I will be unto them as a lion - They had waxen fat, were full; yet it was, to become themselves a prey. Their wealth which they were proud of, which they abused, allured their enemies. To cut off all hopes of God's mercy, He says that he will be to them, as those creatures of His, which never spare. The fierceness of the lion, and the swiftness of the leopard, together portray a speedy inexorable chastisement. But what a contrast I He who bare Israel in the wilderness like a Father, who bare them on eagle's wings, who drew them with the cords of a man, with bands of love, He, the God of mercy and of love, their Father, Protector, Defender, Avenger, He it is who will be their destroyer.

I will be unto them as a lion - שחל shachal is supposed to mean here the black lion, frequent in Ethiopia.

As a leopard - נמר namar, so termed from its spotted skin, for to be spotted is the signification of the root.

Will I observe them - The leopard, tiger, and panther will hide themselves in thick bushwood, near where they expect any prey to pass; and as soon as it comes near, spring suddenly upon it. To this is the allusion in the text: "By the way will I observe them;" watch for them as the leopard does. They shall be greatly harassed even on their way to Assyria, when going into captivity.

Therefore I will be unto them as a lion, Because of their idolatry, ingratitude, luxury, and especially their forgetfulness of God, which is last mentioned, and with which the words are connected. By this and the following metaphors are set forth the severity of God's judgments upon them for their sins, and their utter destruction by them. Some observe the word (f) here used signifies an old lion, which, though slower in the pursuit of its prey, is more cruel when it has got it; see Hosea 5:14;

as a leopard by the way will I observe them; which is a quick sighted, vigilant, crafty, and insidious creature, which lurks in trees, and watches for men and beasts that pass by the way, and seizes on them. The lion makes his onset more openly, this more secretly; and both express the various ways God would take in his providence to chastise these people for their sins, and that he would watch over them to do them hurt, as he had to do them good, and take the proper opportunity of doing it, and execute his purpose with great wrath and fury, to their utter ruin; see Jeremiah 5:6. The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, render it, "as a leopard by the way of Assyria" (g), or "the Assyrians"; and so some interpreters take the sense to be, that God would watch them in their way to Assyria for help, and blast their designs, disappoint them of their expected assistance, and surprise them with his judgments; see Hosea 5:13; and there was a mountain in Syria, called the mountain of the leopards, where they used to haunt, and from whence they came out to take their prey, to which there is a reference in Sol 4:8; which was two miles from Tripoli (a city of Syria) northward, three from the city Arces southward, and one from Mount Lebanon (h); and such is the vigilance and agility of leopards, that they will sometimes, as Pliny (i) says, mount thick trees, and hide themselves in the branches, and leap at once, and unawares, upon those that pass by, whether men or beasts, as before observed; wherefore, with great propriety, is this simile used. The Targum is, "my word shall be", &c.

(f) "vetus leo", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. (g) Sept. "in via Assyriormm", V. L. "super via Assyriae", Schmidt; "in via Assyria", Liveleus, Cocceius. (h) Adrichomii Thestrum Terrae Sanct. p. 186. (i) Nat. Hist. l. 10. c. 73.

"And I became like a lion to them; as a leopard by the wayside do I lie in wait. Hosea 13:8. I fall upon them as a bear robbed of its young, and tear in pieces the enclosure of their heart, and eat them there like a lioness: the beast of the field will tear them in pieces." The figure of the pasture which made Israel full (Hosea 13:6) is founded upon the comparison of Israel to a flock (cf. Hosea 4:16). The chastisement of the people is therefore represented as the tearing in pieces and devouring of the fattened flock by wild beasts. God appears as a lion, panther, etc., which fall upon them (cf. Hosea 5:14). ואהי does not stand for the future, but is the preterite, giving the consequence of forgetting God. The punishment has already begun, and will still continue; we have therefore from אשׁוּר onwards imperfects or futures. אשׁוּר, from שׁוּר, to look round, hence to lie in wait, as in Jeremiah 5:26. It is not to be changed into 'Asshur, as it is by the lxx and Vulgate. סגור לבּם, the enclosure of their heart, i.e., their breast. Shâm (there) points back to ‛al-derekh (by the way).

Therefore I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard by the way will I observe them:

13:7 Observe them - Watch for them, that I might be sure to take them.

7. (Ho 5:14; La 3:10).

leopard-The Hebrew comes from a root meaning "spotted" (compare Jer 13:23). Leopards lurk in thickets and thence spring on their victims.

observe-that is, lie in wait for them. Several manuscripts, the Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac, and Arabic read, by a slight change of the Hebrew vowel pointing, "by the way of Assyria," a region abounding in leopards and lions. English Version is better.

13:1-8 While Ephraim kept up a holy fear of God, and worshipped Him in that fear, so long he was very considerable. When Ephraim forsook God, and followed idolatry, he sunk. Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves, in token of their adoration of them, affection for them, and obedience to them; but the Lord will not give his glory to another, and therefore all that worship images shall be confounded. No solid, lasting comfort, is to be expected any where but in God. God not only took care of the Israelites in the wilderness, he put them in possession of Canaan, a good land; but worldly prosperity, when it feeds men's pride, makes them forgetful of God. Therefore the Lord would meet them in just vengeance, as the most terrible beast that inhabited their forests. Abused goodness calls for greater severity.