Lectionary Calendar
Wednesday, April 30th, 2025
the Second Week after Easter
Attention!
For 10¢ a day you can enjoy StudyLight.org ads
free while helping to build churches and support pastors in Uganda.
Click here to learn more!

Read the Bible

New Living Translation

Job 4:10

The lion roars and the wildcat snarls, but the teeth of strong lions will be broken.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Faith;   Lion;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Lion;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Greatness of God;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Lions;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - House;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Lion;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Eliphaz (2);   Lion;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Targum;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The lion may roar and the fierce lion growl,but the teeth of young lions are broken.
Hebrew Names Version
The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, The teeth of the young lions, are broken.
King James Version
The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
English Standard Version
The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion, the teeth of the young lions are broken.
New Century Version
Lions may roar and growl, but when the teeth of a strong lion are broken,
New English Translation
There is the roaring of the lion and the growling of the young lion, but the teeth of the young lions are broken.
Amplified Bible
"The roaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion, And the teeth of the young lions are broken.
New American Standard Bible
"The roaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion, And the teeth of the young lions are broken out.
World English Bible
The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, The teeth of the young lions, are broken.
Geneva Bible (1587)
The roaring of the Lion, and the voyce of the Lionesse, & the teeth of the Lions whelpes are broken.
Legacy Standard Bible
The roaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion,And the teeth of the young lions are broken.
Berean Standard Bible
The lion may roar, and the fierce lion may growl, yet the teeth of the young lions are broken.
Contemporary English Version
They may roar and growl like powerful lions. But when God breaks their teeth,
Complete Jewish Bible
The lion may growl, the king lion may roar, but that old lion's teeth are broken;
Darby Translation
The roar of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken;
Easy-to-Read Version
They were like roaring lions, like growling lions with broken teeth—
George Lamsa Translation
The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the young lion are silenced, and the teeth of the lions are broken.
Good News Translation
The wicked roar and growl like lions, but God silences them and breaks their teeth.
Lexham English Bible
The roar of the lion and the voice of a lion in its prime, and the teeth of the young lions are broken.
Literal Translation
The lion roars; and the voice of the lion and the teeth of the young lions are broken;
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The roaringe of the lyon, the cryenge off the lyonesse, & ye teth off ye lyos whelpes are broke.
American Standard Version
The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, And the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
Bible in Basic English
Though the noise of the lion and the sounding of his voice, may be loud, the teeth of the young lions are broken.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
The roring of the lion, and the voyce of the lion, and the teeth of the lions whelpes are pulled out.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
The lion roareth, and the fierce lion howleth--yet the teeth of the young lions are broken.
King James Version (1611)
The roaring of the Lyon, and the voice of the fierce Lyon, and the teeth of the yong Lyons are broken.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
The strength of the lion, and the voice of the lioness, and the exulting cry of serpents are quenched.
English Revised Version
The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
The roryng of a lioun, and the vois of a lionesse, and the teeth of `whelpis of liouns ben al to-brokun.
Update Bible Version
The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, And the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
Webster's Bible Translation
The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
New King James Version
The roaring of the lion, The voice of the fierce lion, And the teeth of the young lions are broken.
New Life Bible
The noise of the lion, the voice of the angry lion, and the teeth of the young lions are broken.
New Revised Standard
The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions are broken.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Notwithstanding the roaring of the lion, and the noise of the howling lion, yet, the teeth of the fierce lions, are broken:
Douay-Rheims Bible
The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the lioness, and the teeth of the whelps of lions, are broken:
Revised Standard Version
The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion, the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
Young's Literal Translation
The roaring of a lion, And the voice of a fierce lion, And teeth of young lions have been broken.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"The roaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion, And the teeth of the young lions are broken.

Contextual Overview

7 "Stop and think! Do the innocent die? When have the upright been destroyed? 8 My experience shows that those who plant trouble and cultivate evil will harvest the same. 9 A breath from God destroys them. They vanish in a blast of his anger. 10 The lion roars and the wildcat snarls, but the teeth of strong lions will be broken. 11 The fierce lion will starve for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness will be scattered.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the teeth: Job 29:17, Psalms 3:7, Psalms 57:4, Psalms 58:6, Proverbs 30:14

Reciprocal: Job 5:4 - children Job 16:12 - broken me Job 38:39 - Wilt Psalms 34:10 - lions Jeremiah 2:15 - young lions Jeremiah 51:38 - roar Lamentations 3:16 - broken Nahum 2:11 - the dwelling

Cross-References

Genesis 3:13
Then the Lord God asked the woman, "What have you done?" "The serpent deceived me," she replied. "That's why I ate it."
Genesis 4:9
Afterward the Lord asked Cain, "Where is your brother? Where is Abel?" "I don't know," Cain responded. "Am I my brother's guardian?"
Genesis 4:10
But the Lord said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground!
Genesis 9:5
"And I will require the blood of anyone who takes another person's life. If a wild animal kills a person, it must die. And anyone who murders a fellow human must die.
Genesis 18:20
So the Lord told Abraham, "I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant.
Exodus 3:7
Then the Lord told him, "I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering.
Numbers 35:33
This will ensure that the land where you live will not be polluted, for murder pollutes the land. And no sacrifice except the execution of the murderer can purify the land from murder.
Joshua 7:19
Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the Lord , the God of Israel, by telling the truth. Make your confession and tell me what you have done. Don't hide it from me."
2 Kings 9:26
‘I solemnly swear that I will repay him here on this plot of land, says the Lord , for the murder of Naboth and his sons that I saw yesterday.' So throw him out on Naboth's property, just as the Lord said."
Job 16:18
"O earth, do not conceal my blood. Let it cry out on my behalf.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion,.... Which Aben Ezra interprets of God himself, who is compared to a lion; who not only by his voice terrifies, but in his wrath tears the wicked in pieces, and destroys them, and so is a continuation of the preceding account; and others, as R. Moses and R. Jonah, whom he mentions, take this to be a continuation of the means and methods by which God destroys wicked men sometimes, namely, by beasts of prey; this being one of his sore judgments he threatens men with, and inflicts upon men, see Leviticus 26:22; and in this they are followed by some Christian interpreters, who render the words "at" or "by the roaring of the lion, and by the voice of the fierce lion, by the teeth of the young lions" c, they the wicked "are broken", ground to pieces, and utterly destroyed; but it is better, with Jarchi, Ben Gersom, and others, to understand it of kings and princes, of the mighty ones of the earth, tyrannical and oppressive rulers and governors; comparable to lions of different ages; because of their grandeur and greatness, their power and might, their cruelty and oppression in each of their different capacities; signifying, that these do not escape the righteous judgments of God: the Targum interprets the roaring of the lion of Esau, and the voice of the fierce lion of Edom; and another Jewish writer d of Nimrod, the first tyrant and oppressor, the mighty hunter before the Lord; but these are too particular; wicked men in power and authority in general are here, and in the following clauses, intended, see Jeremiah 4:7 2 Timothy 4:17; and the sense is, that such ploughers and sowers of iniquity as are like to fierce and roaring lions are easily and quickly destroyed by the Lord:

and the teeth of the young lions are broken: the power of such mighty ones to do mischief is taken away from them, and they and their families are brought to ruin; the teeth of lions are very strong in both jaws; they have fourteen teeth, four incisors or cutters, four canine or dog teeth, six molars or grinders.

c "Rugitu leonis et voce ferocis leonis", c. Junius & Tremellius, Piscator so some in R. Someon Bar Tzemach. d R. Obadiah Sephorno.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The roaring of the lion - This is evidently a continuation of the argument in the preceding verses, and Eliphaz is stating what had occurred under his own observation. The expressions have much of a proverbial cast, and are designed to convey in strong poetic language what he supposed usually occurred. There can be no reasonable doubt here that he refers to men in these verses, for

(1) It is not true that the lion is destroyed in this manner. No more frequent calamity comes upon him than upon other animals, and perhaps he is less frequently overcome than others.

(2) Such a supposition only would make the remarks of Eliphaz pertinent to his argument. He is speaking of the divine government in regard to wicked people, and he uses this language to convey the idea that they are often destroyed.

(3) It is common in the Scriptures, as in all Oriental writings, and indeed in Greek and Roman poetry, to compare unjust, cruel, and rapacious men with wild animals; see the notes at Isaiah 11:0; compare Psalms 10:9; Psalms 58:6.

Eliphaz, therefore, here by the use of the words rendered lion, means to say that men of savage temper, and cruel dispositions, and untamed ferocity, were cut off by the judgments of God. It is remarkable that he employs so many words to designate the lion in these two verses. No less than five are employed, all of them probably denoting originally some special and striking characteristics of the lion. It is also an illustration of the copiousness of the Hebrew language in this respect, and is a specimen of the custom of speaking in Arabia. The Arabic language is so copious that the Arabs boast that they have four hundred terms by which to designate the lion. A large part of them are, indeed, figurative expressions, derived from some quality of the animal, but they show a much greater copiousness in the language than can be found in Western dialects. The words used here by Eliphaz are about all the terms by which the “lion” is designated in the Scriptures. They are אריה 'aryêh, שׁחל shachal, כפיר kephı̂yr, לישׁ layı̂sh, and לביא lâbı̂y'. The word שׁחץ shachats elations, pride, is given to the lion, Job 28:8; Job 41:34, from his proud gait; and perhaps the word אריאל 'ărı̂y'êl, 1Sa 17:10; 1 Chronicles 11:22. But Eliphaz has exhausted the usual epithets of the lion in the Hebrew language. It may be of some interest to inquire, in a few words, into the meaning of those which he has used.

The roaring of the lion - The word used here (אריה 'aryêh) or in a more usual form (ארי 'ărı̂y), is from, ארה 'ârâh, to pull, to pluck, and is probably given to the lion as the puller in pieces, on account of the mode in which he devours his prey, Bochart, however, contends that the name is not from, ארה, because, says he, the lion does not bite or crop his food like grass, which, he says, the word properly means, but is from the verb ראה râ'âh, to see, because, says he, the lion is the most keen-sighted of the animals; or rather from the fire of his eyes - the terror which the glance of his eye inspires. So the Greeks derive the word lion, λέοντα leonta, from λάω laō, to see. See Beehart, Hieroz. Lib. iii. c. 1, p. 715.

The voice of the fierce lion - The word here translated “fierce lion” (שׁחל shı̂chal) is from שׁחל shachal, to roar, and hence, given for an obvious reason to a lion. Bochart understands by it the swarthy lion of Syria; the lion which the Arabians call adlamon. This lion, says he, is dark and dingy. The usual color of the lion is yellow, but Oppian says that the lion in Aethiopia is sometimes found of a dark color, μελανόχροος melanochroos; see Bochart, Hieroz. Lib. i. c. 1, p. 717, 718.

The teeth of the young lions - The word used here, כפיר kephı̂yr, means a “young lion already weaned, and beginning to hunt for prey.” - Gesenius. It thus differs from the גוּר gûr, which means a whelp, still under the care of the dam; see Ezekiel 19:2-3; compare Bochart, Hieroz. Lib. iii. c. 1, p. 714. Some expression is here evidently to be understood that shall be applicable to the voice, or the roaring of the lion. Noyes supplies the words, “are silenced.” The words “are broken” can be applicable only to the teeth of the young lions. It is unnatural to say that the “roaring” and the “voice” are broken. The sense is, that the lion roars in vain, and that calamity and destruction come notwithstanding his growl; and as applied to men, it means that men who resemble the lion are disappointed and punished.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Job 4:10. The roaring of the lion — By the roaring lion, fierce lion, old lion, stout lion, and lion's whelps, tyrannous rulers of all kinds are intended. The design of Eliphaz in using these figures is to show that even those who are possessed of the greatest authority and power - the kings, rulers, and princes of the earth - when they become wicked and oppressive to their subjects are cast down, broken to pieces, and destroyed, by the incensed justice of the Lord; and their whelps - their children and intended successors, scattered without possessions over the face of the earth.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile