The Meaning of Psalms 104:21 Explained

Psalms 104:21

KJV: The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God.

YLT: The young lions are roaring for prey, And to seek from God their food.

Darby: The young lions roar after the prey, and to seek their food from God.

ASV: The young lions roar after their prey, And seek their food from God.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The young lions  roar  after their prey,  and seek  their meat  from God. 

What does Psalms 104:21 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 104:13-23 - A Habitation For Beast And Man
Where there is true love for God, there will be a glad and rejoicing heart that takes pleasure in the study of His works. The loving child of a great artist lingers about his studio, watches with eager interest the development of picture or statue, and speaks with delight to others of her father's work. It is in such a spirit that those who know God in daily fellowship and communion follow the psalmist to mountain streams, to the pastures and the meadows, the grain-fields and the orchards, the high mountains with their dark pines and firs.
There is no pen that has more eloquently portrayed these scenes than Ruskin's. He had a natural love for beauty, and an unrivaled genius for vivid description; but it was as a boy at his mother's knee that he learned from these Scriptures to connect the glories of the natural world with the devout adoration of the Creator. His books reflect this early training.
This psalm may be called a divine commentary on God's earliest book-the world which lies around us. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 104

1  A meditation upon the mighty power
7  And wonderful providence of God
31  God's glory is eternal
33  The prophet vows perpetually to praise God

What do the individual words in Psalms 104:21 mean?

The young lions roar after their prey and seek from God their food
הַ֭כְּפִירִים שֹׁאֲגִ֣ים לַטָּ֑רֶף וּלְבַקֵּ֖שׁ מֵאֵ֣ל אָכְלָֽם

הַ֭כְּפִירִים  The  young  lions 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: כְּפִיר 
Sense: young lion.
שֹׁאֲגִ֣ים  roar 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: שָׁאַג  
Sense: (Qal) to roar.
לַטָּ֑רֶף  after  their  prey 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: טֶרֶף  
Sense: prey, food, leaf.
וּלְבַקֵּ֖שׁ  and  seek 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Verb, Piel, Infinitive construct
Root: בָּקַשׁ  
Sense: to seek, require, desire, exact, request.
מֵאֵ֣ל  from  God 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֵל 
Sense: god, god-like one, mighty one.
אָכְלָֽם  their  food 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: אֹכֶל  
Sense: food.