Mazmur 104:12

104:12 The birds of the sky live beside them;

they chirp among the bushes. ¹ 

Mazmur 147:9

147:9 He gives food to the animals,

and to the young ravens when they chirp. ² 

Kejadian 1:20-22

1:20 God said, “Let the water swarm with swarms ³  of living creatures and let birds fly ⁴  above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” 1:21 God created the great sea creatures ⁵  and every living and moving thing with which the water swarmed, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. God saw that it was good. 1:22 God blessed them ⁶  and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.” ⁷ 

Ayub 38:41

38:41 Who prepares prey for the raven,

when its young cry out to God

and wander about ⁸  for lack of food?

Ayub 39:13-18

39:13 ⁹ “The wings of the ostrich ¹⁰  flap with joy, ¹¹ 

but are they the pinions and plumage of a stork? ¹² 

39:14 For she leaves ¹³  her eggs on the ground,

and lets them be warmed on the soil.

39:15 She forgets that a foot might crush them,

or that a wild animal ¹⁴  might trample them.

39:16 She is harsh ¹⁵  with her young,

as if they were not hers;

she is unconcerned

about the uselessness of her labor.

39:17 For God deprived her of wisdom,

and did not impart understanding to her.

39:18 But as soon as she springs up, ¹⁶ 

she laughs at the horse and its rider.

Ayub 39:26-30

39:26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars, ¹⁷ 

and spreads its wings toward the south?

39:27 Is it at your command ¹⁸  that the eagle soars,

and builds its nest on high?

39:28 It lives on a rock and spends the night there,

on a rocky crag ¹⁹  and a fortress. ²⁰ 

39:29 From there it spots ²¹  its prey, ²² 

its eyes gaze intently from a distance.

39:30 And its young ones devour the blood,

and where the dead carcasses ²³  are,

there it is.”

Matius 6:26

6:26 Look at the birds in the sky: ²⁴  They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds ²⁵  them. Aren’t you more valuable ²⁶  than they are?

Matius 10:29-31

10:29 Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? ²⁷  Yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. ²⁸  10:30 Even all the hairs on your head are numbered. 10:31 So do not be afraid; ²⁹  you are more valuable than many sparrows.

Lukas 12:24

12:24 Consider the ravens: ³⁰  They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn, yet God feeds ³¹  them. How much more valuable are you than the birds!

[104:12]  ¹ tn Heb “among the thick foliage they give a sound.”

[147:9]  ² tn Heb “which cry out.”

[1:20]  ³ tn The Hebrew text again uses a cognate construction (“swarm with swarms”) to emphasize the abundant fertility. The idea of the verb is one of swift movement back and forth, literally swarming. This verb is used in Exod 1:7 to describe the rapid growth of the Israelite population in bondage.

[1:20]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text uses the Polel form of the verb instead of the simple Qal; it stresses a swarming flight again to underscore the abundant fruitfulness.

[1:21]  ⁵ tn For the first time in the narrative proper the verb “create” (בָּרָא, bara’) appears. (It is used in the summary statement of v. 1.) The author wishes to underscore that these creatures – even the great ones – are part of God’s perfect creation. The Hebrew term תַנִּינִם (tanninim) is used for snakes (Exod 7:9), crocodiles (Ezek 29:3), or other powerful animals (Jer 51:34). In Isa 27:1 the word is used to describe a mythological sea creature that symbolizes God’s enemies.

[1:22]  ⁶ tn While the translation “blessed” has been retained here for the sake of simplicity, it would be most helpful to paraphrase it as “God endowed them with fruitfulness” or something similar, for here it refers to God’s giving the animals the capacity to reproduce. The expression “blessed” needs clarification in its different contexts, for it is one of the unifying themes of the Book of Genesis. The divine blessing occurs after works of creation and is intended to continue that work – the word of blessing guarantees success. The word means “to enrich; to endow,” and the most visible evidence of that enrichment is productivity or fruitfulness. See C. Westermann, Blessing in the Bible and the Life of the Church (OBT).

[1:22]  ⁷ sn The instruction God gives to creation is properly a fuller expression of the statement just made (“God blessed them”), that he enriched them with the ability to reproduce. It is not saying that these were rational creatures who heard and obeyed the word; rather, it stresses that fruitfulness in the animal world is a result of the divine decree and not of some pagan cultic ritual for fruitfulness. The repeated emphasis of “be fruitful – multiply – fill” adds to this abundance God has given to life. The meaning is underscored by the similar sounds: בָּרָךְ (barakh) with בָּרָא (bara’), and פָּרָה (parah) with רָבָה (ravah).

[38:41]  ⁸ tn The verse is difficult, making some suspect that a line has dropped out. The little birds in the nest hardly go wandering about looking for food. Dhorme suggest “and stagger for lack of food.”

[39:13]  ⁹ tc This whole section on the ostrich is not included in the LXX. Many feel it is an interpolation and should therefore be deleted. The pattern of the chapter changes from the questions being asked to observations being made.

[39:13]  ¹⁰ tn The word occurs only here and means “shrill cries.” If the MT is correct, this is a poetic name for the ostrich (see Lam 4:3).

[39:13]  ¹¹ tn Many proposals have been made here. The MT has a verb, “exult.” Strahan had “flap joyously,” a rendering followed by the NIV. The RSV uses “wave proudly.”

[39:13]  ¹² tn The point of this statement would be that the ostrich cannot compare to the stork. But there are many other proposals for this line – just about every commentator has a different explanation for it. Of the three words here, the first means “pinion,” the third “plumage,” and the second probably “stork,” although the LXX has “heron.” The point of this whole section is that the ostrich is totally lacking in parental care, whereas the stork is characterized by it. The Hebrew word for “stork” is the same word for “love”: חֲסִידָה (khasidah), an interpretation followed by the NASB. The most likely reading is “or are they the pinions and plumage of the stork?” The ostrich may flap about, but cannot fly and does not care for its young.

[39:14]  ¹³ tn The meaning may have the connotation of “lays; places,” rather than simply abandoning (see M. Dahood, “The Root ’zb II in Job,” JBL 78 [1959]: 307f.).

[39:15]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “an animal of the field.”

[39:16]  ¹⁵ sn This verb, “to deal harshly; to harden; to treat cruelly,” is used for hardening the heart elsewhere (see Isa 63:17).

[39:18]  ¹⁶ tn The colon poses a slight problem here. The literal meaning of the Hebrew verb translated “springs up” (i.e., “lifts herself on high”) might suggest flight. But some of the proposals involve a reading about readying herself to run.

[39:26]  ¹⁷ tn This word occurs only here. It is connected to “pinions” in v. 13. Dhorme suggests “clad with feathers,” but the line suggests more the use of the wings.

[39:27]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “your mouth.”

[39:28]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “upon the tooth of a rock.”

[39:28]  ²⁰ tn The word could be taken as the predicate, but because of the conjunction it seems to be adding another description of the place of its nest.

[39:29]  ²¹ tn The word means “search,” but can be used for a wide range of matters, including spying.

[39:29]  ²² tn Heb “food.”

[39:30]  ²³ tn The word חֲלָלִים (khalalim) designates someone who is fatally wounded, literally the “pierced one,” meaning anyone or thing that dies a violent death.

[6:26]  ²⁴ tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).

[6:26]  ²⁵ tn Or “God gives them food to eat.” L&N 23.6 has both “to provide food for” and “to give food to someone to eat.”

[6:26]  ²⁶ tn Grk “of more value.”

[10:29]  ²⁷ sn The penny refers to an assarion, a small Roman copper coin. One of them was worth one-sixteenth of a denarius or less than a half hour’s average wage. Sparrows were the cheapest items sold in the market. God knows about even the most financially insignificant things; see Isa 49:15.

[10:29]  ²⁸ tn Or “to the ground without the knowledge and consent of your Father.”

[10:31]  ²⁹ sn Do not be afraid. One should respect and show reverence to God, but need not fear his tender care.

[12:24]  ³⁰ tn Or “crows.” Crows and ravens belong to the same family of birds. English uses “crow” as a general word for the family. Palestine has several indigenous members of the crow family.

[12:24]  ³¹ tn Or “God gives them food to eat.” L&N 23.6 has both “to provide food for” and “to give food to someone to eat.”