You will tread on the lion and cobra; you will trample the young lion and serpent.
Parallel translations
- WEB You will tread on the lion and cobra. You will trample the young lion and the serpent underfoot.
- KJV Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
- NKJV You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
- NASB You will walk upon the lion and cobra, You will trample the young lion and the serpent.
- NLT You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!
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 one who trusts God will overcome even the deadliest dangers, pictured as lions and serpents.
Overview
Lions and cobras symbolize fierce, lethal threats that the protected believer will tread underfoot. The imagery promises triumph over deadly evil through God's power. It anticipates the crushing of the serpent (Gen. 3:15) and Christ's victory, who gives His people authority over the enemy (Luke 10:19; Rom. 16:20).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Luke 10:19Behold, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you.
- Dan 6:22My God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, for I was found innocent in His sight, and I have done no wrong against you, O king.”
- Mark 16:18they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.”
- 1 Sam 17:37David added, “The LORD, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear, will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” “Go,” said Saul, “and may the LORD be with you.”
- Rom 16:20The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
- Judg 14:5–6Then Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother and came to the vineyards of Timnah. Suddenly a young lion came roaring at him,
- 2 Tim 4:17But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message would be fully proclaimed, and all the Gentiles would hear it. So I was delivered from the mouth of the lion.
- Acts 28:3–6Paul gathered a bundle of sticks, and as he laid them on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself to his hand.
- Isa 27:1In that day the LORD will take His sharp, great, and mighty sword, and bring judgment on Leviathan the fleeing serpent—Leviathan the coiling serpent—and He will slay the dragon of the sea.
- Rev 20:1–2Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the Abyss, holding in his hand a great chain.
- Ps 58:4Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like a cobra that shuts its ears,
- Job 5:23For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you.
- Rev 12:9And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
- Rom 3:13“Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The venom of vipers is on their lips.”
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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 91:13 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.