Psalms 104:21

104:21 The lions roar for prey,

seeking their food from God. ¹ 

Job 4:10-11

4:10 There is ²  the roaring of the lion ³ 

and the growling ⁴  of the young lion,

but the teeth of the young lions are broken. ⁵ 

4:11 The mighty lion ⁶  perishes ⁷  for lack of prey,

and the cubs of the lioness ⁸  are scattered.

Luke 1:51-53

1:51 He has demonstrated power ⁹  with his arm; he has scattered those whose pride wells up from the sheer arrogance ¹⁰  of their hearts.

1:52 He has brought down the mighty ¹¹  from their thrones, and has lifted up those of lowly position; ¹² 

1:53 he has filled the hungry with good things, ¹³  and has sent the rich away empty. ¹⁴ 

[104:21]  ¹ sn The lions’ roaring is viewed as a request for food from God.

[4:10]  ² tn “There is” has been supplied to make a smoother translation out of the clauses.

[4:10]  ³ sn Eliphaz takes up a new image here to make the point that the wicked are destroyed – the breaking up and scattering of a den of lions. There are several words for “lion” used in this section. D. J. A. Clines observes that it is probably impossible to distinguish them (Job [WBC], 109, 110, which records some bibliography of those who have tried to work on the etymologies and meanings). The first is אַרְיֵה (’aryeh) the generic term for “lion.” It is followed by שַׁחַל (shakhal) which, like כְּפִיר (kÿfir), is a “young lion.” Some have thought that the שַׁחַל (shakhal) is a lion-like animal, perhaps a panther or leopard. KBL takes it by metathesis from Arabic “young one.” The LXX for this verse has “the strength of the lion, and the voice of the lioness and the exulting cry of serpents are quenched.”

[4:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “voice.”

[4:10]  ⁵ tn The verb belongs to the subject “teeth” in this last colon; but it is used by zeugma (a figure of speech in which one word is made to refer to two or more other words, but has to be understood differently in the different contexts) of the three subjects (see H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 46-47).

[4:11]  ⁶ tn The word לַיִשׁ (layish) traditionally rendered “strong lion,” occurs only here and in Prov 30:30 and Isa 30:6. It has cognates in several of the Semitic languages, and so seems to indicate lion as king of the beasts.

[4:11]  ⁷ tn The form of the verb is the Qal active participle; it stresses the characteristic action of the verb as if a standard universal truth.

[4:11]  ⁸ tn The text literally has “sons of the lioness.”

[1:51]  ⁹ tn Or “shown strength,” “performed powerful deeds.” The verbs here switch to aorist tense through 1:55. This is how God will act in general for his people as they look to his ultimate deliverance.

[1:51]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “in the imaginations of their hearts.” The psalm rebukes the arrogance of the proud, who think that power is their sovereign right. Here διανοίᾳ (dianoia) can be understood as a dative of sphere or reference/respect.

[1:52]  ¹¹ tn Or “rulers.”

[1:52]  ¹² tn Or “those of humble position”

[1:53]  ¹³ sn Good things refers not merely to material blessings, but blessings that come from knowing God.

[1:53]  ¹⁴ sn Another fundamental contrast of Luke’s is between the hungry and the rich (Luke 6:20-26).