He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places.
He is a bear lying in wait, a lion hiding in ambush.
A bear lying in wait He is to me, A lion in secret hiding-places.
He is unto me [as] a bear lying in wait, a lion in secret places.
Lamentations — Five poems over the ruin of Jerusalem. The first four are alphabetic acrostics — every letter of the Hebrew alphabet drafted to hold the weight of grief. At the book's centre, mercy renewed every morning.
The verses this one reaches9
And if my head exalt itself, thou huntest me as a lion; And again thou showest thyself marvellous upon me.
Therefore am I unto them as a lion; as a leopard will I watch by the way;
He lurketh in secret as a lion in his covert; He lieth in wait to catch the poor: He doth catch the poor, when he draweth him in his net.
Woe unto you that desire the day of Jehovah! Wherefore would ye have the day of Jehovah? It is darkness, and not light.
For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off, and there shall be none to deliver.
Come, and let us return unto Jehovah; for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
I quieted myself until morning; as a lion, so he breaketh all my bones: From day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.
He hath torn me in his wrath, and persecuted me; He hath gnashed upon me with his teeth: Mine adversary sharpeneth his eyes upon me.
He is like a lion that is greedy of his prey, And as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
The walk8
Two steps out along the cross-reference floor, votes-ranked — destinations reached by more than one path rise (the text's own hubs). Every stop is a page, and every stop travels with its words.
Through
Hosea 6:1Come, and let us return unto Jehovah; for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
leads to
For he maketh sore, and bindeth up; He woundeth, and his hands make whole.
See now that I, even I, am he, And there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal; And there is none that can deliver out…
Jehovah killeth, and maketh alive: He bringeth down to Sheol, and bringeth up.
Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to Jehovah.
I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely; for mine anger is turned away from him.
Through
Hosea 5:14For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off, and there shall…
leads to
And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep;…
Lest they tear my soul like a lion, Rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.
Through
Psalms 10:9He lurketh in secret as a lion in his covert; He lieth in wait to catch the poor: He doth catch the poor, when he draweth him in his net.
leads to
He is like a lion that is greedy of his prey, And as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
The whole web at once: see the Arc.