The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God.
Parallel translations
- WEB The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their food from God.
- BSB The young lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God.
- NKJV The young lions roar after their prey, And seek their food from God.
- NASB The young lions roar for their prey And seek their food from God.
- NLT Then the young lions roar for their prey, stalking the food provided by God.
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
The young lions roar after prey, seeking their food from God. Even the fiercest predators depend on the Creator's provision.
Overview
The lions' hunting is portrayed as a seeking of food from God Himself, who feeds even the wild beasts. Their strength does not free them from dependence on Him. This providence assures God's people that the Father who feeds the lions will surely care for His children, as Christ taught.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Joel 1:20The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
- Job 38:39Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions,
- Ps 34:10The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.
- Ezek 19:2–14And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions.
- Joel 2:22Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.
- Isa 31:4For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.
- Job 38:41Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.
- Ps 147:9He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.
- Joel 1:18How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.
- Ps 145:15The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.
- Amos 3:4Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 104:21 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.