Ezekiel 31

Modern

Literal

Egypt Will Fall like Assyria

¹In the eleventh year, on the first day of the third month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

¹And it came to pass, in the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first of the month, that the word of YHWH came to me, saying:

²“Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude:

‘Who can be compared

to your greatness?

²“Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude: ‘To whom do you compare your greatness?

³Look at Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon,

with beautiful branches that shaded the forest.

It towered on high;

its top was among the clouds.

³Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon, beautiful of branches and giving shade to the forest and high of stature, and among the clouds was its top.

⁴The waters made it grow;

the deep springs made it tall,

directing their streams all around its base

and sending their channels to all the trees of the field.

⁴The waters made it grow, the deep gave it height with her rivers running around the place of her planting, and her conduits she sent out to all the trees of the field.

⁵Therefore it towered higher

than all the trees of the field.

Its branches multiplied,

and its boughs grew long

as it spread them out

because of the abundant waters.

⁵Upon thus its height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and its boughs were multiplied, and its branches became long from the abundant waters in its sending forth.

⁶All the birds of the air

nested in its branches,

and all the beasts of the field

gave birth beneath its boughs;

all the great nations

lived in its shade.

⁶In its boughs made their nests all the birds of the heavens, and under its branches gave birth all the beasts of the field, and in its shade dwelt all the great nations.

⁷It was beautiful in its greatness,

in the length of its limbs,

for its roots extended

to abundant waters.

⁷And it was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches, because its root was to abundant waters.

⁸The cedars in the garden of God

could not rival it;

the cypresses^a could not compare with its branches,

nor the plane trees^b match its boughs.

No tree in the garden of God

could compare with its beauty.

⁸The cedars could not darken it in the garden of God; the fir trees were not like unto its boughs, and the plane trees were not like its branches; there was no tree in the garden of God, not any like it in its beauty.

⁹I made it beautiful with its many branches,

the envy of all the trees of Eden,

which were in the garden of God.’

⁹Beautiful I made it with an abundance of branches, and envied all the trees of Eden that were in the garden of God.’

¹⁰Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Since it became great^a in height and set its top among the clouds,^b and it grew proud on account of its height,

¹⁰Therefore, thus says the Lord YHWH: ‘Because that you became great in height, and it set its top to among the thick boughs, and was lifted up its heart in its height,

¹¹I delivered it into the hand of the ruler of the nations, for him to deal with it according to its wickedness. I have banished it.

¹¹so I will give it into the hand of the mighty one of the nations, and he will deal severely with it according to its wickedness! I have driven it out,

¹²Foreigners, the most ruthless of the nations, cut it down and left it. Its branches have fallen on the mountains and in every valley; its boughs lay broken in all the earth’s ravines. And all the peoples of the earth left its shade and abandoned it.

¹²and foreigners have cut it down, the most ruthless of the nations. And they have left it on the mountains, and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs lie broken by all the rivers of the land. And all the peoples of the earth have gone out from its shade, and they have left it.

¹³All the birds of the air nested on its fallen trunk, and all the beasts of the field lived among its boughs.

¹³On its carcass will dwell all the birds of the heavens, and on its branches will be all the beasts of the field,

¹⁴This happened so that no other trees by the waters would become great in height and set their tops among the clouds, and no other well-watered trees would reach them in height. For they have all been consigned to death, to the depths of the earth, among the mortals who descend to the Pit.’

¹⁴in order that not any trees by the waters will exalt in their height, and they will not give their tops to among the thick boughs. All those drinking from the waters should not reach their oaks to their height, for they all have been given to death, to the land far below, in the midst of the sons of men, with those going down to the Pit.’

¹⁵This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘On the day it was brought down to Sheol, I caused mourning. I covered the deep because of it; I held back its rivers; its abundant waters were restrained. I made Lebanon mourn for it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it.

¹⁵Thus says the Lord YHWH: ‘On the day of its going down to Sheol, I caused mourning; I covered over it the deep, and I held back its rivers, and were cut off the great waters; and Lebanon I caused to mourn over it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it.

¹⁶I made the nations quake at the sound of its downfall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who descend to the Pit.

Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, all the well-watered trees, were consoled in the earth below.

¹⁶At the sound of its fall, I made the nations quake, in My casting it down to Sheol together with those going down to the Pit. And were comforted in the land below all the trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, all those drinking the waters.

¹⁷They too descended with it to Sheol, to those slain by the sword. As its allies they had lived in its shade among the nations.

¹⁷They also went down with it to Sheol, with those slain by the sword—and its arm who had dwelt in its shade in the midst of nations.

¹⁸Who then is like you in glory and greatness among the trees of Eden? You also will be brought down to the depths of the earth to be with the trees of Eden. You will lie among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord GOD.’”

¹⁸To whom, then, will you be compared, in glory and in greatness, among the trees in Eden? You also will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the land below; in the midst of the uncircumcised you will lie, with those slain by the sword. That is Pharaoh and all his multitude, a declaration of the Lord YHWH.’”