Lions are majestic creatures often mentioned in the Bible. These powerful animals symbolize strength, courage, and authority.
In various stories and teachings, lions are used to convey important lessons and messages. From representing God’s might to illustrating the bravery of biblical heroes, lions play a significant role in the Scriptures.
Let’s explore some of the most well-known Bible verses that feature lions and understand their significance in biblical times.
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Top Bible Verses About Lions
Daniel 6:22
“My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”
Psalm 22:21
“Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen.”
Psalm 57:4
“I am in the midst of lions; I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts— men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.”
Psalm 58:6
“Break the teeth in their mouths, O God; LORD, tear out the fangs of those lions!”
Psalm 91:13
“You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.”
Proverbs 28:15
“Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless people.”
Job 4:10-11
“The lions may roar and growl, yet the teeth of the great lions are broken. The lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.”
Proverbs 19:12
“A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.”
Proverbs 30:30
“a lion, mighty among beasts, who retreats before nothing;”
Nahum 2:11-12
“Where now is the lions’ den, the place where they fed their young, where the lion and lioness went, and the cubs, with nothing to fear? The lion killed enough for his cubs and strangled the prey for his mate, filling his lairs with the kill and his dens with the prey.”
Lions as Symbols of Strength and Courage
Judges 14:5-6
“Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah, and they came to the vineyards of Timnah. And behold, a young lion came toward him roaring. Then the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him, and although he had nothing in his hand, he tore the lion in pieces as one tears a young goat. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.”
2 Samuel 17:10
“Then even the valiant man, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will utterly melt with fear, for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and that those who are with him are valiant men.”
1 Chronicles 12:8
“From the Gadites there went over to David at the stronghold in the wilderness mighty and experienced warriors, expert with shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions and who were swift as gazelles upon the mountains:”
Proverbs 30:29-30
“Three things are stately in their tread; four are stately in their stride: the lion, which is mightiest among beasts and does not turn back before any;”
Nahum 2:11-12
“Where is the lions’ den, the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion and lioness went, where his cubs were, with none to disturb? The lion tore enough for his cubs and strangled prey for his lionesses; he filled his caves with prey and his dens with torn flesh.”
God’s Deliverance from Lions
Genesis 37:20
“Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.”
Daniel 6:27
“He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.”
Acts 28:3-5
“When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. When the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, ‘No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.’ He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.”
2 Timothy 4:17
“But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.”
Psalm 22:21-22
“Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen! I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:”
Lions in Poetic and Imagery Contexts
Song of Solomon 4:8
“Come with me from Lebanon, my bride; come with me from Lebanon. Depart from the peak of Amana, from the peak of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards.”
Job 28:8-10
“The proud beasts have not trodden it; the lion has not passed over it. Man puts his hand to the flinty rock and overturns mountains by the roots. He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eye sees every precious thing.”
Psalm 17:12
“Like a lion eager to tear, like a young lion lurking in ambush.”
Isaiah 31:4
“For thus the LORD said to me, ‘As a lion or a young lion growls over his prey, and when a band of shepherds is called out against him he is not terrified by their shouting or daunted at their noise, so the LORD of hosts will come down to fight on Mount Zion and on its hill.’”
Jeremiah 49:19
“Behold, like a lion coming up from the jungle of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make him run away from her. And I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd can stand before me?”
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Lions in Prophecies and Future Visions
Isaiah 11:7
*”The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.””
Isaiah 65:25
“The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,’ says the LORD.”
Ezekiel 19:9
“They put him in a cage with hooks and brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him into custody, that his voice should no more be heard on the mountains of Israel.”
Ezekiel 22:25-26
“The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.”
Hosea 11:10
“They shall go after the LORD; he will roar like a lion; when he roars, his children shall come trembling from the west;”
God’s Sovereignty over Lions
Job 38:39-40
“Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in their thicket? Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God for help, and wander about for lack of food?”
Psalm 104:21
“The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God.”
Amos 3:4
“Does a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from his den, if he has taken nothing?”
Nahum 2:11
“The lion tore enough for his cubs and strangled prey for his lionesses; he filled his caves with prey and his dens with torn flesh.”
Jeremiah 5:6
“Therefore a lion from the forest shall strike them down; a wolf from the desert shall devastate them. A leopard is watching their cities; everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces, because their transgressions are many, their apostasies are great.”
Lions as Instruments of Judgment
2 Samuel 23:20
“And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two ariels of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen.”
Ezekiel 19:6
“And he prowled among the lions; he became a young lion, and he learned to catch prey; he devoured men.”
Isaiah 30:6
“An oracle on the beasts of the Negeb. Through a land of trouble and anguish, from where come the lioness and the lion, the adder and the flying fiery serpent, they carry their riches on the backs of donkeys, and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people that cannot profit them.”
Jeremiah 12:8
“My heritage has become to me like a lion in the forest; she has lifted up her voice against me; therefore I hate her.”
Hosea 13:7
“So I am to them like a lion; like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.”
Lions as Symbolic References
Psalm 57:4
“My soul is among lions; I lie among ravenous beasts—men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.”
Proverbs 28:1
“The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.”
Daniel 6:22
“My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.”
1 Peter 5:8
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
Revelation 5:5
“And one of the elders said to me, ‘Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.'”
Metaphorical Use of Lions
Isaiah 11:6
“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them.”
Hosea 5:14
“For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off, and no one shall rescue.”
Numbers 23:24
“Behold, a people! As a lioness it rises up and as a lion it lifts itself; it does not lie down until it has devoured the prey and drunk the blood of the slain.”
Jeremiah 2:15
“The lions have roared against him; they have roared loudly. They have made his land a waste; his cities are in ruins, without inhabitant.”
Amos 3:12
“Thus says the LORD: ‘As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the people of Israel who dwell in Samaria be rescued, with the corner of a couch and part of a bed.’”
Lions in Prophetic Contexts
Genesis 49:9
“Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?”
Isaiah 21:8
“And he called out, ‘A lion!’ ‘On watchtower, O Lord, I stand continually by day, and at my post I am stationed whole nights.’”
Ezekiel 19:2-3
“What is your mother? A lioness among lions; she crouched among the young lions, she reared her cubs. And she brought up one of her cubs; he became a young lion, and he learned to catch prey; he devoured men.”
Nahum 2:11-12
“Where is the lions’ den, the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion and lioness went, where his cubs were, with none to disturb? The lion tore enough for his cubs and strangled prey for his lionesses; he filled his caves with prey and his dens with torn flesh.”
Ezekiel 22:25
“The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst.”
These verses showcase the various contexts in which lions are mentioned in the Bible, whether as symbols of strength, adversaries, or under divine protection.
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Final Thought
Bible verses about lions often symbolize strength, courage, and God’s power. Lions are depicted as both noble creatures and as threats, reminding us of the dual nature of strength and danger. These verses teach us to rely on God’s protection and to embody the bravery and leadership of a lion.