Hosea 5:14

If a stronger figure is necessary to warn Israel of the destructiveness of his present course, Jehovah will compare himself to a lion (comp. Isaiah 31:4).

as a lion, and as a young lion Hebrew has at least five words for -lion"; of the two selected here, the first describes this terror of ancient Palestine as a roarer (so Hosea 13:7), the second as covered with a mane.

I, even I For the axe may be human, but the hand which wields it is divine (Isaiah 10:15).

I will take away i.e. I will carry off the prey. The passage reminds us of the comparison of the Assyrians to a lion in Isaiah 5:29.