Yeremia 2:15

2:15 Like lions his enemies roar victoriously over him;

they raise their voices in triumph. ¹ 

They have laid his land waste;

his cities have been burned down and deserted. ² 

Yeremia 4:7

4:7 Like a lion that has come up from its lair ³ 

the one who destroys nations has set out from his home base. ⁴ 

He is coming out to lay your land waste.

Your cities will become ruins and lie uninhabited.

Yeremia 5:6

5:6 So like a lion from the thicket their enemies will kill them.

Like a wolf from the desert they will destroy them.

Like a leopard they will lie in wait outside their cities

and totally destroy anyone who ventures out. ⁵ 

For they have rebelled so much

and done so many unfaithful things. ⁶ 

Yeremia 8:17

8:17 The Lord says, ⁷ 

“Yes indeed, ⁸  I am sending an enemy against you

that will be like poisonous snakes which cannot be charmed away. ⁹ 

And they will inflict fatal wounds on you.” ¹⁰ 

[2:15]  ¹ tn Heb “Lions shout over him, they give out [raise] their voices.”

[2:15]  sn The reference to lions is here a metaphor for the Assyrians (and later the Babylonians, see Jer 50:17). The statement about lions roaring over their prey implies that the prey has been vanquished.

[2:15]  ² tn Heb “without inhabitant.”

[4:7]  ³ tn Heb “A lion has left its lair.” The metaphor is turned into a simile for clarification. The word translated “lair” has also been understood to refer to a hiding place. However, it appears to be cognate in meaning to the word translated “lair” in Ps 10:9; Jer 25:38, a word which also refers to the abode of the Lord in Ps 76:3.

[4:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “his place.”

[5:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “So a lion from the thicket will kill them. A wolf from the desert will destroy them. A leopard will watch outside their cities. Anyone who goes out from them will be torn in pieces.” However, it is unlikely that, in the context of judgment that Jeremiah has previously been describing, literal lions are meant. The animals are metaphorical for their enemies. Compare Jer 4:7.

[5:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “their rebellions are so many and their unfaithful acts so numerous.”

[8:17]  ⁷ tn These words which are at the end of the Hebrew verse are brought forward to show at the outset the shift in speaker.

[8:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “Indeed [or For] behold!” The translation is intended to convey some of the connection that is suggested by the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) at the beginning of the verse.

[8:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “I am sending against you snakes, poisonous ones which cannot be charmed.” In the light of the context literal snakes are scarcely meant. So the metaphor is turned into a simile to prevent possible confusion. For a similar metaphorical use of animals for enemies see 5:6.

[8:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they will bite you.” There does not appear to be any way to avoid the possible confusion that literal snakes are meant here except to paraphrase. Possibly one could say “And they will attack you and ‘bite’ you,” but the enclosing of the word “bite” in quotations might lead to even further confusion.