Discussion » Questions » Religion and Spirituality » Why do people quote "the Lion will lay with the lamb", when that is not in the Bible?

Why do people quote "the Lion will lay with the lamb", when that is not in the Bible?

As if it is a scripture.

Posted - March 24, 2017

Responses


  • 34286
    Yes, this is the scripture that people are mangling.  I just find it funny that so many will swear it says "Lion and Lamb".
      March 24, 2017 8:25 AM MDT
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  • 13395
    Maybe they are confusing Isaiah 11:6 with Leviticus 18:22 somehow.
      March 24, 2017 10:57 AM MDT
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  • 34286
    Don't really see that as Lev is not talking about Lions or Lambs.
      March 24, 2017 3:55 PM MDT
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  • 13395
    No it is about man lying with man which would be a better idea than man causing wars, terrorism and killing each other. 
    Wouldn't it? 
      March 24, 2017 4:59 PM MDT
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  • 34286
    That was my point the two verses are not talking about the same thing.
      March 26, 2017 8:41 AM MDT
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  • 13395
    Oh.
      March 26, 2017 9:41 AM MDT
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  • 7280
    It has become a cultural metaphor.

    There is nothing in the Bible about a lion lying down with a lamb! But there is something consistent with that idea.

    In Isaiah 11:6 we hear, “The wolf shall live with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;” and so forth.

    Isaiah prophesied that a day is coming when leopards and kids will lie down together, and lambs and wolves will live together.

    That means that the natural world order will be transformed into something new and peace will reign.

    http://www.bradleyhillschurch.org/sermons/the-wolf-and-the-lamb


      March 24, 2017 8:48 AM MDT
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  • Hi Tom,
    I like very much your idea of the cultural metaphor...and a good one too, for us to aspire towards...reflecting more the overall message of the whole Bible than a literal verse.
      March 24, 2017 8:58 AM MDT
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  • 7280
    Thanks, Virginia, but it's really not my idea.  When I post a sentence or a group thereof in italics, it means that I am quoting from the link I list.

    If I do not post a link, you can google whatever is in italics to find the site from which I got the information.

    Here's the line from the link that comes immediately after "It has become a cultural metaphor."   It’s musical. Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, all covered the Thomas Dorsey song "Peace in the Valley." The song includes the words: “The bear will be gentle, and the wolves will be tame. And the lion shall lay down by the lamb, oh yes.”

    And...where you able to download that issue on color?
      March 24, 2017 9:06 AM MDT
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  • Yes Tom I did! Either read or skimmed pretty much the whole article...actually I think I found two articles on color in that issue...
      March 24, 2017 9:16 AM MDT
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  • 34286
    Makes sense people it was in a song sung by contemporary singers.
      March 25, 2017 7:45 AM MDT
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  • 1002
    They probably don't know the verse well enough and are incorrectly paraphrasing maybe? The only verse I know of like that reads: "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them." It's in Isaiah and is pretty widely believed to refer to Jesus and possibly Judas.
      March 24, 2017 9:46 AM MDT
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  • I gotta confess that in all my decades on this planet not a single soul has ever walked up to me in the street and said, "Hey, Didge! The lion will lay down with the lamb." I sincerely hope that nobody ever does.

      March 24, 2017 12:41 PM MDT
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  • 34286
    No probably not. It would more come up in a religious conversation talking about Jesus' returning and how it will be.....
      March 25, 2017 12:26 PM MDT
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  • Of course. I don't have any of those.

    It's not a big deal though: lots of things get misquoted over the years. People misremember a quote, repeat it, and somebody else passes it on. Happens in lots of areas.
      March 25, 2017 1:41 PM MDT
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  • It's Isaiah 11:6
    King James Bible
    The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

    It's not the exact quote, but close enough. 
      March 24, 2017 5:02 PM MDT
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  • 34286
    Yes it is close but still as misquote.
      March 25, 2017 12:15 PM MDT
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  • It kinda means the same thing. I can see where people can get it mixed up.
    http://www.learnthebible.org/the-lion-and-lamb.html This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at March 25, 2017 3:44 PM MDT
      March 25, 2017 3:43 PM MDT
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  • 5835
    In the 19th century Americans started moving west and three institutions went with them. There was vaudeville, traveling entertainment. There was lyceum, traveling education and culture. And there was the itinerant preacher, offering a new style of preaching called "hell fire and brim stone". It was very entertaining, only loosely based on scripture, and pastors didn't even try to compete. Instead they switched to preaching public morality and philosophy. Eventually an entire generation grew up not knowing the first thing about the religion they claimed to believe. That is why most Christian churches don't teach doctrines, and most members don't know what they are supposed to believe.
      March 24, 2017 6:00 PM MDT
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  • 34286
    It true many people go to church regularly and really know very little about the Bible.
      March 24, 2017 7:22 PM MDT
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  • 17599
    That is not how it is quoted but I guess the saying comes from Revelations where Jesus is described as a lion and then as a lamb..........he was both.
      March 25, 2017 12:10 PM MDT
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  • 34286
    Yes. I agree people are getting confused the verse in Isiah and how Jesus is referred to as both the Lion of Judah and the Lamb of God.
      March 25, 2017 12:14 PM MDT
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  • 2657
    Perhaps someone was going from memory and confused lion with wolf or something? Either way it looks like the point is that even the animals will be at peace when Jesus takes over the affairs of the earth.

    (Isaiah 65:25) The wolf and the lamb will feed together, The lion will eat straw just like the bull, And the serpent’s food will be dust. They will do no harm nor cause any ruin in all my holy mountain,” says Jehovah.
    (Isaiah 11:6) The wolf will reside for a while with the lamb, And with the young goat the leopard will lie down, And the calf and the lion and the fattened animal will all be together; And a little boy will lead them.
      March 27, 2017 5:02 AM MDT
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  • 492
    Why wouldn't a serpent have the same right as any other animal and human, from God's creation, in God's holy mountain, to eat the same straw? The wolf, lion, and leopard, are more likely to do harm and cause ruin in the holy mountain, than the serpent. The continuous accumulation (for eternity) of animal and human defecation and urine, is more like to harm and cause ruin to any mountain. I'm hoping JW's will take on the task of cleaning after these beasts and maintaining the landscape for the feasts celebrated by humans, as illustrated in JW material.
      March 27, 2017 5:26 AM MDT
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  • 34286
    I really think that most is just have heard it over and over and just never actually looked it up. I was in that category for years. 
    And as someone said earlier the phrase is used in a song that was released by some older country singers. So they heard it in the song and never verified it. 
      March 27, 2017 5:26 AM MDT
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