The lion. A lion. Figure of speech Hypocatastasis, not Simile or Metaphor. Put thus for the king of Babylon. Contrast Jeremiah 49:19. See note there.
Gentiles. nations.
Related Commentaries of Jeremiah 4:7
Jeremiah 4:7
7 The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant.