Ezekiel 31
Modern English Version
Pharaoh to Be Slain
31 In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 2 Son of man, speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude:
Whom are you like in your greatness?
3 Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon,
with fair branches and shade for a forest,
and high stature;
and its top was among the clouds.
4 The waters made it great;
the deep set it up on high.
With its rivers it continually ran
all around its plants,
and sent out its little rivers
to all the trees of the field.
5 Therefore its height was exalted
above all the trees of the field,
and its boughs were multiplied,
and its branches became long
because of the abundance of water, as it spread them out.
6 All the fowl of heaven
made their nests in its boughs;
and under its branches
all the beasts of the field gave birth;
and under its shadow
all great nations lived.
7 Thus it was fair in its greatness,
in the length of its branches,
for its roots were
by many waters.
8 The cedars in the garden of God
could not match it;
the fir trees
were not like its boughs,
and the chestnut trees
were not like its branches;
nor was any tree in the garden of God
like it in its beauty.
9 I made it beautiful with an abundance 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 it is lifted up in height and has shot up its top among the clouds, and its heart is arrogant in its height, 11 I therefore will deliver it into the hand of the mighty one of the nations. He shall surely deal with it. I have driven it out for its wickedness. 12 Aliens, the tyrants of the nations have cut it off and left it. Upon the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs have been broken by all the rivers of the land. And all the peoples of the earth have gone down from its shadow and have left it. 13 Upon its ruin all the fowl of the heavens shall remain, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon its fallen branches 14 to the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves for their height, or shoot up their tops among the clouds, or their well-watered trees stand up in their height. For they all have been delivered to death, to the nether parts of the earth in the midst of the sons of men, with those who go down to the pit.
15 Thus says the Lord God: On the day when it went down to Sheol I caused mourning. I covered the deep over it and restrained its rivers, and its many waters were stayed. And I caused Lebanon to mourn for it, and all the trees of the field fainted for it. 16 I made the nations to shake at the sound of its fall when I cast him down to Sheol with those who descend into the pit. And all the well-watered trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, were comforted in the nether parts of the earth. 17 They also went down into Sheol with it to those who were slain with the sword. And those who were its power lived under its shadow in the midst of the nations.
18 To whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? Yet you shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the nether parts of the earth. You shall lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with those who were slain by the sword.
This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, says the Lord God.
Ezekiel 31
New English Translation
A Cedar in Lebanon
31 In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month,[a] the Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and his hordes:
“‘Who are you like in your greatness?
3 Consider Assyria,[b] a cedar in Lebanon,[c]
with beautiful branches, like a forest giving shade,
and extremely tall;
its top reached into the clouds.
4 The water made it grow;
underground springs made it grow tall.
Rivers flowed all around the place it was planted,
while smaller channels watered all the trees of the field.[d]
5 Therefore it grew taller than all the trees of the field;
its boughs grew large and its branches grew long,
because of the plentiful water in its shoots.[e]
6 All the birds of the sky nested in its boughs;
under its branches all the beasts of the field gave birth;
in its shade all the great[f] nations lived.
7 It was beautiful in its loftiness, in the length of its branches;
for its roots went down deep to plentiful waters.
8 The cedars in the garden of God could not eclipse it,
nor could the fir trees[g] match its boughs;
the plane trees were as nothing compared to its branches;
no tree in the garden of God could rival its beauty.
9 I made it beautiful with its many branches;
all the trees of Eden, in the garden of God, envied it.
10 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because it was tall in stature, and its top reached into the clouds, and it was proud of its height, 11 I gave it over to the leader of the nations. He has judged it thoroughly,[h] as its sinfulness deserves. I have thrown it out. 12 Foreigners from the most terrifying nations have cut it down and left it to lie there on the mountains. In all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs lie broken in the ravines of the land. All the peoples of the land[i] have departed[j] from its shade and left it. 13 On its ruins all the birds of the sky will live, and all the wild animals[k] will walk[l] on its branches. 14 For this reason no watered trees will grow so tall; their tops will not reach into the clouds, nor will the well-watered ones grow that high.[m] For all of them have been appointed to die in the lower parts of the earth;[n] they will be among mere mortals,[o] with those who descend to the Pit.
15 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day it[p] went down to Sheol I caused observers to lament.[q] I covered it with the deep and held back its rivers; its plentiful water was restrained. I clothed Lebanon in black for it, and all the trees of the field wilted because of it. 16 I made the nations shake at the sound of its fall, when I threw it down to Sheol, along with those who descend to the Pit.[r] Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and the best of Lebanon, all that were well-watered, were comforted in the earth below. 17 Those who lived in its shade, its allies[s] among the nations, also went down with it to Sheol, to those killed by the sword. 18 Which of the trees of Eden was like you in majesty and loftiness? You will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the lower parts of the earth; you will lie among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword! This is what will happen to Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 31:1 sn June 21, 587 b.c.
- Ezekiel 31:3 sn Either Egypt or the Lord compares Egypt to Assyria, which is described in vv. 3-17 through the metaphor of a majestic tree. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:185. Like Egypt, Assyria had been a great world power, but in time God brought the Assyrians down. Egypt should learn from history the lesson that no nation, no matter how powerful, can withstand the judgment of God. Rather than following the text here, some prefer to emend the proper name Assyria to a similar sounding common noun meaning “boxwood” (see Ezek 27:6), which would make a fitting parallel to “cedar of Lebanon” in the following line. In this case vv. 3-18 in their entirety refer to Egypt, not Assyria. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:121-27.
- Ezekiel 31:3 sn Lebanon was known for its cedar trees (Judg 9:15; 1 Kgs 4:33; 5:6; 2 Kgs 14:9; Ezra 3:7; Pss 29:5; 92:12; 104:16).
- Ezekiel 31:4 tn Heb “Waters made it grow; the deep made it grow tall. It [the deep] was flowing with its rivers around the place it [the tree] was planted. It [the deep] sent out its channels to all the trees of the field.”
- Ezekiel 31:5 tn Heb “when it sends forth.” Repointing the consonants of the Masoretic text would render the proposed reading of “shoots” (cf. NRSV).
- Ezekiel 31:6 tn Or “many.”
- Ezekiel 31:8 tn Or “cypress trees” (cf. NASB, NLT); NIV “pine trees.”
- Ezekiel 31:11 tn Heb “acting he has acted with regard to it.” The infinitive absolute precedes the main verb to emphasize the certainty and decisiveness of the action depicted.
- Ezekiel 31:12 tn Or “earth” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
- Ezekiel 31:12 tn Heb “gone down.”
- Ezekiel 31:13 tn Heb “the beasts of the field,” referring to wild as opposed to domesticated animals.
- Ezekiel 31:13 tn Heb “be.”
- Ezekiel 31:14 tn Heb “and they will not stand to them in their height, all the drinkers of water.”
- Ezekiel 31:14 tn Heb “for death, to the lower earth.”
- Ezekiel 31:14 tn Heb “the sons of men.”
- Ezekiel 31:15 tn Or “he.”
- Ezekiel 31:15 tn Heb “I caused lamentation.” D. I. Block (Ezekiel [NICOT], 2:194-95) proposes an alternative root that would give the meaning: “I gated back the waters,” i.e., shut off the water supply.
- Ezekiel 31:16 sn For the expression “going down to the Pit,” see Ezek 26:20 and 32:18, 24, 29.
- Ezekiel 31:17 tn Heb “its arm.”
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
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
