Hunting is a practice mentioned in various contexts throughout the Bible, often symbolizing pursuit, provision, or warfare. Here are 30 Bible verses about hunting, each with a brief commentary.
Bible Verses About Hunting
Genesis 25:27
“When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents.”
Esau’s skill in hunting reflects his rugged, outdoor lifestyle.
Genesis 10:9
“He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. Therefore, it is said, ‘Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.'”
Nimrod’s reputation as a mighty hunter symbolizes his prowess and leadership.
1 Samuel 24:11
“See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life to take it.”
David uses hunting imagery to describe Saul’s pursuit of him.
Genesis 27:3
“Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me.”
Isaac requests hunted game from Esau, indicating a cultural reliance on hunting for food.
Psalm 7:2
“lest like a lion they tear my soul apart, rending it in pieces, with none to deliver.”
Hunting imagery depicts the ferocity of enemies seeking to harm the psalmist.
Psalm 10:8
“He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;”
The wicked are compared to hunters, lurking and preying on the vulnerable.
Psalm 17:12
“He is like a lion eager to tear, as a young lion lurking in ambush.”
Enemies are likened to hunting predators, seeking to overpower and destroy.
Job 38:39-40
“Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in their thicket?”
God’s rhetorical question highlights His provision for the animal kingdom through hunting.
Psalm 35:3
“Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers! Say to my soul, ‘I am your salvation!'”
The psalmist invokes hunting weapons to depict God’s defense against enemies.
Jeremiah 16:16
“Behold, I am sending for many fishers, declares the Lord, and they shall catch them. And afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks.”
God uses hunting imagery to describe the capture and judgment of sinners.
Lamentations 3:52
“I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath;”
Affliction is depicted as being hunted by God’s wrath.
Bible Verses About Hunting
Jeremiah 2:30
“In vain have I struck your children; they took no correction; your own sword devoured your prophets like a ravening lion.”
God’s discipline is likened to a hunting sword, consuming those who reject correction.
Ezekiel 13:18
“And say, Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the women who sew magic bands upon all wrists, and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature, in the hunt for souls! Will you hunt down souls belonging to my people and keep your own souls alive?”
False prophets are condemned for hunting souls with deceptive practices.
Amos 3:4
“Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from his den if he has taken nothing?”
The inevitability of a lion’s roar signifies the certainty of catching prey.
Job 41:10
“No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up. Who then is he who can stand before me?”
God’s sovereignty over Leviathan compares to the untameable nature of a hunted beast.
Isaiah 51:20
“Your sons have fainted; they lie at the head of every street like an antelope in a net; they are full of the wrath of the Lord, the rebuke of your God.”
The captured antelope symbolizes the helplessness of the disobedient.
2 Samuel 2:18
“Now the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel was as swift of foot as a wild gazelle.”
Asahel’s swiftness is compared to the agility of a hunted gazelle.
Psalm 140:1
“Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men; preserve me from violent men,”
The psalmist pleads for deliverance from those who hunt him.
Isaiah 66:16
“For by fire will the Lord enter into judgment, and by his sword, with all flesh; and those slain by the Lord shall be many.”
God’s judgment is depicted as a hunting slaughter, pursuing the wicked.
Proverbs 6:5
“Save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler.”
Wisdom advises fleeing from danger, likening it to escaping a hunter’s grasp.
Psalm 38:12
“Those who seek my life lay their snares; those who seek my hurt speak of ruin and meditate treachery all day long.”
Enemies are portrayed as hunters setting traps and plotting destruction.
Psalm 91:3
“For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.”
God rescues His people from the traps set by their enemies.
Isaiah 51:23
“And I will put it into the hand of your tormentors, who have said to you, ‘Bow down, that we may pass over’; and you have made your back like the ground and like the street for them to pass over.”
Oppressors are likened to hunters demanding submission from their prey.
Psalm 9:15
“The nations have sunk in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.”
Those who plot harm are ensnared by their own devices, like hunted prey.
Jeremiah 5:26
“For wicked men are found among my people; they lurk like fowlers lying in wait. They set a trap; they catch men.”
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