They open their jaws against me like lions that roar and maul.
Parallel translations
- WEB They open their mouths wide against me, lions tearing prey and roaring.
- KJV They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.
- NKJV They gape at Me with their mouths, Like a raging and roaring lion.
- NASB They open their mouths wide at me, As a ravening and roaring lion.
- NLT Like lions they open their jaws against me, roaring and tearing into their prey.
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
His enemies open their mouths against him like roaring, ravening lions. They threaten to devour him with savage hostility.
Overview
The imagery shifts to lions tearing prey, intensifying the sense of deadly menace. The sufferer is hunted by foes eager to destroy him. Such vivid pictures of predatory enemies portray the violent opposition faced by the righteous sufferer, fulfilled in the malice directed against Christ at his trial and crucifixion.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- 1 Pet 5:8Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
- Ps 35:21They gape at me and say, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen!”
- Job 16:10They open their mouths against me and strike my cheeks with contempt; they join together against me.
- Ps 17:12like a lion greedy for prey, like a young lion lurking in ambush.
- Lam 3:46All our enemies open their mouths against us.
- Lam 2:16All your enemies open their mouths against you. They hiss and gnash their teeth, saying, “We have swallowed her up. This is the day for which we have waited. We have lived to see it!”
- Matt 26:3–4At that time the chief priests and elders of the people assembled in the courtyard of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas,
- Matt 26:59–65Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were seeking false testimony against Jesus in order to put Him to death.
- Ps 7:2or they will shred my soul like a lion and tear me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
- Ps 35:17How long, O Lord, will You look on? Rescue my soul from their ravages, my precious life from these lions.
- Ps 22:7All who see me mock me; they sneer and shake their heads:
- Ezek 22:27–28Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain.
- Ps 22:21Save me from the mouth of the lion; at the horns of the wild oxen You have answered me!
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 22:13 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.