What does the Bible say about killing animals?
Bible Topic · WEB
The Bible permits people to kill animals for lawful human purposes such as food and necessary use, while requiring gratitude, mercy, and responsible stewardship. Genesis 1:26 gives humanity dominion over creatures, and Genesis 9:3 expressly permits animals for food, though this authority is never a license for cruelty. Proverbs 12:10 commends the righteous person’s care for animals, and Deuteronomy 25:4 reflects God’s concern for their welfare. Exodus 20:13 prohibits the murder of human beings, whose lives bear God’s image in a distinct way. Animal sacrifices in Scripture pointed forward to Christ, and Isaiah 11:6-9 anticipates the peace of God’s restored creation. Christians should therefore receive animals as God’s gifts and treat them humanely.
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Rankings: OpenBible.info Topical Bible (CC BY) · Scripture: World English Bible
- Leviticus 24:21
He who kills an animal shall make it good; and he who kills a man shall be put to death.
- Genesis 9:3
Every moving thing that lives will be food for you. As the green herb, I have given everything to you.
- Proverbs 12:10
A righteous man regards the life of his animal, But the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.
- Genesis 1:26
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 sky, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
- Genesis 1:29-30
[29] God said, "Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food. [30] To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food." And it was so.
- Isaiah 66:3
He who kills an ox is as he who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, as he who breaks a dog's neck; he who offers an offering, [as he who offers] pig's blood; he who burns frankincense, as he who blesses an idol. Yes, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations:
- Isaiah 11:6-9
[6] 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 fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. [7] The cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. [8] The sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. [9] They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Yahweh, as the waters cover the sea.
- Exodus 20:13
"You shall not murder.
- Deuteronomy 25:4
You shall not muzzle the ox when he treads out [the grain].
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