Blenkinsopp comments on the lion imagery:
As biblical records and Assyrian records and iconography attest, lions lived in close proximity to human settlements on both sides of the Euphrates during the Iron Age; in fact, lions are attested in Palestine up to the Middle Ages and in Iraq into the early years of the twentieth century. The real and dangerous proximity of these splendid animals combined with their symbolic potential will explain why they occur so frequently in the literature, including the book of Isaiah which has five terms for the lion, two of which occur in our passage.
Comparison: As noted above, the last phrase in Nephi’s verse 28 is the first phrase of KJV’s verse 29. While the meaning is the same, the parallel roaring of the lions suggests the poetic neatness of linking the final clause of 28 to the beginning of 29 as in the King James Version. The different location makes no difference in meaning. (See commentary accompanying verse 28.)