Psalms 10:9

10:9 He lies in ambush in a hidden place, like a lion in a thicket; ¹ 

he lies in ambush, waiting to catch ²  the oppressed;

he catches the oppressed ³  by pulling in his net. ⁴ 

Psalms 17:12-13

17:12 He ⁵  is like a lion ⁶  that wants to tear its prey to bits, ⁷ 

like a young lion crouching ⁸  in hidden places.

17:13 Rise up, Lord!

Confront him! ⁹  Knock him down! ¹⁰ 

Use your sword to rescue me from the wicked man! ¹¹ 

Psalms 22:13-16

22:13 They ¹²  open their mouths to devour me ¹³ 

like a roaring lion that rips its prey. ¹⁴ 

22:14 My strength drains away like water; ¹⁵ 

all my bones are dislocated;

my heart ¹⁶  is like wax;

it melts away inside me.

22:15 The roof of my mouth ¹⁷  is as dry as a piece of pottery;

my tongue sticks to my gums. ¹⁸ 

You ¹⁹  set me in the dust of death. ²⁰ 

22:16 Yes, ²¹  wild dogs surround me –

a gang of evil men crowd around me;

like a lion they pin my hands and feet. ²² 

Psalms 35:17

35:17 O Lord, how long are you going to just stand there and watch this? ²³ 

Rescue ²⁴  me ²⁵  from their destructive attacks;

guard my life ²⁶  from the young lions!

Psalms 58:6

58:6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths!

Smash the jawbones of the lions, O Lord!

Proverbs 28:15

28:15 Like ²⁷  a roaring lion or a roving bear, ²⁸ 

so is a wicked ruler over a poor people. ²⁹ 

Daniel 6:22-24

6:22 My God sent his angel and closed the lions’ mouths so that they have not harmed me, because I was found to be innocent before him. Nor have I done any harm to you, O king.”

6:23 Then the king was delighted and gave an order to haul Daniel up from the den. So Daniel was hauled up out of the den. He had no injury of any kind, because he had trusted in his God. 6:24 The king gave another order, ³⁰  and those men who had maliciously accused ³¹  Daniel were brought and thrown ³²  into the lions’ den – they, their children, and their wives. ³³  They did not even reach the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

[10:9]  ¹ tn Or “in its den.”

[10:9]  ² tn The verb, which also appears in the next line, occurs only here and in Judg 21:21.

[10:9]  ³ tn The singular form is collective (see v. 10) or refers to the typical or representative oppressed individual.

[10:9]  ⁴ tn Or “when he [i.e., the wicked man] pulls in his net.”

[17:12]  ⁵ 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.

[17:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “his likeness [is] like a lion.”

[17:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “[that] longs to tear.”

[17:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “sitting.”

[17:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “Be in front of his face.”

[17:13]  ¹⁰ tn Or “bring him to his knees.”

[17:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “rescue my life from the wicked [one] [by] your sword.”

[22:13]  ¹² tn “They” refers to the psalmist’s enemies, who in the previous verse are described as “powerful bulls.”

[22:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “they open against me their mouth[s].” To “open the mouth against” is a Hebrew idiom associated with eating and swallowing (see Ezek 2:8; Lam 2:16).

[22:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “a lion ripping and roaring.”

[22:14]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “like water I am poured out.”

[22:14]  ¹⁶ sn The heart is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s strength and courage.

[22:15]  ¹⁷ tc Heb “my strength” (כֹּחִי, kokhiy), but many prefer to emend the text to חִכִּי (khikiy, “my palate”; cf. NEB, NRSV “my mouth”) assuming that an error of transposition has occurred in the traditional Hebrew text.

[22:15]  ¹⁸ tn Cf. NEB “my jaw”; NASB, NRSV “my jaws”; NIV “the roof of my mouth.”

[22:15]  ¹⁹ sn Here the psalmist addresses God and suggests that God is ultimately responsible for what is happening because of his failure to intervene (see vv. 1-2, 11).

[22:15]  ²⁰ sn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to the progressive nature of the action. The psalmist is in the process of dying.

[22:16]  ²¹ tn Or “for.”

[22:16]  ²² tn Heb “like a lion, my hands and my feet.” This reading is often emended because it is grammatically awkward, but perhaps its awkwardness is by rhetorical design. Its broken syntax may be intended to convey the panic and terror felt by the psalmist. The psalmist may envision a lion pinning the hands and feet of its victim to the ground with its paws (a scene depicted in ancient Near Eastern art), or a lion biting the hands and feet. The line has been traditionally translated, “they pierce my hands and feet,” and then taken as foreshadowing the crucifixion of Christ. Though Jesus does appropriate the language of this psalm while on the cross (compare v. 1 with Matt 27:46 and Mark 15:34), the NT does not cite this verse in describing the death of Jesus. (It does refer to vv. 7-8 and 18, however. See Matt 27:35, 39, 43; Mark 15:24, 29; Luke 23:34; John 19:23-24.) If one were to insist on an emendation of כָּאֲרִי (ka’ariy, “like a lion”) to a verb, the most likely verbal root would be כָּרָה (karah, “dig”; see the LXX). In this context this verb could refer to the gnawing and tearing of wild dogs (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV). The ancient Greek version produced by Symmachus reads “bind” here, perhaps understanding a verbal root כרך, which is attested in later Hebrew and Aramaic and means “to encircle, entwine, embrace” (see HALOT 497-98 s.v. כרך and Jastrow 668 s.v. כָּרַךְ). Neither one of these proposed verbs can yield a meaning “bore, pierce.”

[35:17]  ²³ tn Heb “O Lord, how long will you see?”

[35:17]  ²⁴ tn Heb “bring back, restore.”

[35:17]  ²⁵ tn Or “my life.”

[35:17]  ²⁶ tn Heb “my only one.” The psalmist may mean that his life is precious, or that he feels isolated and alone (see Ps 22:20). The verb “guard” is supplied in the translation, because the verb “rescue” is understood by ellipsis (see the previous line).

[28:15]  ²⁷ tn The term “like” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.

[28:15]  ²⁸ sn The comparison uses animals that are powerful, terrifying, insensitive, and in search of prey. Because political tyrants are like this, animal imagery of this sort is also used in Dan 7:1-8 for the series of ruthless world powers.

[28:15]  ²⁹ sn A poor nation under the control of political tyrants who are dangerous and destructive is helpless. The people of that nation will crumble under them because they cannot meet their demands and are of no use to them.

[6:24]  ³⁰ tn Aram “said.”

[6:24]  ³¹ tn Aram “had eaten the pieces of.” The Aramaic expression is ironic, in that the accusers who had figuratively “eaten the pieces of Daniel” are themselves literally devoured by the lions.

[6:24]  ³² tn The Aramaic active impersonal verb is often used as a substitute for the passive.

[6:24]  ³³ tc The LXX specifies only the two overseers, together with their families, as those who were cast into the lions’ den.