'Lion' in the Bible

“Judah, a lion’s cub;With the prey, my son, you have gone high up [the mountain].He stooped down, he crouched like a lion,And like a lion—who dares rouse him?

“Behold, a people rises up like a lionessAnd lifts itself up like a lion;He will not lie down until he devours the preyAnd drinks the blood of the slain.”

“He bowed down [to rest], he lies down as a lion;And as a lioness, who dares to rouse him?Blessed [of God] is he who blesses you,And cursed [of God] is he who curses you.”

Then Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother [to arrange the marriage], and they came as far as the vineyards of Timnah; and suddenly, a young lion came roaring toward him.

The Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily, and he tore the lion apart as one tears apart a young goat, and he had nothing at all in his hand; but he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.

When he returned later to take her, he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion; and behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the body of the lion.

So he scraped the honey out into his hands and went on, eating as he went. When he came to his father and mother, he gave them some, and they ate it; but he did not tell them he had taken the honey from the body of the lion.

So the men of the city said to Samson on the seventh day before sundown,“What is sweeter than honey?What is stronger than a lion?”And he said to them,“If you had not plowed with my heifer,You would not have solved my riddle.”

But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock,

Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted and defied the armies of the living God.”

David said, “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.”

And even the one who is brave, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will completely lose heart and melt away; for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and that those who are with him are brave men.

Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done many notable acts, killed two [famous] warriors of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion in the middle of a pit on a snowy day.

Now when he had gone, a lion met him by the road and killed him, and his body was thrown in the road, with the donkey standing beside it; the lion was also standing beside the body.

And there were men passing by, and they saw the body thrown in the road, and the lion standing beside the body. So they came and told about it in the city [of Bethel] where the old prophet lived.

When the prophet who had brought him back from the road heard about it, he said, “It is the man of God who was disobedient to the word of the Lord; therefore the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, in accordance with the word of the Lord which He spoke to him.”

And he went and found the body thrown on the road, and the donkey and the lion standing beside the body; the lion [miraculously] had not eaten the body or attacked the donkey.

Then the prophet said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as you leave me, a lion will kill you.” And as soon as he left him, a lion found him and killed him.

Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a courageous man of Kabzeel who had done great things, killed the two sons of Ariel of Moab. Also he went down and killed a lion in a pit on a snowy day.

“The roaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion,And the teeth of the young lions are broken.

“The lion perishes for lack of prey,And the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

‘Should I lift my head up, You would hunt me like a lion;And again You would show Your marvelous power against me.

“The proud beasts [and their young] have not walked on it,Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.

“Can you [Job] hunt the prey for the lion,Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions

So that my enemy will not tear me like a lion,Dragging me away while there is no one to rescue [me].

He lurks in a hiding place like a lion in his lair;He lies in wait to catch the afflicted;He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his net.

He is like a lion eager to tear [his prey],And like a young lion lurking in hiding places.

They open wide their mouths against me,Like a ravening and a roaring lion.

You will tread upon the lion and cobra;The young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

The king’s wrath terrifies like the roaring of a lion,But his favor is as [refreshing and nourishing as] dew on the grass.

The terror of a king is like the roaring of a lion;Whoever provokes him to anger forfeits his own life.

The lazy one [manufactures excuses and] says, “There is a lion outside!I will be killed in the streets [if I go out to work]!”

The lazy person [who is self-indulgent and relies on lame excuses] says, “There is a lion in the road!A lion is in the open square [and if I go outside to work I will be killed]!”

The wicked flee when no one pursues them,But the righteous are as bold as a lion.

Like a roaring lion and a charging bearIs a wicked ruler over a poor people.

The lion, which is mighty among beastsAnd does not turn back before any;

[There is no exemption,] but whoever is joined with all the living, has hope; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion.

And the wolf will dwell with the lamb,And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,And the calf and the young lion and the fatted steer together;And a little child will lead them.

And the cow and the bear will graze [together],Their young will lie down together,And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

For the waters of Dimon are full of blood;Yet I will bring even more woes on Dimon—A lion upon those of Moab who escape and upon the remnant of the land.

And the lookout called like a lion,“O Lord, I stand continually on the watchtower by day,And I am stationed every night at my guard post.

A [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning the beasts of the Negev (the South):Through a land of trouble and anguish,From where come lioness and lion, viper and [fiery] flying serpent,They carry their riches on the shoulders of young donkeysAnd their treasures on the humps of camels,To a people (Egyptians) who cannot benefit them.

For so the Lord says to me,“As the lion or the young lion growls over his prey,And though a large group of shepherds is called out against himHe will not be terrified at their voice nor cringe at their noise,So the Lord of hosts will come down to wage war on Mount Zion and on its hill.”

No lion will be there,Nor will any predatory animal come up on it;They will not be found there.But the redeemed will walk there.

“I lay down until morning.Like a lion, so He breaks all my bones;From day until night You bring me to an end.

The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox [there will no longer be predator and prey]; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain (Zion),” says the Lord.

“In vain I have punished your people [with the consequences of their disobedience];They received no insight from correction [and refused to change].Your [own] sword has devoured your prophetsLike a destroying lion.

“A lion has left his lair,And a destroyer of nations is on his way.He has gone out from his placeTo desolate your land;Your cities will be in ruinsWithout an inhabitant.

Therefore a lion from the forest will kill them,A wolf of the deserts will destroy them,A leopard is watching their cities.Everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces,Because their transgressions are many,Their desertions of faith are countless.

“My inheritance has become to MeLike a lion in the forest;She has raised her voice and roared against Me;So I have come to [treat her as if I] hate her.

“He has left His lair like the lion;For their land has become a horrorBecause of the fierceness of the oppressorAnd because of the Lord’s fierce anger.”

See, one will come like a lion from the thicket of the Jordan against the enduring habitation [of Edom] and its watered pastures; for in an instant I will make him (Edom) run from his land. I will appoint over him the one whom I choose. For who is like Me, and who will summon Me [into court] and prosecute Me [for this]? Who is the [earthly] shepherd who can stand [defiantly] before Me?”

“See, one will come up like a lion from the thicket of the Jordan against the enduring habitation [of Babylon] and its watered pastures; for in an instant I will make Babylon run from his land. I will appoint over Babylon the one whom I choose. For who is like Me, and who will summon Me [into court] and prosecute Me [for this]? Who is the [earthly] shepherd who can stand [defiantly] before Me?”

He is to me like a bear lying in wait,And like a lion [hiding] in secret places.

Regarding the form and appearance of their faces: they [each] had the face of a man [in front], and each had the face of a lion on the right side, and the face of an ox on the left side; all four also had the face of an eagle [at the back of their heads].

And each one had four faces: the first face was the face of the cherub, the second the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

‘When she [the royal mother-city] brought up [Jehoahaz] one of her cubs,He became a [young] lion,And he learned to catch and tear the prey;He devoured men.

‘When she saw, as she waited,That her hope was lost,She took another of her cubsAnd made him a young lion.

‘And he moved among the lions;He became a young lion,He learned to tear the prey;He devoured men.

There is a conspiracy of her [false] prophets in her midst, like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured [human] life; they have taken [in their greed] treasure and precious things; they have made many widows among her.

“Son of man, take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him,‘You have compared yourself to a young lion among the nations,But you are like a monster in the seas;You burst into your riversAnd disturbed and muddied the waters with your feetAnd fouled their rivers [the source of their prosperity].’”

so that the face of a man was toward the palm decoration on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm decoration on the other side. It was carved [this way] on the entire house (temple) all around.

The first (the Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar) was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; a human mind was given to it.

For I will be like a lion to EphraimAnd like a young lion to the house of Judah.I, even I, will tear to pieces and go on [tearing];I will carry off [the prey] and there will be no one to rescue them.

They will walk after the Lord [in obedience and worship],Who will roar like a lion;He will roar [summoning them]And His sons will come trembling from the west.

So I will be like a lion to them;Like a leopard I will watch and lie in wait [ready to attack] by the road [to Assyria].

For a [pagan and hostile] nation has invaded My land [like locusts],Mighty and without number;Its teeth are the teeth of a lion,And it has the fangs of a lioness.

Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey?Does a young lion growl from his den if he has not captured something?

The lion has roared! Who will not fear?The Lord God has spoken [to the prophets]! Who can but prophesy?

Thus says the Lord,“Just as the shepherd snatches from the mouth of the lion a couple of legs or a piece of the [sheep’s] ear [to prove to the owner that he has not stolen the animal],So will the [remaining] children of Israel living in Samaria be snatched awayWith the corner of a bed and [part of] the damask covering of a couch.

It is as if a man runs from a lion [escaping one danger]And a bear meets him [so he dies anyway],Or goes home, and leans with his hand against the wallAnd a snake bites him.

The remnant of JacobShall be among the nations,In the midst of many peoplesLike a lion among the beasts of the forest,Like a young lion [suddenly appearing] among the flocks of sheepWhich, if he passes through,Tramples down and tears into pieces [the nations in judgment],And there is no one to rescue.

Where is the den of the lions (Assyria)And the feeding place of the young lions,Where the lion, lioness, and lion’s cub prowledWith nothing to fear?

The lion [of Assyria] tore enough for his cubs (Assyrian citizens),Killed [enough prey] for his lionesses,And filled his lairs with preyAnd his dens with torn flesh.