Assyria’s Fall Due to Arrogance

¹⁰ “Therefore this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because of its towering height, with its summit reaching into the clouds, and because it was haughty in its position,^{[a] 11} I turned it over to the leader of those^[b] nations, who dealt with it thoroughly. I have driven it away because of its wickedness. ¹² Foreign dictators have trimmed it down to size and abandoned it. Its branches have fallen off on mountains and in all the valleys. Its boughs have broken off in all the ravines of the land. All the nations of the earth have moved out of its shade and abandoned it. ¹³ All the birds in the sky will live among its ruins, and the wild animals^[c] will forage among its branches. ¹⁴ As a result, none of its watered trees will grow tall, their tops will never reach to the clouds, and they’ll never grow so high again, because all of them have been appointed^[d] to death in the world beneath where human beings go, that is, down to the Pit.’”^[e]

Fear at Assyria’s Fall

¹⁵ “This is what the Lord God says: ‘On the day that it descended into Sheol,^[f] I shut down its water supplies, covered over its deep water, and shut down its rivers. As a result its abundant water sources dried up, and I caused Lebanon to mourn for it. All the trees of the field wilted because of it. ¹⁶ I made the nations tremble when they heard that Assyria^[g] was falling, descending into Sheol^[h] to join those who go down into the Pit.^[i] Then all of the trees of Eden in the world below were comforted, including the choicest and best of Lebanon, all of whom were well-watered. ¹⁷ They also went down with it into Sheol,^[j] to those who had been killed violently^[k] and to those who had trusted in its strength by living in its shadow among the nations. ¹⁸ So tell me now, which of the trees of Eden compares to you in glory or greatness? Nevertheless, you’ll be brought down, along with those trees of Eden, to the earth below. You’ll lie in the middle of the uncircumcised, with those who have been killed in war.^[l] Pharaoh and all his gang will be just like this!’ declares the Lord God.”