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Psalm 104:21
The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their food from God.
19He appointed the moon for seasons. The sun knows when to set.
20You make darkness, and it is night, in which all the animals of the forest prowl.
21The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their food from God.
22The sun rises, and they steal away, and lie down in their dens.
23Man goes out to his work, to his labor until the evening.
Notice
A young lion’s roar sounds like strength, yet this psalm hears hunger in it and names God as the one on whom the hunter depends.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What do you notice about the lions hunting while seeking their food from God?
Write on thisWhere might the hungry lion’s dependence challenge your view of strength or self-sufficiency?
Write on thisConnect
Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Psalm 34:10The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger, but those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.Both mention young lions and seeking God; Psalm 34 contrasts the lions’ hunger with God’s provision for those who seek him.
1 Peter 5:8Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.Both describe a roaring lion seeking prey; Peter uses that image for the devil, while the psalm describes an animal seeking food.
Job 38:39“Can you hunt the prey for the lioness, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,Both name young lions and their need for prey, with Job asking who can satisfy their appetite.
Joel 1:20Yes, the animals of the field pant to you, for the water brooks have dried up, and the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.Both portray animals directing their need toward God; Joel describes their thirst amid dried brooks and burned pastures.
Psalm 145:15Both name God as the source of food for those who look to him for provision.
Amos 3:4Will a lion roar in the thicket, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing?Both connect a lion’s roar with prey; Amos frames that connection through questions about roaring and catching food.
Ezekiel 19:2–14and say, ‘What was your mother? A lioness. She couched among lions, in the middle of the young lions she nourished her cubs.Both passages picture young lions and nourishment, though Ezekiel describes a lioness nourishing her cubs.
Joel 2:22Don’t be afraid, you animals of the field; for the pastures of the wilderness spring up, for the tree bears its fruit. The fig tree and the vine yield their …Both concern food for wild animals; Joel points to renewed pastures, while the psalm describes lions seeking prey from God.
Job 38:41Who provides for the raven his prey, when his young ones cry to God, and wander for lack of food?Both portray hungry creatures seeking food from God, with young ravens crying where the young lions roar.
Psalm 147:9He provides food for the livestock, and for the young ravens when they call.Both connect animal cries with God’s provision of food, naming young ravens in one psalm and young lions in the other.
Isaiah 31:4For the LORD says to me, “As the lion and the young lion growling over his prey, if a multitude of shepherds is called together against him, will not be …Both portray a lion sounding over prey; Isaiah uses the fearless lion as a comparison for the LORD coming to fight.
Joel 1:18How the animals groan! The herds of livestock are perplexed, because they have no pasture. Yes, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.Both describe animals making sounds connected with hunger; Joel’s livestock groan without pasture, while the lions roar after prey.
Where this verse fits
Gratitude. praise and worship. job loss or money fear.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
Even the hunting lion depends on God for food. Your need for provision belongs within a creation whose strongest creatures also depend on their Maker.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).