When leaders succumb to corruption, they often transform from protectors of the people into insatiable predators [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. A striking parallel exists between different types of corrupt officials and wild beasts, illustrating exactly how their cruelty operates in society.
The ruling officials behave like roaring lions. They use their loud, intimidating voices to threaten the public [מצודת דוד] and openly steal from them, much like lions roaring over a fresh catch [אבן עזרא, רד״ק]. Because a lion roars at the exact moment it claims its prey, this comparison highlights the brazen nature of these officials. They commit their crimes in broad daylight, completely unashamed and in full public view [מלבי״ם].
In sharp contrast to the bold officials, the judges operate like evening wolves. While the officials rob openly, the judges act in the shadows. They take their bribes in secret, hiding their corruption under the cover of night where no one can see them [מלבי״ם]. The specific comparison to wolves that hunt in the evening also highlights their fierce, desperate hunger. After starving all day long, they rush aggressively to devour their victims as soon as darkness falls [רש״י, מצודת דוד].
The destructive nature of these judges is absolute, leaving nothing behind for the next day. The primary approach among commentators is that they destroy their victims so thoroughly and rapidly that they do not even leave a single bone by morning [רש״י, רד״ק, מצודת דוד]. This complete consumption serves a practical purpose for the corrupt judges: by leaving no bones, they also leave no evidence. They swallow their bribes in the dark, and by the time the sun rises, every trace of their crime has vanished [מלבי״ם].
Other perspectives offer different insights into this behavior. This total consumption may point to an endless greed, showing that their desire to devour is never truly satisfied [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Alternatively, their intense evening hunger might simply be the direct result of having not broken a single bone for food since the morning began, causing them to attack their prey with absolute ferocity at night [אבן עזרא].