Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions,

JOB 38:39KJV
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Job 38:39 (KJV)

What does Job 38:39 mean?

Job 38:39 presents God asking Job whether he can provide food for lions and their young. The question points to a part of the natural world that lies beyond Job’s control: the feeding of powerful wild animals.

The image is vivid. The young lions have appetites to satisfy, while the lion must find prey. God’s questions bring Job’s attention to the daily needs of creatures that people would have known as dangerous hunters.

The Hebrew behind Job 38:39

  • “appetite” — חַיָּה (ḥayyah): This word can carry the sense of living desire or appetite. Here, it draws attention to the hunger of the young lions.
  • “lion” — לָבִיא (laviʾ): This word can refer to a lion or lioness. The KJV’s “lion” leaves that distinction open.

Why Job 38:39 matters

  • The question concerns animals outside human care. The “young lions” are wild creatures, yet their need for food is part of what God asks Job to consider.
  • The questions are directed at Job’s ability, not at his knowledge of hunting. “Wilt thou hunt” and “fill the appetite” ask whether Job himself can supply what the lions need.
  • The sentence continues into the next verse, where the lions crouch in their dens and lie in wait. That setting makes the question more concrete: the animals are portrayed in their own habitat, waiting for food.

Where else these words appear

“lion” Hebrew H3833 · used in 14 verses

  • Genesis 49:9 Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
  • Job 4:11 The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion's whelps are scattered abroad.
  • Ezekiel 19:2 And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions.

“hunt” Hebrew H6679 · used in 15 verses

  • Genesis 27:3 Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison;
  • Joshua 9:12 This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy:
  • Lamentations 3:52 Mine enemies chased me sore, like a bird, without cause.

“prey” Hebrew H2964 · used in 23 verses

  • Genesis 49:9 Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
  • Psalms 111:5 He hath given meat unto them that fear him: he will ever be mindful of his covenant.
  • Ezekiel 19:6 And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, and devoured men.

“lions” Hebrew H3715 · used in 32 verses

  • Judges 14:5 Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him.
  • Proverbs 20:2 The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion: whoso provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul.
  • Ezekiel 19:5 Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion.