They gape at Me with their mouths, Like a raging and roaring lion.
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.
- BSB They open their jaws against me like lions that roar and maul.
- 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 and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
- Ps 35:21Yes, they opened their mouth wide against me. They said, “Aha! Aha! Our eye has seen it!”
- Job 16:10They have gaped on me with their mouth. They have struck me on the cheek reproachfully. They gather themselves together against me.
- Ps 17:12He is like a lion that is greedy of his prey, as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
- Lam 3:46“All our enemies have opened their mouth wide against us.
- Lam 2:16All your enemies have opened their mouth wide against you. They hiss and gnash the teeth. They say, “We have swallowed her up. Certainly this is the day that we looked for. We have found it. We have seen it.”
- Matt 26:3–4Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas.
- Matt 26:59–65Now the chief priests, the elders, and the whole council sought false testimony against Jesus, that they might put him to death;
- Ps 7:2lest they tear apart my soul like a lion, ripping it in pieces, while there is no one to deliver.
- Ps 35:17Lord, how long will you look on? Rescue my soul from their destruction, my precious life from the lions.
- Ps 22:7All those who see me mock me. They insult me with their lips. They shake their heads, saying,
- Ezek 22:27–28Her princes within it are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, that they may get dishonest gain.
- Ps 22:21Save me from the lion’s mouth! Yes, from 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.