Gen 1:20-25, Job 38:39-39:30, 40:15-41:34, Psa 148:10 | ESV | STEP | And God said , Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures , and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens .

Genesis 1:20-25

20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds ^{▼▼Or flying things; see Leviticus 11:19–20} fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21 So ^bGod created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, ^c“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Job 38:39-41

39 “Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
or ^dsatisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40 when they crouch in their ^edens
or lie in wait ^fin their thicket?
41 Who provides for ^gthe raven its prey,
when its young ones cry to God for help,
and wander about for lack of food?

Job 39

1 “Do you know when ^hthe mountain goats give birth?
Do you observe ⁱthe calving of the does?
2 Can you number the months that they fulfill,
and do you know the time when they give birth,
3 when they ^jcrouch, bring forth their offspring,
and are delivered of their young?
4 Their young ones become strong; they grow up in the open;
they go out and ^kdo not return to them.
5 “Who has let the wild donkey go free?
Who has ^lloosed the bonds of the swift donkey,
6 to whom I have given ^mthe arid plain for his home
and ⁿthe salt land for his dwelling place?
7 He scorns the tumult of the city;
he hears not the shouts of the driver.
8 He ranges the mountains as his pasture,
and he searches after every green thing.
9 “Is ^othe wild ox willing to serve you?
Will he spend the night at your ^pmanger?
10 Can you bind ^qhim in the furrow with ropes,
or will he harrow the valleys after you?
11 Will you depend on him because his strength is great,
and will you leave to him your labor?
12 Do you have faith in him that he will return your grain
and gather it to your threshing floor?
13 “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly,
but are they the pinions and plumage of love? ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain}
14 For she leaves her eggs to the earth
and lets them be warmed on the ground,
15 forgetting that a foot may crush them
and that the wild beast may trample them.
16 She ^sdeals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers;
though her ^tlabor be in vain, yet she has no fear,
17 because God has made her forget wisdom
and ^ugiven her no share in understanding.
18 When she rouses herself to flee, ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain}
she laughs at the horse and his rider.
19 “Do you give the horse his might?
Do you clothe his neck with a mane?
20 Do you make him leap like the locust?
His majestic ^wsnorting is terrifying.
21 He paws ^{▼▼Hebrew They paw} in the valley and exults in his strength;
he ^ygoes out to meet the weapons.
22 He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
he does not turn back from the sword.
23 Upon him rattle the quiver,
the flashing spear, and the javelin.
24 With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground;
he cannot stand still at ^zthe sound of the trumpet.
25 When the trumpet sounds, he says ‘Aha!’
He smells the battle from afar,
the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars
and spreads his wings toward the south?
27 Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up
and makes his ^aanest on high?
28 On the rock he dwells and makes his home,
on ^abthe rocky crag and stronghold.
29 From there he spies out the prey;
his eyes behold it from far away.
30 His young ones suck up blood,
and ^acwhere the slain are, there is he.”

Job 40:15-24

15 “Behold, Behemoth, ^{▼▼A large animal, exact identity unknown}
which I made as I made you;
he eats ^aegrass like an ox.
16 Behold, his strength in his loins,
and his power in the muscles of his belly.
17 He makes his tail stiff like a cedar;
the sinews of his thighs are knit together.
18 His bones are tubes of bronze,
his limbs like bars of iron.
19 “He is ^afthe first of ^agthe works ^{▼▼Hebrew ways} of God;
let him who made him bring near his sword!
20 For the mountains yield food for him
where all the wild beasts play.
21 Under the lotus plants he lies,
in the shelter of ^aithe reeds and in the marsh.
22 For his shade the lotus trees cover him;
the willows of the brook surround him.
23 Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened;
he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth.
24 Can one take him by his eyes, ^{▼▼Or in his sight}
or pierce his nose with a snare?

Job 41

1 ^{▼▼Ch 40:25 in Hebrew} “Can you draw out ^alLeviathan ^{▼▼A large sea animal, exact identity unknown} with a fishhook
or press down his tongue with a cord?
2 Can you put ^ana rope in his nose
or pierce his jaw with ^aoa hook?
3 Will he make many pleas to you?
Will he speak to you soft words?
4 Will he make a covenant with you
to take him for ^apyour servant forever?
5 Will you play with him as with a bird,
or will you put him on a leash for your girls?
6 Will traders bargain over him?
Will they divide him up among the merchants?
7 Can you fill his skin with harpoons
or his head with fishing spears?
8 Lay your hands on him;
remember the battle—you will not do it again!
9 ^{▼▼Ch 41:1 in Hebrew} Behold, the hope of a man is false;
he is laid low even at the sight of him.
10 No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up.
Who then is he who can stand before me?
11 ^arWho has first given to me, that I should repay him?
^asWhatever is under the whole heaven is mine.
12 “I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,
or his mighty strength, or his goodly frame.
13 Who can strip off his outer garment?
Who would come near him with a bridle?
14 Who can open the doors of his face?
Around his teeth is terror.
15 His back is made of ^{▼▼Or His pride is in his} rows of shields,
shut up closely as with a seal.
16 One is so near to another
that no air can come between them.
17 They are ^aujoined one to another;
they clasp each other and cannot be separated.
18 His sneezings flash forth light,
and his eyes are like ^avthe eyelids of the dawn.
19 Out of his mouth go flaming torches;
sparks of fire leap forth.
20 Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke,
as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
21 His breath ^awkindles coals,
and a flame comes forth from his mouth.
22 In his neck abides strength,
and terror dances before him.
23 The folds of his flesh ^axstick together,
firmly cast on him and immovable.
24 His heart is hard as a stone,
hard as the lower millstone.
25 When he raises himself up, the mighty ^{▼▼Or gods} are afraid;
at the crashing they are beside themselves.
26 Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail,
nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
27 He counts iron as straw,
and bronze as rotten wood.
28 The arrow cannot make him flee;
for him ,sling stones are turned to stubble.
29 Clubs are counted as stubble;
he laughs at the rattle of javelins.
30 His underparts are like sharp ^azpotsherds;
he spreads himself like ^baa threshing sledge on the mire.
31 He makes the deep boil like a pot;
he makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
32 Behind him he leaves a shining wake;
one would think the deep to be white-haired.
33 ^bbOn earth there is not his like,
a creature without fear.
34 He sees everything that is high;
he is king over all the ^bcsons of pride.”

Psalms 148:10

10 ^bdBeasts and all livestock,
creeping things and ^beflying birds!