Ezekiel31
King James Version · Public Domain
1And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness?
3Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs.
4The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field.
5Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth.
6All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations.
7Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by great waters.
8The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chesnut trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty.
9I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him.
10Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height;
11I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen; he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out for his wickedness.
12And strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him: upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the rivers of the land; and all the people of the earth are gone down from his shadow, and have left him.
13Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven remain, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches:
14To the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves for their height, neither shoot up their top among the thick boughs, neither their trees stand up in their height, all that drink water: for they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit.
15Thus saith the Lord God; In the day when he went down to the grave I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the floods thereof, and the great waters were stayed: and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him.
16I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth.
17They also went down into hell with him unto them that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen.
18To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord God.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Ezekiel 31.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The glory of Assyria. (1-9). Its fall, and the like for Egypt. (10-18).
vv1-9
The falls of others, both into sin and ruin, warn us not to be secure or high-minded. The prophet is to show an instance of one whom the king of Egypt resembled in greatness, the Assyrian, compared to a stately cedar. Those who excel others, make themselves the objects of envy; but the blessings of the heavenly paradise are not liable to such alloy. The utmost security that any creature can give, is but like the shadow of a tree, a scanty and slender protection. But let us flee to God for protection, there we shall be safe. His hand must be owned in the rising of the great men of the earth, and we must not envy them. Though worldly people may seem to have firm prosperity, yet it only seems so.
vv10-18
The king of Egypt resembled the king of Assyria in his greatness: here we see he resembles him in his pride. And he shall resemble him in his fall. His own sin brings his ruin. None of our comforts are ever lost, but what have been a thousand times forfeited. When great men fall, many fall with them, as many have fallen before them. The fall of proud men is for warning to others, to keep them humble. See how low Pharaoh lies; and see what all his pomp and pride are come to. It is best to be a lowly tree of righteousness, yielding fruit to the glory of God, and to the good of men. The wicked man is often seen flourishing like the cedar, and spreading like the green bay tree, but he soon passes away, and his place is no more found. Let us then mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace.
Key Words
שָׁנֶה: a year (as a revolution of time)
שְׁלִישִׁי: third; feminine athird (part); by extension, a third (day, year or time); specifically, a third-story cell)
אֶחָד: properly, united, i.e. one; or (as an ordinal) first
חֹדֶשׁ: the new moon; by implication, a month
דָּבָר: a word; by implication, a matter (as spoken of) or thing; adverbially, a cause
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
אָדָם: ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species, mankind, etc.)
פַּרְעֹה: Paroh, a general title of Egyptian kings
מֶלֶךְ: a king
Cross References
Ezekiel 31Daniel's vision of the great tree reaching to heaven represents a proud king, paralleling the Assyrian cedar.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Both passages use the imagery of birds nesting in branches to depict nations dwelling under a king's rule.
Supported by JFB
Like Tyre, the Assyrian king's matchless glory is compared to the pristine splendor of Eden.
Supported by JFB
The reference to the trees of the garden of God directly evokes the paradise trees of Genesis.
Supported by JFB
Both sections depict the descent of uncircumcised nations and their leaders to the nether parts of earth.
Supported by JFB
The phrase 'dwelling under his shadow' refers to trusting in a king's political and military protection.
Supported by JFB
The descent of mighty earthly rulers to Sheol (hell) stirring up the dead matches Isaiah's taunt.
Supported by JFB
Establishes the chronological sequence of prophecies against Egypt, dated just two months earlier.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Metaphor of 'waters' and 'deep' representing vast tributary peoples and national resources.
Supported by JFB
Identical imagery of beasts finding shadow and birds nesting in the branches of a grand tree.
Supported by JFB
Verifies that despite their godlike stature, great earthly monarchs will fall and die like common men.
Supported by JFB
Dying 'the death of the uncircumcised' by the sword is the ultimate humiliation for pagan rulers.
Supported by JFB
Ezekiel elsewhere uses the great cedar of Lebanon to symbolize royal dynasties and kingdoms.
Supported by JFB
The heart being 'lifted up' because of beauty and height is the direct cause of divine judgment.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Identifies the 'strangers, the terrible of the nations' as the Babylonian army under Nebuchadnezzar.
Supported by Matthew Poole