Ezekiel 31
31
Parable of the Cedar Tree
1In the eleventh year of our captivity, on the first day of the third month, # 31:1 Probably June 21, 587 BC. Yahweh spoke to me, saying,
2“Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and his multitude:
‘Who is comparable to you in your greatness?
3I know who: Assyria! Once it was like a cedar tree in Lebanon,
with its noble branches, its forest shade, and its lofty height,
its treetop among the clouds.
4Plenty of water has made it grow,
deep springs have made it tall.
Streams flow all around where it was planted,
sending rivulets to all the other trees.
5So it towered high, much higher than the other trees of the forest.
Because of the plentiful waters making it grow,
its branches increased in number and spread out very far.
6All the birds of heaven nested in its strong branches,
and wild animals gave birth under its shade. # 31:6 Or “boughs.”
Many, many people sat in its shadow. # 31:6 That is, great nations lived under its protection. This parable is a warning to Pharaoh from the fate of the Assyrian Empire. Assyria, like Pharaoh, had exalted herself in pride above the nations. Having ruled supreme for four centuries, Assyria was overthrown by the united forces of the Babylonians and the Medes in 605 BC.
7It was beautiful in its greatness, tall, with such large branches!
For its roots were planted in plentiful waters.
8The mighty cedar tree was unrivaled in God’s garden.
No cypress compares to such lovely branches as these;
No sycamore # 31:8 Or “plane tree.” could match its splendor.
No tree in the garden of God could match its beauty.
9I made it so lovely with its many branches.
It was the envy of every tree in Eden, the garden of God.’ ”
God Pronounces Judgment on the Cedar Tree
10Therefore, Lord Yahweh says: “Because it towered so high with its top into the clouds and its heart was proud about its height, 11I have rejected it! I have handed it over to the mightiest of the nations # 31:11 Or literally “a ram of the nations,” a metaphor for Nebuchadnezzar, the powerful king of Babylon. to be punished as its wickedness deserves. 12The most ruthless of nations cut down the cedar and left it deserted. Its broken branches littered the mountains, the valleys, and every ravine throughout the country. Those who once sat in its shadow have fled and abandoned it. 13All the birds of heaven settled in the fallen tree, and all the wild animals lay among its branches.
14“So from now on, let no tree, no matter how well-watered, grow that high again with its top pushing into the clouds. And let no watered tree grow that tall again. For all of them are doomed to death, and they will join those in the depths of the underworld of mortals with those who go down to the pit.”
The Nations Quake over the Cedar’s Destruction
15Lord Yahweh says: “The day I cast it down to Sheol, # 31:15 Sheol is a Hebrew word for the underworld, the realm of the dead. The word Sheol is derived from a root word that means “to ask a question.” We all have questions about the afterlife, don’t we? I caused it to mourn, covering it with the deep springs. # 31:15 The meaning of the Hebrew of this sentence is uncertain. For I stopped its underground rivers, and I reduced the flow of the once plentiful waters. I clothed Lebanon with gloom as they mourned for the cedar tree, and all the trees withered because of it. 16I made the nations quake at the crashing sound of its fall. They trembled as I hurled it down to Sheol with those who sink into the pit. In the depths of the underworld, all the trees of Eden, the finest well-watered trees of Lebanon, were comforted when the cedar tree joined them. 17And the nations who sat in its shadow went down to Sheol with it to join those slaughtered by the sword. # 31:17 This parable of the cedar tree is about Pharaoh, and the other trees are the other kings ruling in their earthly paradise. These other kings (trees), having gone down to the underworld, will find pleasure when Pharaoh joins them among the dead.
18“Which of Eden’s trees could be compared to you in glory and greatness? Yet you have been hurled down with the trees of Eden to the depths of the underworld. You will lie among the uncircumcised and with those who have been slaughtered by the sword. So much for Pharaoh and all his multitudes! I, Lord Yahweh, have spoken.”
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Ezekiel 31: TPT
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