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.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jeremiah delivers God’s judgment to rebellious Israel at a moment when the people have collectively broken the divine yoke despite knowing His way. The warning follows descriptions of their persistent apostasy and social corruption.

The words — אַרְיֵה ('ar.Yeh) means "a lion" and עֲרָבוֹת (a.ra.Vot) translates to "desert plains." These terms anchor the imagery of wild predators emerging from specific geographic regions to execute judgment.

The thread — The lion imagery recurs in Jeremiah 4:7 as a destroyer of nations, while Ezekiel 22:27 compares corrupt officials to wolves tearing prey. Habakkuk 1:8 similarly uses leopards and wolves as similes for the speed and ferocity of cavalry, not as literal instruments of destruction.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition that systemic rebellion and unfaithfulness provoke inevitable consequences. It calls the reader to abandon self-willed rebellion before divine judgment becomes inescapable.

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

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.

Cross-references

Jeremiah 4:7 A 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 lie uninhabited.
Habakkuk 1:8 Their 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.
Ezekiel 22:27 Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain.
Zephaniah 3:3 Her princes are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves, leaving nothing for the morning.
Numbers 32:14 Now behold, you, a brood of sinners, have risen up in place of your fathers to further stoke the burning anger of the LORD against Israel.
Ezra 9:6 and said: “O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, because our iniquities are higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached the heavens.
Ezra 10:10 Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful by marrying foreign women, adding to the guilt of Israel.
Psalms 104:20 You bring darkness, and it becomes night, when all the beasts of the forest prowl.
Isaiah 59:12 For our transgressions are multiplied before You, and our sins testify against us. Our transgressions are indeed with us, and we know our iniquities:
Jeremiah 2:15 The young lions have roared at him; they have sounded their voices. They have laid waste his land; his cities lie in ruins, without inhabitant.