Jeremiah 5:6
in Jeremiah 5Therefore a lion from the forest will strike them down, a wolf from the desert will ravage them. A leopard will lie in wait near their cities, and everyone who ventures out will be torn to pieces. For their rebellious acts are many, and their unfaithful deeds are numerous.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, a wolf of the evenings shall destroy them, a leopard shall watch against their cities; every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces; because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.
KJV
Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.
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This verse in Jeremiah 5
Commentary
9 notes on this verseWherefore a lion - Nebuchadnezzar, according to the general opinion; who is called here a lion for his courage and violence, a bear for his rapaciousness, and a leopard for his activity. Dahler supposes the Scythians to be intended, both here and in Jer 4:7.
This site's exposition
Surely these are poor; they are foolish
on Jeremiah 5:4-6
Jeremiah tries a charitable excuse for the poor, ignorance, then turns to the great men expecting better instruction and finds the same rebellion at a higher rank, they have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds, corruption running the whole social ladder rather than pooling at its bottom. The three beasts sent against them, lion, wolf, and leopard, are drawn from the same stock of images the surrounding prophets use for imperial armies, judgment matched to the size of the transgression the same verse names, their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 6) And behold, these men have broken the yoke together: they have broken the bonds, therefore the lion from the forest has struck them, the wolf has laid waste to them in the evening, the vigilant leopard is over their cities; everyone who goes out from them will be captured. Because their transgressions have multiplied, their apostasies have become strengthened. Those whom I thought were teachers, have been found to be worse than the disciples, and the greater authority there is in the rich, the greater the insolence of sins.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
A lion - Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldean army are here pointed at under the metaphor of beasts of prey of three kinds; compared to a lion, which denotes his great power, courage, and pride. A wolf - For their greediness and unsatiableness. A leopard - The Chaldean army is compared to a leopard, not for its speed only, but for its vigilancy and subtilty.
Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them,....
They have sworn to them (so it may be read), have joined themselves to them and covenanted with them. Those that forsake God make a bad change for those that are no gods.
Every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces, which intimates that in many places the enemy gave no quarter. And all this bloody work is owing to the multitude of their transgressions. It is sin that makes the great slaughter.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
lion . . . wolf . . . leopard--the strongest, the most ravenous, and the swiftest, respectively, of beasts: illustrating the formidable character of the Babylonians. of the evenings--Others not so well translate, of the deserts. The plural means that it goes forth every evening to seek its prey (Ps 104:20;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Evenings - See the margin. From its habit of skulking about in the twilight the wolf is often called the “evening wolf” Hab 1:8; Zep 3:3, but the word used here means a sandy desert. Leopard - panther.
The words behind it
21 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עַל־ | ʾal- | there- | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כֵּן֩ | ken | -fore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| הִכָּ֨ם | hikam | it will attack them | H5221 → | 499 times |
| אַרְיֵ֜ה | ʾaryeh | a lion | H738 → | 80 times |
| מִיַּ֗עַר | miyaar | from a forest | H3293 → | 59 times |
| זְאֵ֤ב | zeev | a wolf of | H2061 → | |
| עֲרָבוֹת֙ | aravot | desert plains | H6160 → | 61 times |
| יְשָׁדְדֵ֔ם | yeshadedem | it will devastate them | H7703 → | 57 times |
| נָמֵ֤ר | namer | a leopard | H5246 → | |
| שֹׁקֵד֙ | shoked | [will be] watching | H8245 → | 12 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| עָ֣רֵיהֶ֔ם | ʾareihem | cities their | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַיּוֹצֵ֥א | haiyotze' | <the> [one who] goes out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מֵהֵ֖נָּה | mehenah | from them | ||
| יִטָּרֵ֑ף | yitaref | he will be torn in pieces | H2963 → | |
| כִּ֤י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| רַבּוּ֙ | rabu | they are many | H7231 → | 21 times |
| פִּשְׁעֵיהֶ֔ם | pisheihem | transgressions their | H6588 → | |
| עָצְמ֖וּ | ʾatzemu | they are numerous | H6105 → | 20 times |
| מְשׁוּבוֹתֵיהֶֽם׃ | meshuvoteihem | apostasies their | H4878 → | 12 times |
עַל־there-
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כֵּן֩-fore
kenH3651 →771 times
הִכָּ֨םit will attack them
hikamH5221 →499 times
אַרְיֵ֜הa lion
ʾaryehH738 →80 times
מִיַּ֗עַרfrom a forest
miyaarH3293 →59 times
זְאֵ֤בa wolf of
zeevH2061 →
עֲרָבוֹת֙desert plains
aravotH6160 →61 times
יְשָׁדְדֵ֔םit will devastate them
yeshadedemH7703 →57 times
נָמֵ֤רa leopard
namerH5246 →
שֹׁקֵד֙[will be] watching
shokedH8245 →12 times
עַל־over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
עָ֣רֵיהֶ֔םcities their
ʾareihemH5892 →1090 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַיּוֹצֵ֥א<the> [one who] goes out
haiyotze'H3318 →1067 times
מֵהֵ֖נָּהfrom them
mehenah
יִטָּרֵ֑ףhe will be torn in pieces
yitarefH2963 →
כִּ֤יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
רַבּוּ֙they are many
rabuH7231 →21 times
פִּשְׁעֵיהֶ֔םtransgressions their
pisheihemH6588 →
עָצְמ֖וּthey are numerous
ʾatzemuH6105 →20 times
מְשׁוּבוֹתֵיהֶֽם׃apostasies their
meshuvoteihemH4878 →12 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ezekiel 22:27Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain.
it leads to
- Isaiah 1:23
Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 22:13
Now look, I strike My hands together against your unjust gain and against the blood you have shed in your midst.
- Isaiah 1:23
Through
Jeremiah 4:7A lion has gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his lair to lay waste your land. Your cities will be reduced to ruins and…
it leads to
- Isaiah 6:11
Then I asked: “How long, O Lord?” And He replied: “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left unoccupied and the land is desolate and ravaged,
- Ezekiel 26:7–10
For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, with cavalry and a great company…
- Isaiah 1:7
Your land is desolate; your cities are burned with fire. Foreigners devour your fields before you—a desolation demolished by strangers.
- Jeremiah 2:15
The young lions have roared at him; they have growled with a loud voice. They have laid waste his land; his cities lie in ruins, without inhabitant.
- Jeremiah 50:17
Israel is a scattered flock, chased away by lions. The first to devour him was the king of Assyria; the last to crush his bones was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.”
- Isaiah 6:11
Through
Habakkuk 1:8Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves of the night. Their horsemen charge ahead, and their cavalry comes from afar. They fly like a vulture, swooping down to devour.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 4:13
Behold, he advances like the clouds, his chariots like the whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are ruined!
- Jeremiah 4:13
About Jeremiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.