Their roaring ... - Their battle cry, or their shout as they enter into an engagement. Such a “shout,” or cry, was common at the commencement of a battle. War was very much a personal conflict; and they expected to accomplish much by making it as frightful and terrible as possible. A shout served not only to excite their own spirits, but to produce an impression of their numbers and courage, and to send dismay into the opposite ranks. Such “shouts” are almost always mentioned by Homer, and by other writers, in their accounts of battles. They are often mentioned, also, in the Old Testament; Exodus 32:18; Joshua 6:10, Joshua 6:16, Joshua 6:20; Jeremiah 50:15; 1 Samuel 17:20, 1Sa 17:52; 2 Chronicles 13:15; Job 39:25.
Like a lion - This comparison is common in the Bible; Jeremiah 51:38; Hosea 11:10; Amos 3:4; compare Numbers 23:24.
Like young lions - This variation of the expression, from the lion to the young lion, is very common. It is the Hebrew form of poetry, where the second member expresses little more than the first. Here the description is that of a lion, or more probably a “lioness” and her whelps, all ravenous, and all uniting in roaring for prey. The idea is, that the army that would come up would be greedy of plunder; they would rush on to rapine in a frightful manner.