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 King James Version
Egypt Cut Down Like a Great Tree(A)
31 Now it came to pass in the (B)eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude:
(C)‘Whom are you like in your greatness?
3 (D)Indeed Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon,
With fine branches that shaded the forest,
And of high stature;
And its top was among the thick boughs.
4 (E)The waters made it grow;
Underground waters gave it height,
With their rivers running around the place where it was planted,
And sent out [a]rivulets to all the trees of the field.
5 ‘Therefore (F)its height was exalted above all the trees of the field;
Its boughs were multiplied,
And its branches became long because of the abundance of water,
As it sent them out.
6 All the (G)birds of the heavens made their nests in its boughs;
Under its branches all the beasts of the field brought forth their young;
And in its shadow all great nations [b]made their home.
7 ‘Thus it was beautiful in greatness and in the length of its branches,
Because its roots reached to abundant waters.
8 The cedars in the (H)garden of God could not hide it;
The fir trees were not like its boughs,
And the [c]chestnut trees were not like its branches;
No tree in the garden of God was like it in beauty.
9 I made it beautiful with a multitude of branches,
So that all the trees of Eden envied it,
That were in the garden of God.’
10 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have increased in height, and it set its top among the thick boughs, and (I)its heart was [d]lifted up in its height, 11 therefore I will deliver it into the hand of the (J)mighty one of the nations, and he shall surely deal with it; I have driven it out for its wickedness. 12 And aliens, (K)the most terrible of the nations, have cut it down and left it; its branches have fallen (L)on the mountains and in all the valleys; its boughs lie (M)broken by all the rivers of the land; and all the peoples of the earth have gone from under its shadow and left it.
13 ‘On (N)its ruin will remain all the birds of the heavens,
And all the beasts of the field will come to its branches—
14 So that no trees by the waters may ever again exalt themselves for their height, nor set their tops among the thick boughs, that no tree which drinks water may ever be high enough to reach up to them.
‘For (O)they have all been delivered to death,
(P)To the depths of the earth,
Among the children of men who go down to the Pit.’
15 “Thus says the Lord God: ‘In the day when it (Q)went down to [e]hell, I caused mourning. I covered the deep because of it. I restrained its rivers, and the great waters were held back. I caused Lebanon to [f]mourn for it, and all the trees of the field wilted because of it. 16 I made the nations (R)shake at the sound of its fall, when I (S)cast it down to [g]hell together with those who descend into the Pit; and (T)all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, (U)were comforted in the depths of the earth. 17 They also went down to hell with it, with those slain by the sword; and those who were its strong arm (V)dwelt in its shadows among the nations.
18 (W)‘To which of the trees in Eden will you then be likened in glory and greatness? Yet you shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the depths of the earth; (X)you shall lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude,’ says the Lord God.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 31:4 Or channels
- Ezekiel 31:6 Lit. dwelled
- Ezekiel 31:8 Or plane, Heb. armon
- Ezekiel 31:10 Proud
- Ezekiel 31:15 Or Sheol
- Ezekiel 31:15 Lit. be darkened
- Ezekiel 31:16 Or Sheol
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
