or birds of the air, a common biblical expression (cf. Gen. 1:26; Job 12:7; Matt. 8:20). In any case, Jesus invites his listeners to learn from the way God cares for the birds (cf. Job 38:41; Matt. 10:29–31; Ps. Sol. 5:8–10): If God supplies the birds, who do nothing deliberate to raise their own food, will God not also supply you who are worth much more than birds? Verse 27 reads like an afterthought, reinforcing the first argument with yet another rhetorical question. One could translate the text