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Psalm 7:2
lest they tear apart my soul like a lion, ripping it in pieces, while there is no one to deliver.
1A meditation by David, which he sang to the LORD, concerning the words of Cush, the Benjamite. LORD, my God, I take refuge in you. Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me,
2lest they tear apart my soul like a lion, ripping it in pieces, while there is no one to deliver.
3LORD, my God, if I have done this, if there is iniquity in my hands,
4if I have rewarded evil to him who was at peace with me (yes, I have plundered him who without cause was my adversary),
Notice
A lion tearing its prey makes David’s fear stark: his pursuers threaten to destroy him, and he fears being left without anyone to deliver him.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What part of David’s fear feels most difficult to bring before God: being pursued, torn apart, or left without help?
Write on thisHow does David’s plea for refuge in the preceding verse shape your reading of this violent image?
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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
Hosea 5:14For 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 …Both describe lion-like tearing with no one to deliver, though Hosea names God as the attacker and David fears his pursuers.
Psalm 50:22“Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you into pieces, and there be no one to deliver.Both speak of being torn to pieces without rescue; Psalm 50 makes this a warning from God to those who forget him.
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 …David fears being torn apart like a lion’s prey; Paul reports deliverance from a lion’s mouth through the Lord’s help.
Isaiah 38:13I waited patiently until morning. He breaks all my bones like a lion. From day even to night you will make an end of me.Both use a lion’s violence to describe feared destruction, with Isaiah’s speaker describing bones broken and life nearing its end.
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 compare a threatening adversary to a lion, while Peter names the devil and urges watchfulness.
Psalm 17:12He is like a lion that is greedy of his prey, as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.Both portray an enemy as a predatory lion, emphasizing the danger of becoming prey.
Deuteronomy 33:20About Gad he said, “He who enlarges Gad is blessed. He dwells as a lioness, and tears the arm and the crown of the head.The shared thread is the lion’s tearing violence; Deuteronomy applies it to Gad, while David describes the attack he fears.
Psalm 35:15But in my adversity, they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together. The attackers gathered themselves together against me, and I didn’t know it. They tore at …Both describe attackers tearing at the speaker, with Psalm 35 stressing their gathering together and refusing to cease.
Psalm 71:11saying, “God has forsaken him. Pursue and take him, for no one will rescue him.”Both link pursuit with the prospect of no rescue, though Psalm 71 puts that claim in the pursuers’ mouths.
Judges 18:28There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone else; and it was in the valley that lies by Beth Rehob. They built …Both mention the absence of a deliverer; David fears this prospect, while Judges reports it and describes the place’s isolation.
Hosea 13:7–8Therefore I am like a lion to them. Like a leopard, I will lurk by the path.Both use a lion to portray danger, though Hosea names God as the lion and David fears those pursuing him.
2 Samuel 14:6Your servant had two sons; and they both fought together in the field, and there was no one to part them, but the one struck the other and killed him.Both describe violence with no one to intervene, though David fears destruction and the woman recounts one son killing another.
Where this verse fits
Fear for the future. injustice and anger. loneliness.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
David speaks this fear while taking refuge in God. Your prayer need not soften the danger you face; his plea for deliverance includes the dread of having no help.
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).