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Psalm 17:12

He is like a lion that is greedy of his prey, as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.

10They close up their callous hearts. With their mouth they speak proudly.
11They have now surrounded us in our steps. They set their eyes to cast us down to the earth.
12He is like a lion that is greedy of his prey, as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
13Arise, LORD, confront him. Cast him down. Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,
14from men by your hand, LORD, from men of the world, whose portion is in this life. You fill the belly of your cherished ones. Your sons have plenty, and they store up wealth for their children.
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← Psalm 17:11Psalm 17:13 →
Notice

A lion hungry for prey and hidden from view makes the threat here both fierce and concealed, with David describing himself as hunted.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

What does the lion’s hidden position add to David’s description of his enemy?

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What would you want to say to God about harm that remains hidden from view?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

10 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 10:9He lurks in secret as a lion in his ambush. He lies in wait to catch the helpless. He catches the helpless when he draws him in his net.Both describe an attacker as a lion concealed in ambush, waiting to seize someone vulnerable.
Psalm 7:2lest they tear apart my soul like a lion, ripping it in pieces, while there is no one to deliver.Both portray an enemy as a lion whose attack threatens the speaker’s life.
Psalm 22:13They open their mouths wide against me, lions tearing prey and roaring.Both compare enemies to lions intent on tearing prey, while Psalm 17 emphasizes the concealed threat.
Numbers 23:24Behold, a people rises up as a lioness. As a lion he lifts himself up. He shall not lie down until he eats of the prey, and drinks the blood of the slain.”Both use a lion taking prey to portray lethal force, though Numbers applies the image to a people.
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 depict an adversary as a lion seeking prey; Peter names the devil, while David describes a human enemy.
Psalm 58:6Break their teeth, God, in their mouth. Break out the great teeth of the young lions, LORD.Both portray threatening enemies as young lions, with Psalm 58 asking God to break their teeth.
2 Timothy 4:17But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, that through me the message might be fully proclaimed, and that all the Gentiles might hear. So I was delivered …Both use a lion to describe mortal danger; David describes the threat, while Paul recounts the Lord’s deliverance.
Proverbs 1:11If they say, “Come with us. Let’s lie in wait for blood. Let’s lurk secretly for the innocent without cause.Both describe attackers lurking out of sight, waiting for a chance to harm another person.
Nahum 2:12The lion tore in pieces enough for his cubs, and strangled prey for his lionesses, and filled his caves with the kill and his dens with prey.Both depict a lion intent on prey, though Nahum describes the killing that Psalm 17’s lurking lion threatens.
Lamentations 3:10He is to me as a bear lying in wait, as a lion in hiding.Both compare danger to a lion in hiding, though David describes an enemy and Lamentations speaks of God.
Where this verse fits

Injustice and anger. fear for the future.

What the Bible says about anger →What the Bible says about fear →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Name one fear to God after reading Psalm 17:12

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Encouragement

You do not have to soften the language of danger when you pray. David names an enemy’s hunger to harm him, then asks YHWH to intervene.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 17:12. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

Keep goingPsalm 17 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms

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).