut down the tree and trim off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches. But let the stump and its roots, bound with iron and bronze, remain in the ground, in the grass of the field.'”
• Isaiah 34:14-15 – “‘Desert creatures will meet with hyenas, and wild goats will bleat to each other; there the night creatures will also lie down and find for themselves places of rest. The owl will nest there and lay eggs, she will hatch them, and care for her young under the shadow of her wings; there also the falcons will gather, each with its mate.'”

Ethical Hunting and Responsibility Towards Animals

• Proverbs 27:23 – “Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds.”
• Deuteronomy 22:10 – “Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.”
• Leviticus 22:28 – “Do not slaughter a cow or a sheep and its young on the same day.”
• Genesis 33:13-14 – “Jacob said to him, ‘My lord knows that the children are tender and that I must care for the ewes and cows that are nursing their young. If they are driven hard just one day, all the animals will die. So let my lord go ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly at the pace of the flocks and herds before me and the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.'”
• Luke 14:5 – “Then he asked them, ‘If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?'”
• Deuteronomy 25:4 – “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.”
• 1 Samuel 17:34 – “David said to Saul, ‘Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth.'”

Responsible Hunting and Divine Interaction with Nature

• Job 38:41 – “Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?”
• 1 Kings 17:4-6 – “You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there. So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.”
• Matthew 8:26 – “He replied, ‘You of little faith, why are you so afraid?’ Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.”
• Psalm 107:29 – “He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.”
• Numbers 22:28 – “Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, ‘What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?'”
• Exodus 7:17-18 – “This is what the Lord says: By this you will know that I am the Lord: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink; the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.'”
• Genesis 7:11-12 – “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.”
• Psalm 148:7-10 – “Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding, you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds,”
• Jonah 1:17 – “Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”

The Cycle of Life, Hunting, and Death in Nature

• Genesis 3:19 – “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
• Psalm 49:12 – “People, despite their wealth, do not endure; they are like the beasts that perish.”
• Psalm 104:29 – “When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust.”
• Ecclesiastes 9:12 – “Moreover, no one knows when their hour will come: As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so people are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them.”
• Job 34:14-15 – “If he should set his heart to it and gather to himself his spirit and his breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust.”
• Ezekiel 29:5 – “I will leave you in the desert, you and all the fish of your streams. You will fall on the open field and not be gathered or picked up. I will give you as food to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the sky.”
• Psalm 104:21-22 – “The lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God. When the sun rises, they steal away and return and lie down in their dens.”
• Isaiah 43:20 – “The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen.”

Principled Hunting and the Call to Care for Creation

• Genesis 2:15 – “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”
• Leviticus 25:4 – “But in the seventh year the land is to have a year of sabbath rest, a sabbath to the LORD. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards.”
• Numbers 35:33-34 – “Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it. Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell, for I, the LORD, dwell among the Israelites.”
• Deuteronomy 20:19 – “When you besiege a city for a long time, making war against it in order to take it, you must not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them. You may eat from them, but you must not cut them down. Are the trees in the field human, that they should be besieged by you?”
• Psalm 65:9-10 – “You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it. You drench its furrows and level its ridges; you soften it with showers and bless its crops.”

Respectful Hunting and Humans and Nature in Harmony

• Psalm 85:10-12 – “Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest.”
• Job 5:10 – “He provides rain for the earth; he sends water on the countryside.”
• Ezekiel 34:27 – “The trees will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them.”

Conclusion

As we wrap up our exploration of Bible hunting verses, we’re enriched by the varied meanings within Scripture. Whether in the wild or in the pursuit of righteousness, these verses reveal the depth and significance of hunting in a spiritual context, also highlighting the virtues gained from this age-old practice.