Jeremiah 25:38
in Jeremiah 25He has left His den like a lion, for their land has been made a desolation by the sword of the oppressor, and because of the fierce anger of the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He hath left his covert, as the lion; for their land is become an astonishment because of the fierceness of the oppressing sword, and because of his fierce anger.
KJV
He hath forsaken his covert, as the lion: for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger.
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This verse in Jeremiah 25
Commentary
11 notes on this verseHe hath forsaken his covert as a lion,.... Which some understand of God leaving Jerusalem, or the temple, where he dwelt; who, while he made it his residence, protected it; but when he forsook it, it became exposed to the enemy. Kimchi says it may be understood of the destruction of the first temple by Nebuchadnezzar; but he thinks it is most correct to interpret it of the destruction of the second temple; that is, by the Romans, when it was left desolate by Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
This site's exposition
The peaceful meadows have been silenced
on Jeremiah 25:37-38
The oracle ends where it began, with settled life silenced: “The peaceful meadows have been silenced because of the LORD’s burning anger.” The lion that roared in verse 30 now “has left His den like a lion,” the LORD leaving the cover that had sheltered the land.
This site's exposition
He has left His den like a lion
Clarke pictures a lion driven from its den by the Jordan flood, coming into the land in fierce anger. Gill reports a reading that the lion is the LORD leaving His temple in Jerusalem. The land then lay open to the oppressor’s sword.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verses 37, 38) He has abandoned his shelter (or den) like a lion. (And to be more accurate, his tent: for this is what 'Succho' means in Hebrew.) Because their land has become a desolation (or impassable) from the wrath of the dove (or from the face of the great sword) and from the face of the fury of the Lord. The Lord, of whom it was said above, will roar from on high, and from his holy dwelling he will give forth his voice.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
); so that we have here judgment beginning at the house of God, but not ending there. God's Remonstrances with the People. 1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
), and is going abroad to seek his prey, upon which he roars, that he may the more easily seize it. The manifesto is here published, showing the causes and reasons why God proclaims this war (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
), the fierceness of the oppressor, or (as it might better be read) the fierceness of the oppressing sword (for the word is feminine) is because of his fierce anger; and we are sure that he is never angry without cause; but who knows the power of his anger?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Because - The effects of this rising up of God out of his covert is the desolation of the land through the fierceness of the enemy, caused by the fierce anger of God.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
As the lion - Leaving the banks of Jordan when overflowed, and coming with ravening fierceness to the champaign country.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
his covert--the temple, where heretofore, like a lion, as its defender, by the mere terror of His voice He warded off the foe; but now He leaves it a prey to the Gentiles [CALVIN]. fierceness of . . . oppressor--rather, as the Hebrew, for "oppressor" is an adjective feminine, the word "sword" is understood, which, in Jer 46:16;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Yahweh has risen up, like a lion that leaves its covert, eager for prey, that He may execute judgment upon the wicked.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עָזַ֥ב | ʾazav | he has left | H5800 → | 215 times |
| כַּכְּפִ֖יר | kakefir | like <the> young lion | H3715 → | 32 times |
| סֻכּ֑וֹ | suko | lair his | H5520 → | |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הָיְתָ֤ה | hayetah | it has become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אַרְצָם֙ | ʾartzam | land their | H776 → | 2504 times |
| לְשַׁמָּ֔ה | leshamah | <into> a waste | H8047 → | 39 times |
| מִפְּנֵי֙ | mipenei | <from> because of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| חֲר֣וֹן | charon | [the] anger of | H2740 → | 41 times |
| הַיּוֹנָ֔ה | haiyonah | the oppressor | H3238 → | 20 times |
| וּמִפְּנֵ֖י | umipenei | and <from> because of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| חֲר֥וֹן | charon | [the] burning of | H2740 → | 41 times |
| אַפּֽוֹ׃ פ | ʾapo | anger his | H639 → | 276 times |
עָזַ֥בhe has left
ʾazavH5800 →215 times
כַּכְּפִ֖ירlike <the> young lion
kakefirH3715 →32 times
סֻכּ֑וֹlair his
sukoH5520 →
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
הָיְתָ֤הit has become
hayetahH1961 →3559 times
אַרְצָם֙land their
ʾartzamH776 →2504 times
לְשַׁמָּ֔ה<into> a waste
leshamahH8047 →39 times
מִפְּנֵי֙<from> because of
mipeneiH6440 →2123 times
חֲר֣וֹן[the] anger of
charonH2740 →41 times
הַיּוֹנָ֔הthe oppressor
haiyonahH3238 →20 times
וּמִפְּנֵ֖יand <from> because of
umipeneiH6440 →2123 times
חֲר֥וֹן[the] burning of
charonH2740 →41 times
אַפּֽוֹ׃ פanger his
ʾapoH639 →276 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
Hosea 5:14For I am like a lion to Ephraim and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them to pieces and then go away. I will carry them…
it leads to
- Micah 5:8
Then the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, which…
- Psalms 7:2
or they will shred my soul like a lion and tear me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
- Psalms 50:22
Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:
- Micah 5:8
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
- Jeremiah 5:6
Therefore 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…
- 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.
- 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,
- Jeremiah 5:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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 Calvin, Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.