ecology

³³Do not pollute the land of your habitation, so as to stain it with the blood of the innocent; neither is it able to be expiated in any way other than by the blood of him who has shed the blood of another.

²⁶And he said: “Let us make Man to our image and likeness. And let him rule over the fish of the sea, and the flying creatures of the air, and the wild beasts, and the entire earth, and every animal that moves on the earth.”

²⁹And God said: “Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant upon the earth, and all the trees that have in themselves the ability to sow their own kind, to be food for you,

¹⁰The just one knows the lives of his beasts. But the inner most parts of the impious are cruel.

¹⁰For six years, you shall sow your land and gather its produce. ¹¹But in the seventh year, you shall release it and cause it to rest, so that the poor of your people may eat. And whatever remains, let the beasts of the field eat it. So shall you do with your vineyard and your olive grove.

⁶If, as you are walking along the way, you find a bird’s nest, in a tree or on the ground, and the mother is nurturing the young or the eggs, you shall not take her with her young. ⁷Instead, you shall permit her to go, retaining the young that you have caught, so that it may be well with you, and you may live for a long time.

¹For the First Sabbath. A Psalm of David. The earth and all its fullness belong to the Lord: the whole world and all that dwells in it.

¹A Psalm of David. The Lord directs me, and nothing will be lacking to me. ²He has settled me here, in a place of pasture. He has led me out to the water of refreshment. ³He has converted my soul. He has led me away on the paths of justice, for the sake of his name. ⁴For, even if I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils. For you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they have given me consolation. ⁵You have prepared a table in my sight, opposite those who trouble me. You have anointed my head with oil, and my cup, which inebriates me, how brilliant it is! ⁶And your mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and so may I dwell in the house of the Lord for length of days.

¹In the beginning, God created heaven and earth. ²But the earth was empty and unoccupied, and darknesses were over the face of the abyss; and so the Spirit of God was brought over the waters. ³And God said, “Let there be light.” And light became. ⁴And God saw the light, that it was good; and so he divided the light from the darknesses. ⁵And he called the light, ‘Day,’ and the darknesses, ‘Night.’ And it became evening and morning, one day. ⁶God also said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide waters from waters.”

²⁵And so I say to you, do not be anxious about your life, as to what you will eat, nor about your body, as to what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶Consider the birds of the air, how they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of much greater value than they are? ²⁷And which of you, by thinking, is able to add one cubit to his stature? ²⁸And as for clothing, why are you anxious? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither work nor weave. ²⁹But I say to you, that not even Solomon, in all his glory, was arrayed like one of these. ³⁰So if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and cast into the oven tomorrow, how much more will he care for you, O little in faith?

¹⁸For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens, God himself who formed the earth and made it, the very Molder of it. He did not create it to no purpose. He formed it so that it would be inhabited. I am the Lord, and there is no other.

¹⁹For the anticipation of the creature anticipates the revelation of the sons of God. ²⁰For the creature was made subject to emptiness, not willingly, but for the sake of the One who made it subject, unto hope. ²¹For the creature itself shall also be delivered from the servitude of corruption, into the liberty of the glory of the sons of God. ²²For we know that every creature groans inwardly, as if giving birth, even until now;

⁴The earth mourned, and slipped away, and languished. The world slipped away; the loftiness of the people of the earth was weakened. ⁵And the earth was corrupted by its inhabitants. For they have transgressed the laws, they have changed the ordinance, they have dissipated the everlasting covenant. ⁶Because of this, a curse will devour the earth, and its inhabitants will sin. And for this reason, its caretakers will become crazed, and few men will be left behind. ⁷The vintage has mourned. The vine has languished. All those who were rejoicing in their hearts have groaned. ⁸The gladness of the drums has ceased. The sound of rejoicing has quieted. The sweetness of stringed instruments has been silenced. ⁹They will not drink wine with a song. The drink will be bitter to those who drink it.

¹⁸And the nations became angry, but your wrath arrived, and the time for the dead to be judged, and to render a reward to your servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to those who fear your name, small and great, and to exterminate those who have corrupted the earth.”

¹⁰For six years, you shall sow your land and gather its produce.

¹⁵and wine, in order to cheer the heart of man. Then he may gladden his face with oil, and bread will confirm the heart of man.

⁷And I led you into the land of Carmel, so that you would eat from its fruit and from its excellence. And having entered it, you defiled my land, and you turned my inheritance into an abomination.