Topic

Animals

Passages from across the Bible

Passages on this topic

From Nave’s Topical Bible (1896), a historical reference index. The groupings are Nave’s; the verses are shown in the text used across this site.

Creations of

Genesis 1:24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, land crawlers, and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so.
Genesis 2:19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and He brought them to the man to see what he would name each one. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.
Jeremiah 27:5 By My great power and outstretched arm, I made the earth and the men and beasts on the face of it, and I give it to whom I please.

Food of

Genesis 1:30 And to every beast of the earth and every bird of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth — everything that has the breath of life in it — I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.

Named

Genesis 2:20 The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.

Ordained as food for man

Genesis 9:2–3 The fear and dread of you will fall on every living creature on the earth, every bird of the air, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are delivered into your hand. Everything that lives and moves will be food for you; just as I gave you the green plants, I no…
Leviticus 11:3 You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud.
Leviticus 11:9 Of all the creatures that live in the water, whether in the seas or in the streams, you may eat anything with fins and scales.
Leviticus 11:21–22 However, you may eat the following kinds of flying insects that walk on all fours: those having jointed legs above their feet for hopping on the ground. Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket, or grasshopper.
Deuteronomy 14:4–6 These are the animals that you may eat: The ox, the sheep, the goat, the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep. You may eat any animal that has a split hoof divided in two and that chews the cud.
Deuteronomy 14:9 Of all the creatures that live in the water, you may eat anything with fins and scales,
Deuteronomy 14:11 You may eat any clean bird,
Deuteronomy 14:20 But you may eat any clean bird.

God's care of

Genesis 9:9–10 “Behold, I now establish My covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that was with you — the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth— every living thing that came out of the ark.
Deuteronomy 25:4 Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.
Job 38:41 Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God as they wander about for lack of food?’’
Psalm 36:6 Your righteousness is like the highest mountains; Your judgments are like the deepest sea. O LORD, You preserve man and beast.
Psalm 104:11 They give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
Psalm 104:21 The young lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God.
Psalm 147:9 He provides food for the animals, and for the young ravens when they call.
Jonah 4:11 So should I not care about the great city of Nineveh, which has more than 120,000 people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well?”
Matthew 6:26 Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Matthew 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.

Show 3 more passages

Luke 12:6 Luke 12:24 1 Corinthians 9:9

Under the curse

Genesis 3:14 So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and every beast of the field! On your belly will you go, and dust you will eat, all the days of your life.
Genesis 6:7 So the LORD said, “I will blot out man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth — every man and beast and crawling creature and bird of the air — for I am grieved that I have made them.”
Genesis 6:17 And behold, I will bring floodwaters upon the earth to destroy every creature under the heavens that has the breath of life. Everything on the earth will perish.

Suffer under divine judgments, sent upon man

Jeremiah 7:20 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, My anger and My fury will be poured out on this place, on man and beast, on the trees of the field and the produce of the land, and it will burn and not be extinguished.
Jeremiah 12:4 How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field be withered? Because of the evil of its residents, the animals and birds have been swept away, for the people have said, “He cannot see what our end will be.”
Jeremiah 21:6 I will strike down the residents of this city, both man and beast. They will die in a terrible plague.’
Ezekiel 14:13 “Son of man, if a land sins against Me by acting unfaithfully, and I stretch out My hand against it to cut off its supply of food, to send famine upon it, and to cut off from it both man and beast,
Ezekiel 14:17 Or if I bring a sword against that land and say, ‘Let a sword pass through it,’ so that I cut off from it both man and beast,
Ezekiel 14:19–21 Or if I send a plague into that land and pour out My wrath upon it through bloodshed, cutting off from it both man and beast, then as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, they could not deliver their own sons or daughters. Their righteousness could deli…
Joel 1:18–20 How the cattle groan! The herds wander in confusion because they have no pasture. Even the flocks of sheep are suffering. To You, O LORD, I call, for fire has consumed the open pastures and flames have scorched all the trees of the field. Even the beasts of the field pant for You, for the streams o…

Two of every sort preserved in the ark

Genesis 6:19–20 And you are to bring two of every living creature into the ark — male and female — to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird and animal and crawling creature will come to you to be kept alive.
Genesis 7:2–3 You are to take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate; a pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate; and seven pairs of every kind of bird of the air, male and female, to preserve their offspring on the face of all the earth.
Genesis 7:5 And Noah did all that the LORD had commanded him.
Genesis 7:9 came to Noah to enter the ark, two by two, male and female, as God had commanded Noah.
Genesis 7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.
Genesis 8:19 Every living creature, every creeping thing, and every bird — everything that moves upon the earth — came out of the ark, kind by kind.

Suffered the plagues of Egypt

Exodus 8:17 This they did, and when Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, gnats came upon man and beast. All the dust of the earth turned into gnats throughout the land of Egypt.
Exodus 9:9–10 It will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and festering boils will break out on man and beast throughout the land.” So they took soot from the furnace and stood before Pharaoh. Moses tossed it into the air, and festering boils broke out on man and beast.
Exodus 9:19 So give orders now to shelter your livestock and everything you have in the field. Every man or beast that remains in the field and is not brought inside will die when the hail comes down upon them.’”
Exodus 11:5 and every firstborn son in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the servant girl behind the hand mill, as well as the firstborn of all the cattle.

Perish at death

Ecclesiastes 3:21 Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and the spirit of the animal descends into the earth?
Ecclesiastes 12:7 before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Possessed of devils

Matthew 8:31–32 So the demons begged Jesus, “If You drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” “Go!” He told them. So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and died in the waters.
Mark 5:13 He gave them permission, and the unclean spirits came out and went into the pigs, and the herd of about two thousand rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the water.
Luke 8:33 Then the demons came out of the man and went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

Clean and unclean

Genesis 8:20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD. And taking from every kind of clean animal and clean bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar.
Leviticus 7:21 If one touches anything unclean, whether human uncleanness, an unclean animal, or any unclean, detestable thing, and then eats any of the meat of the peace offering that belongs to the LORD, that person must be cut off from his people.”
Leviticus 11 The LORD spoke again to Moses and Aaron, telling them, “Say to the Israelites, ‘Of all the beasts of the earth, these ones you may eat: You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud. But of those that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, you are no… (whole chapter)
Leviticus 20:25 You are therefore to distinguish between clean and unclean animals and birds. Do not become contaminated by any animal or bird, or by anything that crawls on the ground; I have set these apart as unclean for you.
Deuteronomy 14:3–20 You must not eat any detestable thing. These are the animals that you may eat: The ox, the sheep, the goat, the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep. You may eat any animal that has a split hoof divided in two and that chews the cud. But of…
Acts 10:11–15 He saw heaven open and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth, as well as birds of the air. Then a voice said to him: “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!” “No, Lord!” Peter answered. “I have never e…
1 Timothy 4:3–5 They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For every creation of God is good, and nothing that is received with thanksgiving should be rejected, because it is sanctified by the…

Offered in sacrifice

Genesis 4:4 while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock. And the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
Genesis 7:2–8 You are to take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate; a pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate; and seven pairs of every kind of bird of the air, male and female, to preserve their offspring on the face of all the earth. For seven days from now…
Genesis 8:20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD. And taking from every kind of clean animal and clean bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar.

See Offerings

God's control of

Psalm 91:13 You will tread on the lion and cobra; you will trample the young lion and serpent.
Isaiah 11:6 The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat; the calf and young lion and fatling will be together, and a little child will lead them.
Isaiah 11:8 The infant will play by the cobra’s den, and the toddler will reach into the viper’s nest.
Isaiah 35:9 No lion will be there, and no vicious beast will go up on it. Such will not be found there, but the redeemed will walk upon it.
Luke 10:19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you.

Instruments of God's will

Exodus 8 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me. But if you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs. The Nile will teem with frogs, and they will come into your palace and up to your… (whole chapter)
Exodus 9 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him that this is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me. But if you continue to restrain them and refuse to let them go, then the hand of the LORD will bring a severe plague on your livestock i… (whole chapter)
Exodus 10:1–20 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials, that I may perform these miraculous signs of Mine among them, and that you may tell your children and grandchildren how severely I dealt with the Egyptians when I performed miraculous signs a…
Numbers 21:6 So the LORD sent venomous snakes among the people, and many of the Israelites were bitten and died.
Numbers 22:28 Then the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?”
Joshua 24:12 I sent the hornet ahead of you, and it drove out the two Amorite kings before you, but not by your own sword or bow.
Jeremiah 8:17 “For behold, I will send snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you,” declares the LORD.
Joel 1:4 What the devouring locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust has left, the young locust has eaten; and what the young locust has left, the destroying locust has eaten.

Belong to God

Psalm 50:10–12 for every beast of the forest is Mine — the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are Mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and the fullness thereof.

Sent in judgment

Leviticus 26:22 I will send wild animals against you to rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and reduce your numbers, until your roads lie desolate.
Numbers 21:6–7 So the LORD sent venomous snakes among the people, and many of the Israelites were bitten and died. Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you. Intercede with the LORD so He will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses interceded for the peo…
Deuteronomy 8:15 He led you through the vast and terrifying wilderness with its venomous snakes and scorpions, a thirsty and waterless land. He brought you water from the rock of flint.
Deuteronomy 28:26 Your corpses will be food for all the birds of the air and beasts of the earth, with no one to scare them away.
Ezekiel 5:17 I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring a sword against you. I, the LORD, have spoken.”
Ezekiel 14:15 Or if I send wild beasts through the land to leave it childless and desolate, with no man passing through it for fear of the beasts,
Ezekiel 32:4 I will abandon you on the land and hurl you into the open field. I will cause all the birds of the air to settle upon you, and all the beasts of the earth to eat their fill of you.
Revelation 6:8 Then I looked and saw a pale green horse. Its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed close behind. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill by sword, by famine, by plague, and by the beasts of the earth.

Paul contends with

1 Corinthians 15:32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for human motives, what did I gain? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

Nature of

Job 39 “Do you know when mountain goats give birth? Have you watched the doe bear her fawn? Can you count the months they are pregnant? Do you know the time they give birth? They crouch down and bring forth their young; they deliver their newborn. Their young ones thrive and grow up in the open field; the… (whole chapter)
Psalm 32:9 Do not be like the horse or mule, which have no understanding; they must be controlled with bit and bridle to make them come to you.
Psalm 49:12 But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure; he is like the beasts that perish.
Ecclesiastes 3:18–21 I said to myself, “As for the sons of men, God tests them so that they may see for themselves that they are but beasts.” For the fates of both men and beasts are the same: As one dies, so dies the other — they all have the same breath. Man has no advantage over the animals, since everything is futi…

Habits of

Job 12:7–8 But ask the animals, and they will instruct you; ask the birds of the air, and they will tell you. Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; let the fish of the sea inform you.
Job 37:8 The wild animals enter their lairs; they settle down in their dens.
Job 39 “Do you know when mountain goats give birth? Have you watched the doe bear her fawn? Can you count the months they are pregnant? Do you know the time they give birth? They crouch down and bring forth their young; they deliver their newborn. Their young ones thrive and grow up in the open field; the… (whole chapter)
Job 40:20 The hills yield him their produce, while all the beasts of the field play nearby.
Psalm 29:9 The voice of the LORD twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in His temple all cry, “Glory!”
Psalm 104:20–25 You bring darkness, and it becomes night, when all the beasts of the forest prowl. The young lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God. The sun rises, and they withdraw; they lie down in their dens. Man goes forth to his work and to his labor until evening. How many are Your works, O L…
Isaiah 13:21–22 But desert creatures will lie down there, and howling creatures will fill her houses. Ostriches will dwell there, and wild goats will leap about. Hyenas will howl in her fortresses and jackals in her luxurious palaces. Babylon’s time is at hand, and her days will not be prolonged.
Isaiah 34:14 The desert creatures will meet with hyenas, and one wild goat will call to another. There the night creature will settle and find her place of repose.
James 3:7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man,

Menstruation of

Jeremiah 2:24 a wild donkey at home in the wilderness, sniffing the wind in the heat of her desire. Who can restrain her passion? All who seek her need not weary themselves; in mating season they will find her.

Facts about breeding

Genesis 30:35–43 That very day Laban removed all the streaked or spotted male goats and every speckled or spotted female goat— every one that had any white on it— and every dark-colored lamb, and he placed them under the care of his sons. Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob was sh…
Genesis 31:8–9 If he said, ‘The speckled will be your wages,’ then the whole flock bore speckled offspring. If he said, ‘The streaked will be your wages,’ then the whole flock bore streaked offspring. Thus God has taken away your father’s livestock and given them to me.

Instincts of

Deuteronomy 32:11 As an eagle stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, He spread His wings to catch them and carried them on His pinions.
Job 35:11 who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the air?’
Job 39 “Do you know when mountain goats give birth? Have you watched the doe bear her fawn? Can you count the months they are pregnant? Do you know the time they give birth? They crouch down and bring forth their young; they deliver their newborn. Their young ones thrive and grow up in the open field; the… (whole chapter)
Job 40 And the LORD said to Job: “Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who argues with God give an answer.” Then Job answered the LORD: “Behold, I am insignificant. How can I reply to You? I place my hand over my mouth. I have spoken once, but I have no answer — twice, but I have nothin… (whole chapter)
Job 41 “Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook or tie down his tongue with a rope? Can you put a cord through his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook? Will he beg you for mercy or speak to you softly? Will he make a covenant with you to take him as a slave for life? Can you pet him like a bird or put him on… (whole chapter)
Psalm 59:6 They return in the evening, snarling like dogs and prowling around the city.
Psalm 104 Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty. He wraps Himself in light as with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a tent, laying the beams of His chambers in the waters above, making the clouds His chariot, walking on the wings o… (whole chapter)
Proverbs 6:6–8 Walk in the manner of the ant, O slacker; observe its ways and become wise. Without a commander, without an overseer or ruler, it prepares its provisions in summer; it gathers its food at harvest.
Proverbs 30:25–28 The ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer; the rock badgers are creatures of little power, yet they make their homes in the rocks; the locusts have no king, yet they all advance in formation; and the lizard can be caught in one’s hands, yet it is found in…
Jeremiah 8:7 Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons. The turtledove, the swift, and the thrush keep their time of migration, but My people do not know the requirements of the LORD.

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Matthew 24:28

Homes of

Job 24:5 Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go to work foraging for food; the wasteland is food for their children.
Job 37:8 The wild animals enter their lairs; they settle down in their dens.
Job 39 “Do you know when mountain goats give birth? Have you watched the doe bear her fawn? Can you count the months they are pregnant? Do you know the time they give birth? They crouch down and bring forth their young; they deliver their newborn. Their young ones thrive and grow up in the open field; the… (whole chapter)
Psalm 104:20–25 You bring darkness, and it becomes night, when all the beasts of the forest prowl. The young lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God. The sun rises, and they withdraw; they lie down in their dens. Man goes forth to his work and to his labor until evening. How many are Your works, O L…
Isaiah 34:14 The desert creatures will meet with hyenas, and one wild goat will call to another. There the night creature will settle and find her place of repose.
Jeremiah 2:24 a wild donkey at home in the wilderness, sniffing the wind in the heat of her desire. Who can restrain her passion? All who seek her need not weary themselves; in mating season they will find her.
Jeremiah 50:39 So the desert creatures and hyenas will live there and ostriches will dwell there. It will never again be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation.
Mark 1:13 and He was there for forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and the angels ministered to Him.

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Beasts Symbolical

Isaiah 30:6 This is the burden against the beasts of the Negev: Through a land of hardship and distress, of lioness and lion, of viper and flying serpent, they carry their wealth on the backs of donkeys and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people of no profit to them.
Daniel 7:11 Then I kept watching because of the arrogant words the horn was speaking. As I continued to watch, the beast was slain, and its body was destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.
Daniel 7:17 ‘These four great beasts are four kings who will arise from the earth.
Daniel 7:19 Then I wanted to know the true meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others — extremely terrifying — devouring and crushing with iron teeth and bronze claws, then trampling underfoot whatever was left.
Daniel 8:4 I saw the ram charging toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against him, and there was no deliverance from his power. He did as he pleased and became great.
Acts 10:12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth, as well as birds of the air.
Revelation 4:6–9 And before the throne was something like a sea of glass, as clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, covered with eyes in front and back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second like a calf, the third had a face like a man, and the fourth was lik…
Revelation 5:6–14 Then I saw a Lamb who appeared to have been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which represent the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And He came and took the scroll from the rig…
Revelation 6:1–7 Then I watched as the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” So I looked and saw a white horse, and its rider held a bow. And he was given a crown, and he rode out to overcome and conquer. And when the Lamb opened the se…
Revelation 7:11 And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. And they fell facedown before the throne and worshiped God,

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Revelation 11:7 Revelation 13 Revelation 14:3 Revelation 14:9 Revelation 14:11 Revelation 15:2 Revelation 16:2 Revelation 16:10–13 Revelation 17 Revelation 19:4 Revelation 19:19–20 Revelation 20:4 Revelation 20:10

Cruelty to

Instances of

Kindness to: Instances of

Jacob, in erecting booths for his cattle

Genesis 33:17 but Jacob went on to Succoth, where he built a house for himself and shelters for his livestock; that is why the place was called Succoth.

People of Gerar, in providing tents for cattle

2 Chronicles 14:15 They also attacked the tents of the herdsmen and carried off many sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

Laws Concerning

Exodus 20:10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, on which you must not do any work— neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant or livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates.
Exodus 21:28–36 If an ox gores a man or woman to death, the ox must surely be stoned, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the ox shall not be held responsible. But if the ox has a habit of goring, and its owner has been warned yet does not restrain it, and it kills a man or woman, then the ox must be…
Exodus 22:1–4 “If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters or sells it, he must repay five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep. If a thief is caught breaking in and is beaten to death, no one shall be guilty of bloodshed. But if it happens after sunrise, there is guilt for his bloodshed. A thief must m…
Exodus 23:5 If you see the donkey of one who hates you fallen under its load, do not leave it there; you must help him with it.
Exodus 23:12 For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the son of your maidservant may be refreshed, as well as the foreign resident.
Leviticus 19:19 You are to keep My statutes. You shall not crossbreed two different kinds of livestock; you shall not sow your fields with two kinds of seed; and you shall not wear clothing made of two kinds of material.
Deuteronomy 5:14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, on which you must not do any work— neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox or donkey or any of your livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest…
Deuteronomy 22:4 If you see your brother’s donkey or ox fallen on the road, you must not ignore it; you must help him lift it up.
Deuteronomy 22:6–7 If you come across a bird’s nest with chicks or eggs, either in a tree or on the ground along the road, and the mother is sitting on the chicks or eggs, you must not take the mother along with the young. You may take the young, but be sure to let the mother go, so that it may be well with you and t…
Deuteronomy 22:10 Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.