Jeremiah 51:38 — Word Study
WLCיַחְדָּ֖ו כַּכְּפִרִ֣ים יִשְׁאָ֑גוּ נָעֲר֖וּ כְּגוֹרֵ֥י אֲרָיֽוֹת׃
BSAThey will roarshâʼag▸ togetheryachad [together in unison, as one voice] like young lionskᵉphîyr [village-like gatherings, youthful and fierce] they will growlnâʻar△■ [showing anger, frustration, or hunger] like lionʼărîy cubsgôwr [whelps, in their early stages of development, inexperienced]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| יַחְדָּ֖ו | together | Adverb |
| כַּכְּפִרִ֣ים | like young lions | Preposition, noun common masculine plural absolute |
| יִשְׁאָ֑גוּ | they roar | Verb, Qal, imperfect third person masculine plural |
| נָעֲר֖וּ | they growl | Verb, Qal, perfect third person common plural |
| כְּגוֹרֵ֥י | like cubs of | Preposition, noun common masculine plural construct |
| אֲרָיֽוֹת׃ | lions | Noun common, feminine plural absolute |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | They will roar together like young lions; they will growl like lion cubs. |
| KJV | They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions’ whelps. |
| ASV | They shall roar together like young lions; they shall growl as lions’ whelps. |
| YLT | Together as young lions they roar, They have shaken themselves as lions' whelps. |
| WEB | They will roar together like young lions. They will growl as lions’ cubs. |
| BBE | They will be crying out together like lions, their voices will be like the voices of young lions. |
Where they part company is in the rendering of כַּכְּפִרִ֣ים — see How Translations Differ.
The sentence is structured around a main verb with two additional phrases describing the manner of the roaring and the action of growling.
6 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
verbשָׁאַג
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
1 of 6 occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament — a word chosen on purpose.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Jeremiah 51:38
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — The Prophecy Against Babylongenerated
Jeremiah 51:38 presents a vivid image of the destruction of Babylon, where the sounds of roaring and growling represent the fierce and united response of the forces against it. This passage illustrates the intensity of the judgment that will come upon Babylon, as it is compared to the powerful and youthful sounds of lions and their cubs. The surrounding verses highlight the complete desolation that Babylon will face, emphasizing its fate as a place of horror and scorn.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeremiah 2:15 | The young lions have roared at him; they have growled with a loud voice. They have laid waste his land; his cities lie in ruins, without inhabitant. |
| 2 | Job 4:10–11 | The lion may roar, and the fierce lion may growl, yet the teeth of the young lions are broken. |
| 3 | Psalm 34:10 | Young lions go lacking and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. |
| 4 | Psalm 58:6 | O God, shatter their teeth in their mouths; O LORD, tear out the fangs of the lions. |
| 5 | Isaiah 35:9 | No lion will be there, and no vicious beast will go up on it. Such will not be found there, but the redeemed will walk upon it. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 8 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — יַחְדָּ֖ו, yach.Davgenerated
The adverb יַחְדָּ֖ו (*yachdav*) means 'together', indicating a unified action or sound. It emphasizes the concept of unity, as seen in contexts like Psalm 133:1, where it describes people acting in harmony.
This word's parsing as an adverb shows it modifies the action of roaring, indicating that the lions roar in unison, enhancing the imagery of collective strength and ferocity.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, so the BSB is the wording every comparison below is made against.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The finite verb יִשְׁאָ֑גוּ (*they roar*) governs the sentence, with two phrases hanging off it: a prepositional phrase describing the manner of roaring and another clause describing the action of growling.
The structure emphasizes the roaring and growling as simultaneous actions, creating a vivid auditory image of the lions' fierce response.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates יַחְדָּ֖ו as ἅμα (*together*), which maintains the sense of unity found in the Hebrew. This choice reinforces the idea of a collective roar, echoing the original intent.
For כַּכְּפִרִ֣ים, the translation λέοντες (*lions*) retains the imagery of young lions, aligning closely with the Hebrew meaning.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Jeremiah 51:38 describes the destruction of Babylon using the imagery of lions. It says they will roar together like young lions and growl like lion cubs, emphasizing the fierce response of those involved in the judgment against Babylon.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
It signifies a united and powerful response, reflecting the intensity of the situation.
Young lions symbolize strength and ferocity, which conveys the fierce nature of the impending judgment.
The growling indicates anger or frustration, enhancing the emotional intensity of the scene.
It illustrates the judgment against Babylon, emphasizing the complete destruction and desolation that will come upon it.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- How does the imagery of lions enhance your understanding of the judgment against Babylon?
- What does the concept of unity in roaring together teach us about collective actions?
- In what ways can we see similar fierce responses in our lives when facing challenges?
- How can understanding this verse help us reflect on God's judgment and justice?
Commentators on this verse — 6 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Jeremiah 51:38 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleThey shall roar together like lions,.... Some understand this of the Medes and Persians, and the shouts they made at the attacking and taking of Babylon; but this does not so well agree with that,
Read John Gill on Jeremiah 51 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryThey shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions' whelps. 39. They shall roar ... they shall yell. The capture of Babylon was effected on the night of a festival in honour of its idols.
Read Robert Jamieson on Jeremiah 51 →Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy BibleIt is uncertain whether this be to be understood of the Medes, making horrible roarings and noises when they took Babylon; or of the Babylonians, who upon the taking of their city (as is usual) made horrid outcries, as being a people quite undone: some think it referreth to the drunken noises of the Babylonians at their festival, during the celebration of which we are told their city was taken; but to this one would think the comparison of lions’ whelps (which ordinarily yell for want of victuals, or for some mischief done them, not when their bellies are full) should not so well agree.
Read Matthew Poole on Jeremiah 51 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsJeremiah 51:38 They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions’ whelps.Ver. 38. They shall roar together like lions.] When hunger bitten. The Babylonians terrified, and the Persians tumultuating together. The old Latin version hath it, They shake their shaggy hair.
Read John Trapp on Jeremiah 51 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(38) They shall roar together like lions . . .—The words are not a continuation of the picture of the preceding verse, but carry us to the scene of revelry that preceded the capture of the city. The princes of Babylon were as “young lions” (Amos 3:4) roaring over their prey. The first clause as well as the second conveys this meaning, and there is probably a reference to the youth of rulers like Belshazzar.
Read Charles John Ellicott on Jeremiah 51 →Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the BiblePICTURE OF BABYLON’S RUIN, Jeremiah 51:38-49.38, 39. They… roar — Not shall roar. The scene is that of a carousal, in the midst of which the blow falls.
Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Jeremiah 51 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
They will roar together like young lions; they will growl like lion cubs.
They will roar together like young lions. They will growl as lions’ cubs.
They will roar together like young lions; they will growl like lion cubs.
The Babylonians are all like lions roaring for prey. They are like lion cubs growling for something to eat.
Tyndale line
They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions’ whelps.
They shall roar together like young lions; they shall growl as lions’ whelps.
They shall roar together like young lions; they shall growl as lions’ whelps.
They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions' whelps.
They shall rore together like lions, and yell as the lyons whelpes.
Strictly literal
They shall roar together like young lions, growl as lions' whelps.
Together as young lions they roar, They have shaken themselves as lions' whelps.
They roar together as young lions, || They have shaken themselves as lions’ whelps.
Together like lions shall they roar: they shall yell like the lions' whelps.
The Babylonians will roar together like young lions. They will growl like lion cubs.
From the Latin
They shall roar together like lions, they shall shake their manes like young lions.
Simplified
The Babylonians will roar together like powerful lions and growl like lion cubs.
They will be crying out together like lions, their voices will be like the voices of young lions.
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text reads יַחְדָּ֖ו כַּכְּפִרִ֣ים יִשְׁאָ֑גוּ נָעֲר֖וּ כְּגוֹרֵ֥י אֲרָיֽוֹת׃, while the Septuagint matches five of the six words, maintaining the core imagery of roaring and growling.
יַחְדָּ֖ו כַּכְּפִרִ֣ים יִשְׁאָ֑גוּ נָעֲר֖וּ כְּגוֹרֵ֥י אֲרָיֽוֹת׃
5 of the 6 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Jeremiah 51:38
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
יַ֫חַד (yachad) refers to the concept of unitedness or being together. It can function as a noun meaning 'unitedness' and as an adverb meaning 'together.' The word is built from a root that emphasizes unity and is used in various contexts in the Old Testament.
יַ֫חַד 45 n.[m.] unitedness
as subst.
elsewhere always in acc. as adv. in union, together
base
יָחְדָּו 92 adv. together
base
H3162a יַ֫חַד unitedness . as subst.
. elsewhere always in acc. as adv. in union, together
H3162b יָחְדָּו adv. together
3162 yachad yakh'-ad
from 3161; properly, a unit, i.e. (adverb) unitedly:--alike,
at all (once), both, likewise, only, (al-)together, withal.
see HEBREW for 03161
יַ֫חַד (ya.chad) — unitedness.
1) union, unitedness
יָחְדָּו (yach.dav) — together.
adv
together
Adv — AdverbHD
The Hebrew word כְּפִיר (*kefir*) primarily means 'young lion,' while its plural form כְּפִירִים (*kefirim*) likely refers to 'villages.' The word is built from the root associated with 'covering,' suggesting a connection to both young lions and enclosed spaces. It appears in Nehemiah 6:2.
כְּפִיר n.m. young lion
base
כְּפִירִים Ne 6:2, prob. = foregoing [כְּפִירָה] (𝔊 al. n. appell. = villages).
done
H3715a כְּפִיר young lion H3715b כְּפִירִים prob. = כְּפִירָה
3715 kphiyr kef-eer'
from 3722; a village (as covered in by walls); also a young
lion (perhaps as covered with a mane):--(young) lion, village.
Compare 3723.
see HEBREW for 03722
see HEBREW for 03723
כְּפִיר (ke.phir) — lion.
young lion
כְּפִירִים (ke.phi.rim) — Hakkephirim.
village
Another name of o.no (אוֹנוֹ "Ono" H0207)
כְּפִירִים (ke.phi.rim) — villages.
village
Prep | N-mp — Preposition · noun common masculine plural absoluteHRd/Ncmpa
Lions
The most powerful of all carnivorous animals. Although not now found in Palestine, they must have been in ancient times very numerous there. They had their lairs in the forests (Jer. 5:6; 12:8; Amos 3:4), in the caves of the mountains (Cant. 4:8; Nah. 2:12), and in the canebrakes on the banks of the Jordan (Jer. 49:19; 50:44; Zech. 11:3).
No fewer than at least six different words are used in the Old Testament for the lion. (1.) Gor (i.e., a “suckling”), the lion’s whelp (Gen. 49:9;
The Hebrew word שָׁאַג (sha'ag) means 'to roar' and is derived from a primitive root. It covers the action of roaring, particularly in contexts involving a lion, a conqueror, or a cry of distress. The entries consistently emphasize the powerful nature of the sound, but do not provide specific verse references.
H7580 שָׁאַג roar
7580 sha'ag shaw-ag'
a primitive root; to rumble or moan:--X mightily, roar.
שָׁאַג (sha.ag) — to roar.
1) (Qal) to roar
1a) of lion, conqueror, Jehovah, cry of distress
V-Qal-Imperf-3mp — Verb · Qal · imperfect third person masculine pluralHVqi3mp
נָעַר (na'ar) is a primitive root meaning to growl, specifically in the Qal form. The only reference noted is in Jeremiah 51:38, where it describes a sound associated with a lion. The entries consistently emphasize this singular meaning without significant disagreement.
[נָעַר] vb. growl;—only Qal Je 51:38
ref
H5286 נָעַר
5286 na`ar naw-ar'
a primitive root; to growl:--yell.
נָעַר (na.ar) — to growl.
(Qal) to growl
V-Qal-Perf-3cp — Verb · Qal · perfect third person common pluralHVqp3cp
גּוֹר (gor) primarily means 'whelp,' referring to a young animal, particularly in a quarrelsome context. The word is noted in various lexicons as a masculine noun, and it is derived from a variation of another Hebrew word. There is no significant disagreement among the entries regarding its meaning.
[גּוֹר] n.[m.] whelp (as quarrelsome? or onomatop.?) of lion
base
H1484 גּוֹר
1484 gowr gore
or (feminine) gorah {go-raw'}; a variation of 1482:--whelp.
see HEBREW for 01482
גּוֹר (gor) — whelp.
whelp
Prep | N-mp — Preposition · noun common masculine plural constructHR/Ncmpc
ov:
(1) In Anglo-Saxon, had the meaning "from," "away from" (as the strengthened form "off" has still), and was not used for genitive or possessive relations, these being expressed by special case-forms. In the Norman period, however, "of" was taken to represent the French de (a use well developed by the time of Chaucer), and in the Elizabethan period both senses of "of" were in common use. But after about 1600 the later force of the word became predominant, and in the earlier sense (which is now practically obsolete) it was replaced by other prepositions. In consequence the King James Version (and in some cases the Revised Version (British and American)) contains many uses of "of" that are no longer familiar--most of them, to be sure, causing no difficulty, but there still being a few responsible for real obscurities.
OF, preposition ov. [Gr.]
1. From or out of; proceeding from, as the cause, source, means, author or agent bestowing.
I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you. 1 Corinthians 11:1.
For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts. Joshua 11:1.
It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed.
Lamentations 3:1.
The whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. Proverbs 16:1.
Go, inquire of the Lord for me. 2 Chronicles 34:2.
That holy thing that shall be born of thee. Luke 1:1.
Hence of is the sign of the genitive case, the case that denotes production; as the son of man, the son proceeding from man, produced from man. This is the primary sense, although we now say, produced by man. 'Part of these were slain; ' that is, a number separate, for part denotes a division; the sense then is, a number from or out of the whole were slain. So also, 'some of these were slain; ' that is…
אֲרִי (ariy) and אַרְיֵה (aryeh) both mean 'lion' in Hebrew, referring to the animal itself or images of it. The word is derived from a root associated with violence. The entries do not indicate any significant disagreement among lexicons.
אֲרִי n.m. lion
base
אַרְיֵה n.m. lion
base
H738a אֲרִי lion H738b אַרְיֵה lion
738 'ariy ar-ee'
or (prolonged) earyeh {ar-yay'}; from 717 (in the sense of
violence); a lion:--(young) lion, + pierce (from the margin).
see HEBREW for 0717
אֲרִי (a.ri) — lion.
1) lion
1a) pictures or images of lions
אַרְיֵה (ar.yeh) — lion.
1) lion
1a) pictures or images of lions
Aramaic equivalent: ar.yeh (אַרְיֵה "lion" H0744)
N-mp — Noun common · feminine plural absoluteHNcfpa
Lions
The most powerful of all carnivorous animals. Although not now found in Palestine, they must have been in ancient times very numerous there. They had their lairs in the forests (Jer. 5:6; 12:8; Amos 3:4), in the caves of the mountains (Cant. 4:8; Nah. 2:12), and in the canebrakes on the banks of the Jordan (Jer. 49:19; 50:44; Zech. 11:3).
No fewer than at least six different words are used in the Old Testament for the lion. (1.) Gor (i.e., a “suckling”), the lion’s whelp (Gen. 49:9;