The relationship between people and the natural world has always been linked with spirituality and religion. Since our earliest times, hunting has played an important role in many civilizations as a method of sustenance, survival, and even spiritual reflection. The Bible contains a wide range of chapters that touch on the subject of hunting, often highlighting deeper truths about humanity’s relationship with the natural world and its Creator. For those who find comfort in the pages of the Bible.
In this current study of “Bible Verses about Hunting,” we travel across the Bible to discover the insight, symbolism, and moral considerations that connect the age-old practice of hunting with issues of faith, morality, and reverence for the natural world. These verses serve as a reminder that within the vast terrain of faith, the wilderness has teachings that are as profound as they are ageless, from the triumphant pursuit of wild animals to the figurative quest for spiritual knowledge.
List of Bible Verses About Hunting
Genesis 10:9
“He was a mighty hunter before the LORD. Therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.”
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Genesis 27:5
“Rebekah heard when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game to bring home.”
Genesis 49:9
“Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?”
Exodus 19:4
“You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.”
Leviticus 11:13-19
“These are the birds you are to regard as unclean and not eat because they are unclean: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, the red kite, any kind of black kite, any kind of raven, the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.”
Numbers 24:8
“God brings him out of Egypt and is for him like the horns of the wild ox; he shall eat up the nations, his adversaries, and shall break their bones in pieces and pierce them through with his arrows.”
Deuteronomy 14:5
“The deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep.”
1 Samuel 17:34-36
“But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it.”
Psalm 104:20-21
“You make darkness, and it is night, when all the beasts of the forest creep about. The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God.”
2 Samuel 22:34
“He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights.”
Deuteronomy 32:11
“Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions.”
2 Samuel 22:35
“He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.”
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?”
Psalm 18:33
“He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights.”
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Genesis 27:3
“Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me.”
Psalm 29:9
“The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, ‘Glory!'”
Psalm 42:1
“As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.”
Proverbs 6:5
“Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.”
Psalm 91:3
“For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.”
Proverbs 12:27
“The lazy do not roast any game, but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.”
Isaiah 13:14
“Like hunted gazelles, like sheep without a shepherd, they will all return to their own people, they will flee to their native land.”
Proverbs 19:12
“The king’s rage is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.”
Proverbs 28:15
“Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless people.”
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.”
Isaiah 11:6-9
“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them.”
Isaiah 31:4
“This is what the Lord says to me: ‘As a lion growls, a great lion over its prey—and though a whole band of shepherds is called together against it, it is not frightened by their shouts or disturbed by their clamor—so the Lord Almighty will come down to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.'”
Jeremiah 5:6
“Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them, a wolf from the desert will ravage them, a leopard will lie in wait near their towns to tear to pieces any who venture out, for their rebellion is great and their backslidings many.”
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Ezekiel 19:3-4
“She brought up one of her cubs, and he became a strong lion. He learned to tear the prey; he devoured men.”
Job 41:1-2
“Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook or tie down its tongue with a rope? Can you put a cord through its nose or pierce its jaw with a hook?”
Ezekiel 19:6
“He prowled among the lions, and he became a young lion; he learned to tear the prey; he devoured men.”
Hosea 5:14
“For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, like a great lion to Judah. I will tear them to pieces and go away; I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them.”
Hosea 13:7-8
“So I will be like a lion to them; like a leopard I will lurk by the path. Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them and rip them open; like a lion I will devour them—a wild animal will tear them apart.”
Amos 3:4
“Does a lion roar in the thicket when it has no prey? Does it growl in its den when it has caught nothing?”
Amos 9:3
“Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, there I will hunt them down and seize them.”
Micah 5:8
“The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among the flocks of sheep, which, when it goes through, treads down and tears in pieces, and there is none to deliver.”
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Nahum 2:12
“The lion tore enough for his cubs and strangled prey for his lionesses; he filled his lairs with prey and his dens with torn flesh.”
Matthew 7:15
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”
Luke 13:32
“And he said to them, ‘Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course.'”
1 Corinthians 9:9
“For it is written in the Law of Moses, ‘You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.’ Is it for oxen that God is concerned?”
2 Timothy 4:17
“But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.”
1 Peter 5:8
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
Job 41:7
“Can you fill its hide with harpoons or its head with fishing spears?”
Job 41:26-29
“The sword that reaches it has no effect, nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin. Iron it treats like straw and bronze like rotten wood.”
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Psalm 104:14-15
“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.”
Job 42:10
“And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.”
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.”
Conclusion
The study of hunting-related Bible texts highlights the eternal fact that the natural world and the spiritual realm are intertwined, woven together in a way that reflects the wisdom of the Creator and our common humanity. May our hearts and minds remain resolutely tuned to the messages of scripture, guiding us to a greater awareness of ourselves, our Creator, and the world around us, just as a hunter’s eyes are fixed on the target.