The lion may roar, and the fierce lion may growl, yet the teeth of the young lions are broken.
Parallel translations
- WEB The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
- KJV The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
- NKJV The roaring of the lion, The voice of the fierce lion, And the teeth of the young lions are broken.
- NASB “The roaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion, And the teeth of the young lions are broken out.
- NLT The lion roars and the wildcat snarls, but the teeth of strong lions will be broken.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Eliphaz uses the image of a lion whose teeth are broken to argue that the wicked, however fierce, are ultimately rendered powerless. It matters because it sets up his assumption that calamity proves hidden guilt.
Overview
Continuing his first speech, Eliphaz draws on a stock proverb: predatory lions stand for the strong and violent, whose power God breaks. He implies Job's suffering fits this pattern of judgment on the wicked. The principle that God humbles the proud is true, but Eliphaz misapplies it to the innocent Job, exposing how even orthodox truths can wound when wrongly aimed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Ps 58:6O God, shatter their teeth in their mouths; O LORD, tear out the fangs of the lions.
- Ps 3:7Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.
- Prov 30:14there is a generation whose teeth are swords and whose jaws are knives, devouring the oppressed from the earth and the needy from among men.
- Ps 57:4My soul is among the lions; I lie down with ravenous beasts—with men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
- Job 5:15He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth and from the clutches of the powerful.
- Job 29:17I shattered the fangs of the unjust and snatched the prey from his teeth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 4:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.