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Egypt Compared to Fallen Assyria

31 On June 21,[a] during the eleventh year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, this message came to me from the Lord: “Son of man, give this message to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and all his hordes:

“To whom would you compare your greatness?
You are like mighty Assyria,
    which was once like a cedar of Lebanon,
with beautiful branches that cast deep forest shade
    and with its top high among the clouds.
Deep springs watered it
    and helped it to grow tall and luxuriant.
The water flowed around it like a river,
    streaming to all the trees nearby.
This great tree towered high,
    higher than all the other trees around it.
It prospered and grew long thick branches
    because of all the water at its roots.
The birds nested in its branches,
    and in its shade all the wild animals gave birth.
All the great nations of the world
    lived in its shadow.
It was strong and beautiful,
    with wide-spreading branches,
for its roots went deep
    into abundant water.
No other cedar in the garden of God
    could rival it.
No cypress had branches to equal it;
    no plane tree had boughs to compare.
No tree in the garden of God
    came close to it in beauty.
Because I made this tree so beautiful,
    and gave it such magnificent foliage,
it was the envy of all the other trees of Eden,
    the garden of God.

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Footnotes

  1. 31:1 Hebrew On the first day of the third month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This event occurred on June 21, 587 B.c.; also see note on 1:1.

Egypt Will Be Brought Down to Sheol

31 Now it happened in the (A)eleventh year, in the third month, on the first of the month, that the word of Yahweh came to me saying, “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his (B)multitude,

‘To whom do you liken yourself in your greatness?
Behold, Assyria was a (C)cedar in Lebanon
With beautiful branches and forest shade
And (D)lofty in height,
And its top was among the [a]clouds.
The (E)waters made it grow; the [b]deep made it high.
With its rivers it was going all around its planting place
And sent out its conduits to all the trees of the field.
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 [c]as it spread them out.
All the (H)birds of the sky nested in its boughs,
And under its branches all the beasts of the field gave birth,
And all great nations lived under its shade.
So it was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its foliage;
For its [d]roots extended to many waters.
The (I)cedars in (J)God’s garden [e]could not match it;
The [f]cypresses [g]could not liken themselves with its boughs,
And the plane trees were not like its branches.
No tree in (K)God’s garden [h]could liken itself with it in its beauty.
I made it beautiful with the multitude of its foliage,
And all the trees of (L)Eden, which were in the (M)garden of God, were jealous of it.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 31:3 As in Gr; M.T. thick boughs
  2. Ezekiel 31:4 Subterranean waters
  3. Ezekiel 31:5 Lit in its sending forth
  4. Ezekiel 31:7 Lit root was
  5. Ezekiel 31:8 Lit did
  6. Ezekiel 31:8 Or Phoenician junipers
  7. Ezekiel 31:8 Lit did
  8. Ezekiel 31:8 Lit did