Bible Strands
Hosea 13:7
So like a lion I will pounce on them; like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh addresses Israel immediately after describing their transition from wilderness provision to settled pride and spiritual forgetfulness. He speaks as the violated covenant partner initiating judgment for their idolatry.
The words — The Hebrew שָׁחַל (sha·ḥal) means "lion" and נָמֵר (na·mer) means "leopard," both functioning as similes for Yahweh’s sudden strike. The verb אָשׁוּר (a·šur) literally translates to "I will watch" or "lie in wait," framing the attack as a deliberate ambush.
The thread — The ambush predator motif recurs in Hosea 5:14, where Yahweh identifies himself as a lion tearing Ephraim and Judah, and in Jeremiah 5:6, which places a leopard lying in wait among forest predators. Lamentations 3:10 similarly describes Yahweh as a bear lying in wait and a lion hiding in ambush.
Why it lands — The text states that divine judgment will execute with the calculated precision of a wild predator. It requires the reader to accept that covenant unfaithfulness produces direct, unmitigated consequences without appeal or delay.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Therefore I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard by the way will I observe them:
Cross-references
- 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 torn to pieces. For their rebellious acts are many, and their unfaithful deeds are numerous.
- Hosea 5:14 For 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 off where no one can rescue them.
- Lamentations 3:10 He is a bear lying in wait, a lion hiding in ambush.
- Isaiah 42:13 The LORD goes forth like a mighty one; He stirs up His zeal like a warrior. He shouts; yes, He roars in triumph over His enemies:
- Amos 1:2 He said: “The LORD roars from Zion and raises His voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the summit of Carmel withers.”
- Amos 3:4 Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Does a young lion growl in his den if he has caught nothing?
- Amos 3:8 The lion has roared—who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken—who will not prophesy?