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Thursday, August 28th, 2025
the Week of Proper 16 / Ordinary 21
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Read the Bible

New Life Version

Psalms 17:12

He is like a hungry lion, like a young lion hiding and waiting.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Lion;   Wicked (People);   Thompson Chain Reference - Animals;   Lions;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Lion, the;   Wicked, the, Are Compared to;  

Dictionaries:

- Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Animals;   Lion;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Future State;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Apocalyptic Literature;   English Versions;   Greek Versions of Ot;   Prayer;   Psalms;   Sin;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Psalms the book of;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Belly;   Eschatology of the Old Testament (with Apocryphal and Apocalyptic Writings);   Lion;   Lurk;   Psalms, Book of;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Lion;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
They are like a lion eager to tear,like a young lion lurking in ambush.
Hebrew Names Version
He is like a lion that is greedy of his prey, As it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
King James Version
Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
English Standard Version
He is like a lion eager to tear, as a young lion lurking in ambush.
New Century Version
They are like lions ready to kill; like lions, they sit in hiding.
New English Translation
He is like a lion that wants to tear its prey to bits, like a young lion crouching in hidden places.
Amplified Bible
He is like a lion eager to tear [his prey], And like a young lion lurking in hiding places.
New American Standard Bible
He is like a lion that is eager to tear, And as a young lion lurking in secret places.
World English Bible
He is like a lion that is greedy of his prey, As it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Like as a lyon that is greedy of pray, and as it were a lyons whelp lurking in secret places.
Legacy Standard Bible
He is like a lion that is eager to tear,And as a young lion lurking in hiding places.
Berean Standard Bible
like a lion greedy for prey, like a young lion lurking in ambush.
Contemporary English Version
They are like hungry lions hunting for food, or like young lions hiding in ambush.
Complete Jewish Bible
They are like lions eager to tear the prey, like young lions crouching in ambush.
Darby Translation
He is like a lion that is greedy of its prey, and as a young lion lurking in secret places.
Easy-to-Read Version
Like hungry lions, they want to kill and eat. Like young lions, they hide, ready to attack.
George Lamsa Translation
They are like a lion that is eager to prey, and like a young lion lurking in secret places.
Good News Translation
They are like lions, waiting for me, wanting to tear me to pieces.
Lexham English Bible
He is like a lion; he longs to tear apart, and like a strong lion crouching in hiding places.
Literal Translation
like a lion who longs to tear, and like a young lion sitting in hidden dens.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Like as a lyon that is gredy of his pray, & as it were a lyons whelpe lurckynge in his denne.
American Standard Version
He is like a lion that is greedy of his prey, And as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
Bible in Basic English
Like a lion desiring its food, and like a young lion waiting in secret places.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
He is like a lion that is eager to tear in pieces, and like a young lion lurking in secret places.
King James Version (1611)
Like as a lyon that is greedie of his pray, and as it were a yong lyon lurking in secret places.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Aryse O God, preuent his commyng, make hym to bowe: delyuer thou my soule from the vngodly [which is] thy sworde.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
They laid wait for me as a lion ready for prey, and like a lion’s whelp dwelling in secret places.
English Revised Version
He is like a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Thei, as a lioun maad redi to prey, han take me; and as the whelp of a lioun dwellynge in hid places.
Update Bible Version
He is like a lion that is greedy of his prey, And as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
Webster's Bible Translation
Like as a lion [that] is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
New King James Version
As a lion is eager to tear his prey, And like a young lion lurking in secret places.
New Living Translation
They are like hungry lions, eager to tear me apart— like young lions hiding in ambush.
New Revised Standard
They are like a lion eager to tear, like a young lion lurking in ambush.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
His likeness, is as a lion, that longeth to rend, and as a young lion, lurking in secret places.
Douay-Rheims Bible
(16-12) They have taken me, as a lion prepared for the prey; and as a young lion dwelling in secret places.
Revised Standard Version
They are like a lion eager to tear, as a young lion lurking in ambush.
Young's Literal Translation
His likeness as a lion desirous to tear, As a young lion dwelling in secret places.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
He is like a lion that is eager to tear, And as a young lion lurking in hiding places.

Contextual Overview

8 Keep me safe as You would Your own eye. Hide me in the shadow of Your wings, 9 from the sinful who fight against me, those who would kill me and are all around me. 10 They have closed their fat hearts to pity. And their mouths speak with pride. 11 They have followed our every step and are all around us. They are watching for a way to bring us down to the ground. 12 He is like a hungry lion, like a young lion hiding and waiting. 13 Rise up, O Lord. Stand against him. Bring him down. Save me from the sinful with Your sword. 14 O Lord, save me by Your hand from such men. Their riches are in this life. Their stomach is filled with what you have stored for them. Their children are filled. Let them leave some for their babies. 15 As for me, I will see Your face in what is right and good. I will be happy to see You when I awake.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Like: etc. Heb. The likeness of him - that is, of every one of them is as a lion that desireth to ravin, Psalms 7:2, Psalms 22:13, 2 Timothy 4:17, 1 Peter 5:8

lurking: Heb. sitting

Reciprocal: Numbers 23:24 - as a great Psalms 10:9 - He lieth Psalms 57:4 - among Psalms 58:6 - young Proverbs 1:11 - let us lurk Lamentations 3:10 - in secret Nahum 2:12 - and filled

Cross-References

Genesis 17:22
When He had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham.
Genesis 17:23
Then Abraham took his son Ishmael, and all who were born in his house, and all who were bought with his money, and every man and boy who lived in his house. And he cut off their piece of skin that very day, as God had told him to do.
Genesis 21:4
Then Abraham did the religious act of the Jews on Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had told him to do.
Leviticus 12:3
On the eighth day the child is to go through the religious act of becoming a Jew.
Luke 1:59
On the eighth day they did the religious act of the Jews on the child. They named him Zacharias, after his father.
Luke 2:21
When eight days were over, they did the religious act of becoming a Jew on the Child. He was named Jesus. This name was given to Him by the angel when Mary was told He was to be born.
Acts 7:8
"He made a promise with Abraham. It was kept by a religious act of becoming a Jew. Abraham had a son, Isaac. On the eighth day Abraham took Isaac and had this religious act done to him. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of our twelve early fathers.
Romans 2:28
A man is not a Jew just because he goes through the religious act of becoming a Jew.
Philippians 3:5
I went through the religious act of becoming a Jew when I was eight days old. I was born a Jew and came from the family group of Benjamin. I was a Jewish son of Jewish parents. I belonged to the group of the proud religious law-keepers.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Like as a lion [that] is greedy of his prey,.... Or "the likeness of him is as a lion" i; meaning Saul, as Kimchi interprets it; or everyone of them that compassed them about, as Aben Ezra observes; sometimes wicked and persecuting princes are compared to lions, for their strength and cruelty; see Proverbs 28:15; so the devil is called a roaring lion, 1 Peter 5:8; and the antichristian beast is said to have the mouth of a lion, Revelation 13:2;

and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places; to leap upon its prey, and seize it at once, as it has opportunity; this denotes the secret and insidious method which the enemies of Christ take to do mischief; see Psalms 10:9.

i דמיונו כאריה "similitudo ejus, vel cujusque est tanquam leonis", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius Tremellius so Musculus, Gejerus, Michaelis.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Like as a lion - Margin, “The likeness of him” (that is, “of every one of them”) is “as a lion that desireth to ravin.” The meaning is plain. They were like a lion intent on securing his prey. They watched the object narrowly; they were ready to spring upon it.

That is greedy of his prey - “He is craving to tear.” Prof. Alexander. - The Hebrew word rendered “is greedy,” means “to pine, to long after, to desire greatly.” The Hebrew word rendered “of his prey,” is a verb, meaning “to pluck, to tear, to rend in pieces.” The reference is to the lion that desires to seize his victim, and to rend it in pieces to devour it.

And, as it were, a young lion - Hebrew, “And like a young lion.”

Lurking in secret places - Margin, as in Hebrew, “sitting.” The allusion is to the lion crouching, or lying in wait for a favorable opportunity to pounce upon his prey. See the notes at Psalms 10:8-10. There is no special emphasis to be affixed to the fact that the “lion” is alluded to in one member of this verse, and the “young lion” in the other. It is in accordance with the custom of parallelism in Hebrew poetry where the same idea, with some little variation, is expressed in both members of the sentence. See the introduction to Job, Section 5.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Psalms 17:12. Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey — I believe the word lion is here used to express Saul in his strength, kingly power, and fierce rapacity. See the observations at the end of the Psalm. Psalms 17:15.


 
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