Jeremiah 51:38
New International Version
Her people all roar like young lions, they growl like lion cubs.

New Living Translation
Her people will roar together like strong lions. They will growl like lion cubs.

English Standard Version
“They shall roar together like lions; they shall growl like lions’ cubs.

Berean Standard Bible
They will roar together like young lions; they will growl like lion cubs.

King James Bible
They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions' whelps.

New King James Version
They shall roar together like lions, They shall growl like lions’ whelps.

New American Standard Bible
“They will roar together like young lions, They will growl like lions’ cubs.

NASB 1995
“They will roar together like young lions, They will growl like lions’ cubs.

NASB 1977
“They will roar together like young lions, They will growl like lions’ cubs.

Legacy Standard Bible
They will roar together like young lions; They will growl like lions’ cubs.

Amplified Bible
“They (the Chaldean lords) will be roaring together [before their sudden capture] like young lions [roaring over their prey], They (the princes) will be growling like lions’ cubs.

Christian Standard Bible
They will roar together like young lions; they will growl like lion cubs.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
They will roar together like young lions; they will growl like lion cubs.

American Standard Version
They shall roar together like young lions; they shall growl as lions' whelps.

Contemporary English Version
The Babylonians roar and growl like young lions.

English Revised Version
They shall roar together like young lions; they shall growl as lions' whelps.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Its people are like roaring lions and growling lion cubs.

Good News Translation
The Babylonians all roar like lions and growl like lion cubs.

International Standard Version
They'll roar together like young lions; they'll growl like lion cubs.

Majority Standard Bible
They will roar together like young lions; they will growl like lion cubs.

NET Bible
The Babylonians are all like lions roaring for prey. They are like lion cubs growling for something to eat.

New Heart English Bible
They shall roar together like young lions; they shall growl as lions' cubs.

Webster's Bible Translation
They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions' whelps.

World English Bible
They will roar together like young lions. They will growl as lions’ cubs.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
They roar together as young lions, "" They have shaken themselves as lions’ whelps.

Young's Literal Translation
Together as young lions they roar, They have shaken themselves as lions' whelps.

Smith's Literal Translation
Together as lions shall they roar: they shook themselves as the lion's whelps.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
They shall roar together like lions, they shall shake their manes like young lions.

Catholic Public Domain Version
They will roar together, like lions, they will shake their manes, like young lions.

New American Bible
They roar like lions, growl like lion cubs.

New Revised Standard Version
Like lions they shall roar together; they shall growl like lions’ whelps.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
They shall roar together like lions; they shall growl like lions' whelps.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
They shall roar like lionesses, and they shall growl like whelps of lionesses
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
They shall roar together like young lions; They shall growl as lions' whelps.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
For they rose up together as lions, and as lions' whelps.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Babylon's Punishment
37Babylon will become a heap of rubble, a haunt for jackals, an object of horror and scorn, without inhabitant. 38They will roar together like young lions; they will growl like lion cubs. 39While they are flushed with heat, I will serve them a feast, and I will make them drunk so that they may revel; then they will fall asleep forever and never wake up, declares the LORD.…

Cross References
Revelation 18:2
And he cried out in a mighty voice: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable beast.

Isaiah 13:21-22
But desert creatures will lie down there, and howling creatures will fill her houses. Ostriches will dwell there, and wild goats will leap about. / Hyenas will howl in her fortresses and jackals in her luxurious palaces. Babylon’s time is at hand, and her days will not be prolonged.

Isaiah 34:13-14
Her towers will be overgrown with thorns, her fortresses with thistles and briers. She will become a haunt for jackals, an abode for ostriches. / The desert creatures will meet with hyenas, and one wild goat will call to another. There the night creature will settle and find her place of repose.

Revelation 18:22-23
And the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will never ring out in you again. Nor will any craftsmen of any trade be found in you again, nor the sound of a millstone be heard in you again. / The light of a lamp will never shine in you again, and the voices of a bride and bridegroom will never call out in you again. For your merchants were the great ones of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.”

Isaiah 14:23
“I will make her a place for owls and for swamplands; I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of Hosts.

Zephaniah 2:14-15
Herds will lie down in her midst, creatures of every kind. Both the desert owl and screech owl will roost atop her pillars. Their calls will sound from the window, but desolation will lie on the threshold, for He will expose the beams of cedar. / This carefree city that dwells securely, that thinks to herself: “I am it, and there is none besides me,” what a ruin she has become, a resting place for beasts. Everyone who passes by her hisses and shakes his fist.

Revelation 19:17-18
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice to all the birds flying overhead, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, / so that you may eat the flesh of kings and commanders and mighty men, of horses and riders, of everyone slave and free, small and great.”

Isaiah 47:1-3
“Go down and sit in the dust, O Virgin Daughter of Babylon. Sit on the ground without a throne, O Daughter of the Chaldeans! For you will no longer be called tender or delicate. / Take millstones and grind flour; remove your veil; strip off your skirt, bare your thigh, and wade through the streams. / Your nakedness will be uncovered and your shame will be exposed. I will take vengeance; I will spare no one.”

Nahum 2:11-13
Where is the lions’ lair or the feeding ground of the young lions, where the lion and lioness prowled with their cubs, with nothing to frighten them away? / The lion mauled enough for its cubs and strangled prey for the lioness. It filled its dens with the kill, and its lairs with mauled prey. / “Behold, I am against you,” declares the LORD of Hosts. “I will reduce your chariots to cinders, and the sword will devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voices of your messengers will no longer be heard.”

Isaiah 21:9
Look, here come the riders, horsemen in pairs.” And one answered, saying: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon! All the images of her gods lie shattered on the ground!”

Revelation 14:8
Then a second angel followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who has made all the nations drink the wine of the passion of her immorality.”

Isaiah 13:19-20
And Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms, the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah. / She will never be inhabited or settled from generation to generation; no nomad will pitch his tent there, no shepherd will rest his flock there.

Revelation 17:16
And the ten horns and the beast that you saw will hate the prostitute. They will leave her desolate and naked, and they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.

Isaiah 34:11
The desert owl and screech owl will possess it, and the great owl and raven will dwell in it. The LORD will stretch out over Edom a measuring line of chaos and a plumb line of destruction.

Revelation 18:10
In fear of her torment, they will stand at a distance and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, the mighty city of Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.”


Treasury of Scripture

They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions' whelps.

roar

Jeremiah 2:15
The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant.

Job 4:10,11
The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken…

Psalm 34:10
The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.

yell.

Judges 16:20
And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.

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Jeremiah 51
1. The severe judgment of God against Babylon, in revenge of Israel
59. Jeremiah delivers the book of this prophecy to Seraiah, to be cast into Euphrates,
64. in token of the perpetual sinking of Babylon














They will roar together like young lions
They will roar
The Hebrew word for "roar" is "שָׁאַג" (sha'ag), which is often used to describe the sound of a lion. In the context of Jeremiah 51, this roaring symbolizes the fierce and terrifying power of the Babylonians. Historically, Babylon was a dominant empire known for its military might and conquests. The imagery of roaring suggests both the strength and the impending judgment that God is pronouncing upon them. In a spiritual sense, this can be seen as a reminder of the temporary nature of earthly power and the ultimate sovereignty of God over all nations.

together
The use of "together" indicates a collective action or unity among the Babylonians. This unity in their roaring can be seen as a representation of their combined strength and shared purpose in their conquests. However, it also foreshadows their collective downfall as God’s judgment is not just on individuals but on the nation as a whole. This serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of pride and the false security found in human alliances and power structures.

like young lions
The phrase "young lions" in Hebrew is "כְּכְפִירִים" (kephirim), which refers to lions in their prime, full of energy and strength. Young lions are often seen as symbols of vigor and ferocity. In the ancient Near Eastern context, lions were feared predators, and their imagery was used to convey power and dominance. The comparison to young lions emphasizes the Babylonians' aggressive nature and their prowess in battle. Yet, it also serves as a metaphor for their impending destruction, as even the mightiest of creatures are subject to the will of God. This highlights the theme of divine justice and the futility of relying on one's own strength apart from God.

(38) They shall roar together like lions . . .--The words are not a continuation of the picture of the preceding verse, but carry us to the scene of revelry that preceded the capture of the city. The princes of Babylon were as "young lions" (Amos 3:4) roaring over their prey. The first clause as well as the second conveys this meaning, and there is probably a reference to the youth of rulers like Belshazzar.

Verses 38-49. - Fall of Babylon; joy of the whole world. Verses 38, 39. - They shall roar .... In their heat; rather, They may roar... (yet) when they wax warm (with lust) I will prepare. The banquet which Jehovah will prepare is the "cup of bewilderment" spoken of in Psalm 60:3; comp. Isaiah 51:17 (i.e. a calamitous judgment).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
They will roar
יִשְׁאָ֑גוּ (yiš·’ā·ḡū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 7580: To rumble, moan

together
יַחְדָּ֖ו (yaḥ·dāw)
Adverb
Strong's 3162: A unit, unitedly

like young lions;
כַּכְּפִרִ֣ים (kak·kə·p̄i·rîm)
Preposition-k, Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 3715: A village, a young lion

they will growl
נָעֲר֖וּ (nā·‘ă·rū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 5286: To growl

like lion
אֲרָיֽוֹת׃ (’ă·rā·yō·wṯ)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 738: A lion

cubs.
כְּגוֹרֵ֥י (kə·ḡō·w·rê)
Preposition-k | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1484: A cub, of the lion


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OT Prophets: Jeremiah 51:38 They shall roar together like young lions (Jer.)
Jeremiah 51:37
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