It does not say "livestock" or "beasts".
It says "living thing", twice.
KJV is full of sneaky little twists like this.
Discussion
Looks like you need more proof of work and less trusting dubious sources.
Firstly, I was quoting ESV. KJV reads:
“And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life”
“Cattle” here is בְּהֵמָה. Which translates to “beast, cattle, or animal” according to Strong’s: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h929/kjv/wlc/0-1/
“Beast” here is חַי and translates to “living thing, animal” and surely a beast is an animal: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h2416/kjv/wlc/0-1/
KJV is the dubious source most other translations (like ESV) stem from.
Strong can be a useful tool but is very sus too imo.
That said, I appreciate the back and forths, thanks.
Will again look deeper in these lines.
I actually like KJV (poetic, helps my vocab!) and like ESV and feel they are both about as good and accurate as translations (rather than paraphrase versions). But, that's not how people talk today. And agree, Strongs is great for looking at the Hebrew or Greek words. I've always heard: don't try to interpret the Bible (huge danger), let the Bible interpret itself. That is, let the words speak for themselves, compare them to other passages throughout, and use the historical context/time in which they were written (phrases written 3000 years ago likely don't mean the same thing literally as if written today). :) I gotta get going, good convo, have a good day.
Yeah, same here. I like KJV. ESV is a solid modern translation.
And yes, danger in trying to interpret the Bible. Better to read it within the context of the writers and use other scriptures to help understand.
Good stuff!
Yes, glad to dig into scripture with you. No translation is perfect but KJV is quite beautiful in many places. I think it is wise to read several translations and also dig into the original Hebrew and Greek as well.