Jeremiah 25:38 · Bible study
Jeremiah 25:38 Commentary: The Lion Leaves His Covert
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Who is the lion in Jeremiah 25:38? Interpreters debate whether God leaves His temple or Nebuchadnezzar comes as a destroyer. The Hebrew word yonah adds nuance.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The lion leaves its covert, and the land becomes a desolation because of the oppressor's fierceness and God's fierce anger.
- Key words: Lion (kefir), covert (sokh), desolation (shammah), oppressor/dove (yonah), fierce anger (charon af).
- Main debate: Is the lion Yahweh or Nebuchadnezzar? And does yonah mean dove or oppressor?
- Theological theme: Divine judgment through withdrawal of protection or through human instruments; the reality of God's anger against sin.
- Best use: Preaching on the severity of judgment, the cost of unrepented sin, and the security that only God's presence provides.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
He 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.
WEB World English Bible 2000
He has left his covert, as the lion; for their land has become an astonishment because of the fierceness of the oppression, and because of his fierce anger.
KJV King James Version 1769
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.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
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.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
He hath forsaken, as a young lion, His covert, Surely their land hath become a desolation, Because of the oppressing fierceness, And because of the fierceness of His anger!
Darby Darby Bible 1890
He hath forsaken his covert as a young lion; for their land is a desolation because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
He hath forsaken his covert as the lion, for the land is laid waste because of the wrath of the dove, and because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Dejó cual leoncillo su guarida; pues asolada fué la tierra de ellos por la ira del opresor, y por el furor de su saña.
Ele deixou seu abrigo tal como filhote de leão; pois assolada foi a terra deles, pelo furor do opressor, e pelo furor de sua ira.
Il a abandonné sa demeure comme un lionceau sa tanière;
Er hat seine Hütte verlassen wie ein junger Löwe, und ist also ihr Land zerstört vor dem Zorn des Tyrannen und vor seinem grimmigen Zorn.
Hij heeft, als een jonge leeuw, Zijn hutte verlaten; want hunlieder land is geworden tot een verwoesting, vanwege de hittigheid des verdrukkers, ja, vanwege de hittigheid Zijns toorns.
Egli ha abbandonato il suo ricetto, come un leoncello, perché il loro paese è diventato una desolazione, a motivo del furor della spada crudele, a motivo dell’ardente ira dell’Eterno.
Który opuści jako lew jaskinię swoję; bo ziemia ich przyjdzie na spustoszenie dla zapalczywości pustoszyciela, i dla popędliwości gniewu jego.
Он оставил жилище Свое, как лев; и земля их сделалась пустынею от ярости опустошителя и от пламенного гнева Его.
他離了 隱密處 像獅子一樣， 他們的地，因 刀劍凶猛 的欺壓，又因 他猛烈 的怒氣 都成為 可驚駭的。」
The lion has come out of his secret place, for the land has become a waste because of the cruel sword, and because of the heat of his wrath.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Jeremiah 25:38
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that this verse depicts a lion leaving its covert, triggering the land's desolation. The disagreement centers on the lion's identity. John Calvin sees it as Yahweh abandoning His temple, leaving His people exposed to judgment. Matthew Henry and Adam Clarke interpret the lion as Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king called a lion in Jeremiah 4:7. The Hebrew word yonah (יונה) is another point of consensus and contention: it can mean both 'dove' and 'oppressor.' The Vulgate reads 'wrath of the dove,' possibly alluding to the Chaldean standard bearing a dove. Others emend it to 'oppressing sword,' as in Jeremiah 46:16. Despite these differences, all see the land's desolation as the direct result of divine anger, whether expressed through God's direct withdrawal or through His appointed instrument.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Yahweh as lion abandoning the temple: Calvin, JFB, Cambridge Bible: follows from verse 37 where 'fierce anger of the LORD' is the cause, and from the context of God's departure in the whole chapter.
- Nebuchadnezzar as lion coming to destroy: Clarke, Henry, Gill: supported by Jeremiah 4:7 where a lion from the thicket is a destroyer of nations, and by the parallel with the 'oppressing sword' in Jeremiah 46:16 and 50:16.
- Christ as Lion of Judah leaving the second temple: Kimchi cited by Gill: sees the destruction as Roman, with Jesus as the lion leaving the temple desolate (Matthew 23:38).
What is clear: The land becomes a desolation because of God's fierce anger, expressed through an agent of judgment, and the removal of protection leaves the people exposed.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Identity of the lion | The lion represents a powerful agent whose departure or attack causes the land's desolation. | Calvin and others see the lion as Yahweh leaving His temple; Matthew Henry and Adam Clarke see it as Nebuchadnezzar coming like a lion from his lair. |
| Meaning of yonah (יונה) | The word literally means 'dove' but is used figuratively for an oppressor or plunderer. | The Vulgate reads 'wrath of the dove,' possibly referencing a Chaldean standard. Many English versions (KJV, ASV) render 'oppressor'; the BSB and some manuscripts read 'oppressing sword.' |
| Timing of judgment | The primary reference is the Babylonian destruction of Judah in the 6th century BC. | Gill and the Targum also see a secondary application to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70; others confine it to the Babylonian invasion. |
| The 'covert' (sokh) | The covert is a place of refuge; its abandonment leaves the land exposed. | Calvin identifies it with the Temple; others (Clarke, Henry) see it as the lion's lair, i.e., Babylon or the king's fortress. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Jeremiah 25 is a hinge in the prophet's ministry, dated to the fourth year of King Jehoiakim (605 BC). It is the year Nebuchadnezzar defeated Egypt at Carchemish and began asserting Babylonian dominance over Judah. In this chapter, Jeremiah presents a cup of God's wrath that all nations must drink, with Judah being the first. The surrounding verses (vv. 30, 37) depict Yahweh roaring like a lion from heaven, judging the nations and especially the leaders of His people.
The metaphor of the lion has deep roots in ancient Near Eastern imagery. Lions were symbols of kingship, ferocity, and invincibility. In the Old Testament, God is compared to a lion who protects His people (Isaiah 31:4) and also to a lion who judges them (Hosea 5:14, 13:7). Human conquerors like Nebuchadnezzar are also called lions (Jeremiah 4:7, 49:19, 50:44). The ambiguity in this verse is intentional: the same image can represent either the Divine Warrior abandoning His sanctuary or the terrifying invader God unleashes.
The 'covert' or 'lair' likely refers to a place of security. Calvin connects it to the Temple, where God dwelt like a lion who by His mere presence protected His people. For the Jews, the Temple was the guarantee of safety, a boast they repeated (Jeremiah 7:4). But when God leaves, the land becomes 'an astonishment' (shammah, a horror). The dual reference to 'fierceness of the oppressor' (or 'oppressing sword') and 'fierce anger of the LORD' ties together the human instrument and the divine cause. The Babylonians are agents, but the ultimate source is God's burning anger against His people's sin.
Textual Notes
The Hebrew text of Jeremiah 25:38 is stable, but two textual issues are noted in the commentaries. The phrase 'fierceness of the oppressor' (חֲרוֹן הַיּוֹנָה) is ambiguous: yonah can mean 'dove' or 'oppressor.' The LXX and some Hebrew manuscripts support a reading 'oppressing sword' (חרב היונה) instead of 'fierceness of the oppressor' by a slight change in the first word. The Cambridge Bible notes that the clause 'and because of his fierce anger' is absent from the Septuagint, though it is likely original for parallelism. The Vulgate renders 'wrath of the dove,' suggesting a different vocalisation of the same consonants. No significant variants affect the main sense of desolation through divine anger.
Reception History
Calvin's interpretation, that God forsakes His temple like a lion leaving its lair, became influential in the Reformed tradition. He saw the verse as an answer to hypocrites who trusted in the Temple's inviolability (Psalm 132:14). The rabbinic commentator Kimchi applied it primarily to the Roman destruction, with the lion as Christ leaving the Temple. Others, including Matthew Henry and Adam Clarke, read the verse as describing Nebuchadnezzar as the lion, a view consistent with Jeremiah 4:7 and the broader context of judgment by Babylon. The Targum paraphrases the lion as 'a king removing from his fortress.' The ambiguity has allowed the verse to be used in diverse settings, as a warning against false security, a description of divine judgment, and a lament over lost protection.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- God departs (or sends) like a lion. Whether the lion is Yahweh or Nebuchadnezzar, the point is the same: the One who once protected His people now acts against them.
- The land becomes a horror. The peaceful pastures are silenced. When God withdraws, chaos follows.
- Anger, human and divine. The oppressor's rage and God's fierce anger converge. Judgment is both mediated and ultimate.
Five-point outline
- The lion's lair. The place of safety becomes the point of departure. God's presence was Zion's defense; now it is gone.
- The lion's prey. The land is made waste. No one escapes the coming devastation.
- The human instrument. The oppressor (Nebuchadnezzar) acts with fierce anger, but he is not the final agent.
- The divine cause. Behind the sword is the LORD's own anger, righteous and terrifying.
- The call to wail. The shepherds (leaders) are told to howl, because no refuge remains.
Illustration hooks
- The empty guard post. Imagine a border town whose watchtower is abandoned. The enemy can walk in. That is what God's departure means for Judah.
- A lion released from a cage. A wild animal held back now charges forward. Whether you see that lion as God or the Babylonian king, the terror is the same.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does God ever leave His people? This text shows judgment on a covenant-breaking nation. What does that mean for us today under the new covenant?
- Is God's anger real? Can a loving God be angry? This verse forces us to hold together God's justice and mercy.
- How do I know if God's protection is with me? The leaders trusted false security. How do we discern true refuge from false assumptions?
Leading a Discussion
Jeremiah 25:38 closes a passage of terrifying judgment. The image of a lion leaving its covert raises sharp questions: Who is the lion? Where has it gone? And what does that mean for people who thought they were safe? This discussion is designed to help your group wrestle with the text on its own terms before bringing it into present faith.
Discussion questions
- Observation: What happens to the land when the lion leaves? List the words that describe the outcome (astonishment, desolation, fierceness, anger).
- Observation: Read Jeremiah 25:30, 37. Who is described as roaring in verse 30? How does that compare to the lion in verse 38?
- Interpretation: Commentators disagree whether the lion is God leaving the temple or the Babylonian army coming to destroy. What evidence from the passage can you find for each side?
- Interpretation: The Hebrew word yonah can mean 'dove' or 'oppressor.' How does each translation change the picture of judgment? (See verse 38 in the BSB and the Douay-Rheims.)
- Application: The shepherds (leaders) had no way to flee. Where do we place false security today? How can we test whether our refuge is in God Himself or in religious routines?
- Application: If God's anger is part of His character, how does that shape how we approach Him in repentance? How does it deepen our appreciation for Christ, who bore that anger on the cross?
- Hope: Read Hosea 11:10. There, God roars and His children come trembling. How does that verse change the picture for those who belong to God through Christ?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Psalms 76:2 | His tabernacle is also in Salem. His dwelling place in Zion. |
| Jeremiah 4:7 | A lion has gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations. He is on his way. He has gone out from his place, to make your land desolate, that your cities be laid waste, without inhabitant. |
| Jeremiah 5:6 | Therefore a lion out of the forest will kill them. A wolf of the evenings will destroy them. A leopard will watch against their cities. Everyone who goes out there will be torn in pieces, because their transgressions are many and their backsliding has increased. |
| Jeremiah 49:19 | “Behold, he will come up like a lion from the pride of the Jordan against the strong habitation; for I will suddenly make them run away from it, and whoever is chosen, I will appoint him over it. For who is like me? Who will appoint me a time? Who is the shepherd who will stand before me?” |
| Jeremiah 50:44 | Behold, the enemy will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan against the strong habitation; for I will suddenly make them run away from it. Whoever is chosen, I will appoint him over it, for who is like me? Who will appoint me a time? Who is the shepherd who can stand before me?” |
| Hosea 5:14 | For I will be to Ephraim like a lion, and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I myself will tear in pieces and go away. I will carry off, and there will be no one to deliver. |
| Hosea 11:10 | They will walk after Yahweh, who will roar like a lion; for he will roar, and the children will come trembling from the west. |
| Hosea 13:7 | Therefore I am like a lion to them. Like a leopard, I will lurk by the path. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
As the lion - Leaving the banks of Jordan when overflowed, and coming with ravening fierceness to the champaign country.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes highlights the image of God rising like a lion leaving its lair, eager for prey. This portrays divine judgment as a purposeful, unstoppable act,
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin argues that God's departure from the Temple is like a lion leaving its lair, not a brief raid for prey but a permanent withdrawal. The Jews falsely assumed God would never abandon them, yet their own vices drove Him out. Though God's power remained unchanged, without His presence they became defenseless.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Note compares God’s departure from His people to a lion leaving its lair. The land becomes desolate because of the oppressor’s cruelty and the full force of God’s burning anger against it.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill interprets the lion leaving its covert as Nebuchadnezzar departing Babylon to ravage the land, not as God or Christ abandoning Jerusalem. He notes that some read "fierceness of the oppressor" as "fierceness of the dove," referring to Babylon's dove standard, but rejects that as inconsistent with a dove's nature.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB highlights a possible wordplay in the Hebrew, where a term for "oppressing sword" can also mean "dove," likely an allusion to the Chaldean standard bearing a dove in honor of the mythical queen Semiramis. This underscores the temple, once guarded by God like a lion, now abandoned to Gentile invaders, making the point that if Nebuchadnezzar's anger is inescapable, God's is far more so.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch argue that this passage does not describe a separate judgment on the world distinct from the one in the preceding verses. Instead it expands on the nature of that same judgment, now depicted as coming directly from heaven rather than from Zion, because even the earthly sanctuary is itself subject to God's wrath.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange treats Jeremiah 25 as the prophet's central programme, the first time he names Nebuchadnezzar and gives a precise date. He reads the chapter as a three-stage judgment: on Judah, on the surrounding nations through Babylon, and finally on Babylon itself and the whole world. The victory at Carchemish is the historical turning point that gives the prophecy its concrete definiteness.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry emphasizes that God’s judgment roars like a lion from heaven, leaving no one safe. He pictures a universal storm sweeping from nation to nation, with leaders unable to flee and bodies left unburied. The desolation is total because God himself has abandoned his sheltering place.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley notes that God rising from his hidden place brings ruin to the land, but the destruction comes through the enemy's fury, which itself is caused by God's own fierce anger. The enemy is only the instrument of divine judgment.