Ezekiel 31
Lexham English Bible
Pharaoh Is Warned Through Assyria’s Destruction
31 And then[a] in the eleventh[b] year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of Yahweh came[c] to me, saying,[d] 2 “Son of man,[e] say to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to his crowd,[f]
‘To whom are you like in your greatness?
3 Look! Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon,
with beautiful branches[g] and a forest giving shade,
and very high,[h]
and its treetop was between the clouds.
4 Waters made it great,
the deep made it grow high;
its rivers were going all around its planting area,[i]
and its channels it sent out
to all of the trees of the field.
5 Therefore it became tall,
with its height more than all of the trees of the field,
and its branches became numerous,
and its branches became long
from its sending its shoots from abundant water.[j]
6 In its branches all the birds[k] of the heaven[l] made their nest,
and under its branches all the animals[m] of the field gave birth,
and in its shadow all the many nations lived.
7 And it was beautiful in its greatness,
in the length of its branches,
for its root was toward much water.
8 Cedars in the garden of God
could not be equal to it;
fir trees[n] could not resemble its branches,
and plane trees were not even like its branches;
any tree even in the garden of God
could not resemble it in its beauty.
9 I made it beautiful with the abundance of its branches,
and all of the trees of Eden that were in the garden of God envied it.’”
10 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Because[o] it was tall in height and it set its treetop between[p] thick clouds, and he took pride in his tallness,[q] 11 then[r] I gave it into the hand of the leader of nations; he dealt thoroughly[s] with it according to its wickedness. I drove it out. 12 And strangers cut it off, the most ruthless of nations, and they abandoned it. On the mountains and in all of the valleys its branches fell, and its branches were broken in all the river channels of the land, and all the peoples of the world went out from its shadow, and they abandoned it. 13 On its fallen trunk all the birds[t] of the heaven[u] now dwell, and all the animals of the field were on its branches. 14 This occurred so that all of the trees with abundant water will not become tall, and they will not set their treetop between[v] their thick foliage,[w] and so thatall of the trees that are abundantly watered[x] will not stand up to them[y] in their tallness, for all of them, they have been given over to death, to the world below in the midst of mortals,[z] to the people going down to the grave.”[aa]
15 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “On the day of its going down to Sheol, I caused mourning; I covered over it with the deep, and I withheld its rivers, and many waters were restrained, and I brought gloom over it; Lebanon and all of the trees of the field, they had fainted because of it. 16 From the sound of its downfall I caused nations to shake when I made it go down to Sheol, with the people going down to the grave,[ab] and so in the world below all of the trees of Eden, the choice and the best of Lebanon, all the well-watered trees[ac] were comforted! 17 They also went down with it to Sheol to those who died by the sword,[ad] and its army who had lived in its shadow in the midst of nations.
18 To whom could you be compared, whether in glory or in majesty[ae] among the trees of Eden? And yet you will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the world below; in the midst of the uncircumcised you will lie with those who died by the sword.[af] That is Pharaoh and his entire[ag] crowd!”[ah] declares[ai] the Lord Yahweh.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 31:1 Literally “and it happened/it was”
- Ezekiel 31:1 Literally “on one ten”
- Ezekiel 31:1 Literally “was”
- Ezekiel 31:1 Literally “to say”
- Ezekiel 31:2 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
- Ezekiel 31:2 Or “hordes”
- Ezekiel 31:3 Hebrew “branch”
- Ezekiel 31:3 Literally “high of height”
- Ezekiel 31:4 Literally “base of its tree”; NRSV, “in the place where it was planted”
- Ezekiel 31:5 Literally “from water much at sending shoots its”
- Ezekiel 31:6 Hebrew “bird”
- Ezekiel 31:6 Or “sky”
- Ezekiel 31:6 Hebrew “animal”
- Ezekiel 31:8 Or possibly, juniper
- Ezekiel 31:10 Literally “because that”
- Ezekiel 31:10 Hebrew “to between”
- Ezekiel 31:10 Literally “and his heart he raised in his tallness”
- Ezekiel 31:11 Or “and”
- Ezekiel 31:11 Literally “doing he did”
- Ezekiel 31:13 Hebrew “bird”
- Ezekiel 31:13 Or “sky”
- Ezekiel 31:14 Or “among”
- Ezekiel 31:14 Or “clouds”
- Ezekiel 31:14 Literally “all of the drinkers of water”
- Ezekiel 31:14 Literally “will not stand to them”
- Ezekiel 31:14 Literally “sons of men,” or “children of humankind”
- Ezekiel 31:14 Or “pit”
- Ezekiel 31:16 Or “the pit”
- Ezekiel 31:16 Literally “all ofthe drinkers of water”
- Ezekiel 31:17 Literally “to the slain of the sword”
- Ezekiel 31:18 Literally “To who you are like as in glory and in majesty”
- Ezekiel 31:18 Literally “the slain of the sword”
- Ezekiel 31:18 Literally “all his hordes/crowd”
- Ezekiel 31:18 Or “hordes”
- Ezekiel 31:18 Literally “declaration of”
Ezekiel 31
New American Standard Bible
Pharaoh Warned of Assyria’s Fate
31 In the (A)eleventh year, in the third month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his (B)hordes,
‘Whom are you like in your greatness?
3 Behold, Assyria was a (C)cedar in Lebanon
With beautiful branches and forest shade,
And [a](D)very high,
And its top was among the [b]clouds.
4 The (E)waters made it grow, the [c]deep made it high.
With its rivers it continually [d]extended all around its planting place,
And sent out its channels to all the trees of the field.
5 Therefore (F)its height was loftier than all the trees of the field
And its boughs became many and its branches long
Because of (G)many waters [e]as it spread them out.
6 All the (H)birds of the sky nested in its twigs,
And under its branches all the animals of the field gave birth,
And all great nations lived under its shade.
7 So it was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches;
For its [f]roots extended to many waters.
8 The (I)cedars in (J)God’s garden [g]could not match it;
The junipers [h]could not compare with its branches,
And the plane trees [i]could not match its branches.
No tree in (K)God’s garden [j]could compare with it in its beauty.
9 I made it beautiful with the multitude of its branches,
And all the trees of (L)Eden, which were in the (M)garden of God, were jealous of it.
10 ‘Therefore this is what the Lord [k]God says: “Because [l]it is tall in stature and has put its top among the [m]clouds, and its (N)heart is haughty in its loftiness, 11 I will hand it over to a [n](O)ruler of the nations; he will thoroughly deal with it. In accordance with its wickedness I have (P)driven it out. 12 (Q)Foreign (R)tyrants of the nations have cut it down and left it; on the (S)mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its branches have been broken in all the ravines of the land. And all the peoples of the earth have (T)gone down from its shade and left it. 13 All the (U)birds of the sky will nest on its fallen trunk, and all the animals of the field will [o]rest on its fallen branches, 14 so that all the trees by the waters will not be exalted in their stature, nor put their tops among the [p]clouds, nor will any of their [q]well-watered mighty ones stand straight in their height. For they have all been turned over to death, to the (V)earth beneath, among [r]mankind, [s]with those who go down to the pit.”
15 ‘This is what the Lord God says: “On the day when it went down to Sheol I (W)caused mourning; I closed the [t]deep over it and held back its rivers. And its many waters were stopped up, and I made Lebanon mourn for it, and all the trees of the field wilted away on account of it. 16 I made the nations (X)quake from the sound of its fall when I made it (Y)go down to Sheol with those who go down to the pit; and all the [u]well-watered trees of Eden, the choicest and best of (Z)Lebanon, were (AA)comforted in the earth beneath. 17 They also (AB)went down with it to Sheol to those who were (AC)slain by the sword; and those who were its [v]strength lived (AD)in its shade among the nations.
18 “To which among the trees of Eden are you so alike in glory and greatness? Yet you will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth beneath; you will lie in the midst of the (AE)uncircumcised with those who were killed by the sword. (AF)This is Pharaoh and all his hordes!”’ declares the Lord God.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 31:3 Lit high of stature
- Ezekiel 31:3 As in LXX; MT thick boughs
- Ezekiel 31:4 I.e., subterranean waters
- Ezekiel 31:4 Lit was going
- Ezekiel 31:5 Lit in its sending forth
- Ezekiel 31:7 Lit root was
- Ezekiel 31:8 Lit did
- Ezekiel 31:8 Lit did
- Ezekiel 31:8 Lit were not like
- Ezekiel 31:8 Lit did
- Ezekiel 31:10 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
- Ezekiel 31:10 As in Syriac; MT you are
- Ezekiel 31:10 As in LXX; MT thick branches
- Ezekiel 31:11 Or mighty one
- Ezekiel 31:13 Lit be on
- Ezekiel 31:14 As in LXX; MT thick branches
- Ezekiel 31:14 Lit drinkers of water
- Ezekiel 31:14 Lit sons of mankind
- Ezekiel 31:14 Lit to
- Ezekiel 31:15 I.e., subterranean waters
- Ezekiel 31:16 Lit drinkers of water
- Ezekiel 31:17 Lit arm
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