17:12 He 1 is like a lion 2 that wants to tear its prey to bits, 3
like a young lion crouching 4 in hidden places.
91:13 You will subdue 5 a lion and a snake; 6
you will trample underfoot a young lion and a serpent.
23:24 Indeed, the people will rise up like a lioness,
and like a lion raises himself up;
they will not lie down until they eat their 7 prey,
and drink the blood of the slain.” 8
31:4 Indeed, this is what the Lord says to me:
“The Lord will be like a growling lion,
like a young lion growling over its prey. 9
Though a whole group of shepherds gathers against it,
it is not afraid of their shouts
or intimidated by their yelling. 10
In this same way the Lord who commands armies will descend
to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill. 11
5:14 I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I myself will tear them to pieces,
then I will carry them off, and no one will be able to rescue them!
5:8 Those survivors from Jacob will live among the nations,
in the midst of many peoples.
They will be like a lion among the animals of the forest,
like a young lion among the flocks of sheep,
which attacks when it passes through;
it rips its prey 12 and there is no one to stop it. 13
1 tn Here the psalmist switches to the singular pronoun; he views his enemies collectively, or singles out a representative of the group, perhaps its leader.
2 tn Heb “his likeness [is] like a lion.”
3 tn Heb “[that] longs to tear.”
4 tn Heb “sitting.”
5 tn Heb “walk upon.”
6 tn Or perhaps “cobra” (see Ps 58:4).
7 tn The pronoun “their” has been supplied for clarity; it is not present in the Hebrew text.
8 sn The oracle compares Israel first to a lion, or better, lioness, because she does the tracking and hunting of food while the lion moves up and down roaring and distracting the prey. But the lion is also the traditional emblem of Judah, Dan and Gad, as well as the symbol of royalty. So this also supports the motif of royalty as well as power for Israel.
9 tn Heb “As a lion growls, a young lion over its prey.” In the Hebrew text the opening comparison is completed later in the verse (“so the Lord will come down…”), after a parenthesis describing how fearless the lion is. The present translation divides the verse into three sentences for English stylistic reasons.
10 tn Heb “Though there is summoned against it fullness of shepherds, by their voice it is not terrified, and to their noise it does not respond.”
11 tn Some prefer to translate the phrase לִצְבֹּא עַל (litsbo’ ’al) as “fight against,” but the following context pictures the Lord defending, not attacking, Zion.
12 tn The words “its prey” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
13 tn Heb “and there is no deliverer.”