Ezekiel31

The LORD compares Pharaoh's greatness to Assyria, depicted as a magnificent cedar in Lebanon that grew tall and provided shelter for many nations. However, due to its pride in its exalted height, God brought it down, cut off by foreign powers and cast into the nether parts of the earth. This serves as a direct warning to Pharaoh, indicating that he and his multitude will suffer a similar fate, being brought low among the slain.

Date of the Prophecy Against Egypt

1
On the first day of the third month of the eleventh year, the word of ADONAI came to me: ​
2
"Human being, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes: 'Whom are you like in your greatness? ​

The Parable of the Mighty Cedar

3
Like Ashur, a cedar in the L'vanon. It had beautiful branches, dense foliage, its tall crown surrounded by leafy boughs. ​
4
The water nourished it; the deep made it grow, sending its rivers round the place where it was planted, sending its streams to all the trees in the fields. ​
5
So it grew taller than any other tree, its branches grew in number and spread far and wide, for it had plenty of water to make them grow.
6
In its boughs all the birds of the air had their nests, beneath its branches all the wild animals gave birth to their young, and all great nations lived in its shade. ​
7
It was beautiful in its greatness and the length of its branches, because its roots went down to plenty of water.
8
No cedar in God's garden was like it, no cypress tree could compare with its boughs, no chestnut tree could rival its branches, no tree in God's garden could match its beauty. ​
9
I made it so beautiful, with its many branches; all trees in 'Eden, God's garden, envied it.'

The Cedar's Judgment and Fall

10
"Therefore here is what Adonai ELOHIM says: 'Because you are so tall, because he has lifted his crown above the leafy boughs, because he has grown so arrogant about his height, ​
11
I am handing him over to the mightiest of the nations, who will certainly deal with him as his wickedness deserves; I reject him. ​
12
Foreigners, the most barbarous of the nations, will destroy him and leave him lying where he is. His branches will lie fallen on the mountains and in the valleys, his boughs will lie broken in all the rivers of the land, and all the peoples of the earth will withdraw from his shade and leave him.
13
All the birds will settle on his fallen trunk, and all the wild animals will be on his branches.
14
This is to warn all the trees growing near water not to grow so tall, not to lift their crowns above the leafy boughs, and all that take up water not to reach up in their height. For they are all given over to death, to the depths of the underworld, along with human beings, with those who descend to the pit.' ​

Cosmic Mourning and Descent to Sheol

15
"Here is what Adonai ELOHIM says: 'On the day he descended to Sh'ol, I caused the abyss to mourn and cover itself for him; I held back its rivers, so that its deep waters were stopped. I made the L'vanon mourn for him, and all the field trees withered because of him. ​
16
At the sound of his fall I made the nations shake, when I hurled him down to Sh'ol with those who descend to the pit. All the trees of 'Eden, the pick of the best in the L'vanon, all that take up water, were consoled in the underworld. ​
17
They descended with him to Sh'ol to those who were killed by the sword, to those who were his fighting arm, those among the nations who lived in his shade.
18
Which of the trees of 'Eden was your equal in glory or size? Yet you will be brought down to the underworld along with the trees of 'Eden. You will lie there among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword. This is Pharaoh and his hordes,' says Adonai ELOHIM." ​

Study Notes for Ezekiel 31

Verse 1

This prophecy is dated approximately one month after the prophecy in chapter 30:20-26, placing it in 587 BC, shortly before the final fall of Jerusalem. The detailed chronology highlights the certainty of God's timing regarding the judgment of nations.

Verse 2

The rhetorical question sets up a taunt (a mocking lament or dirge) comparing Pharaoh to a magnificent, yet ultimately doomed, entity. The use of a parable allows the prophecy to critique Egypt indirectly before the final application.

Verse 3

The cedar is identified as Assyria, not Egypt, which is a key interpretive point. God uses the example of the recently fallen empire of Assyria (destroyed by Babylon in 612 BC) as a powerful warning and analogy for Egypt’s inevitable fate.

Verse 4

The 'waters' imagery symbolizes the sources of the kingdom's power, prosperity, and political influence, often representing the vassal states or fertile lands that sustained the empire.

Verse 6

The birds and beasts dwelling under the cedar's shadow illustrate the broad reach of Assyrian influence, signifying that many smaller nations depended upon or submitted to the empire for protection and stability.

Verse 8

The 'garden of God' (Eden) imagery is used as hyperbole, emphasizing the cedar’s perceived supreme status among all earthly kingdoms. This comparison subtly critiques the empire's self-exaltation to a quasi-divine level.

Verse 10

The cause of the cedar's downfall is explicitly identified as pride and arrogance. Hubris, or lifting one's heart in height, is the primary sin that leads to the judgment of both individuals and mighty nations in biblical prophecy.

Verse 11

The 'mighty one of the heathen' refers to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. God often uses powerful human agents, even heathen kings, as instruments to execute divine judgment upon other wicked nations.

Verse 14

This verse presents the theological purpose of the judgment: to serve as a universal object lesson. No kingdom, regardless of its prosperity or power, should exalt itself, because all are destined for death and the grave (the pit).

Verse 15

The description of the natural world mourning the cedar's fall (covering the deep, restraining the floods) signifies a cosmic, earth-shaking event. The prophet emphasizes the immense global significance of the fall of such a powerful empire.

Verse 16

The descent to 'hell' (Sheol) depicts the realm of the dead where the fallen great ones are gathered. The 'trees of Eden' (other formerly great nations) are ironically comforted that the proudest among them has finally joined them in death.

Verse 18

The chapter concludes by applying the entire parable directly to Pharaoh and Egypt. Despite their glory, they will be cast down among the 'uncircumcised,' a term used here to emphasize their spiritual contempt and ultimate fate among those slain by the sword.

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