10 Therefore thus saith H559 the Lord H136 GOD; H3069 Because thou hast lifted up H1361 thyself in height, H6967 and he hath shot up H5414 his top H6788 among the thick boughs, H5688 and his heart H3824 is lifted up H7311 in his height; H1363
Thine heart H3820 was lifted up H1361 because of thy beauty, H3308 thou hast corrupted H7843 thy wisdom H2451 by reason of H5921 thy brightness: H3314 I will cast H7993 thee to the ground, H776 I will lay H5414 thee before H6440 kings, H4428 that they may behold H7200 thee.
Thou sayest, H559 Lo, thou hast smitten H5221 the Edomites; H123 and thine heart H3820 lifteth thee up H5375 to boast: H3513 abide H3427 now at home; H1004 why shouldest thou meddle H1624 to thine hurt, H7451 that thou shouldest fall, H5307 even thou, and Judah H3063 with thee?
Before H6440 destruction H7667 the heart H3820 of man H376 is haughty, H1361 and before H6440 honour H3519 is humility. H6038
Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord H136 hath performed H1214 his whole work H4639 upon mount H2022 Zion H6726 and on Jerusalem, H3389 I will punish H6485 the fruit H6529 of the stout H1433 heart H3824 of the king H4428 of Assyria, H804 and the glory H8597 of his high H7312 looks. H5869
For thou hast said H559 in thine heart, H3824 I will ascend H5927 into heaven, H8064 I will exalt H7311 my throne H3678 above H4605 the stars H3556 of God: H410 I will sit H3427 also upon the mount H2022 of the congregation, H4150 in the sides H3411 of the north: H6828 I will ascend H5927 above the heights H1116 of the clouds; H5645 I will be like H1819 the most High. H5945 Yet thou shalt be brought down H3381 to hell, H7585 to the sides H3411 of the pit. H953
To the end that none of all the trees H6086 by the waters H4325 exalt H1361 themselves for their height, H6967 neither shoot up H5414 their top H6788 among the thick boughs, H5688 neither their trees H352 stand up H5975 in their height, H1363 all that drink H8354 water: H4325 for they are all delivered H5414 unto death, H4194 to the nether parts H8482 of the earth, H776 in the midst H8432 of the children H1121 of men, H120 with them that go down H3381 to the pit. H953
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Ezekiel 31
Commentary on Ezekiel 31 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 31
Eze 31:1-18. The Overthrow of Egypt Illustrated by That of Assyria.
Not that Egypt was, like Assyria, utterly to cease to be, but it was, like Assyria, to lose its prominence in the empire of the world.
1. third month—two months later than the prophecy delivered in Eze 30:20.
2. Whom art thou like—The answer is, Thou art like the haughty king of Assyria; as he was overthrown by the Chaldeans, so shalt thou be by the same.
3. He illustrates the pride and the consequent overthrow of the Assyrian, that Egypt may the better know what she must expect.
cedar in Lebanon—often eighty feet high, and the diameter of the space covered by its boughs still greater: the symmetry perfect. Compare the similar image (Eze 17:3; Da 4:20-22).
with a shadowing shroud—with an overshadowing thicket.
top … among … thick boughs—rather [Hengstenberg], "among the clouds." But English Version agrees better with the Hebrew. The top, or topmost shoot, represents the king; the thick boughs, the large resources of the empire.
4. waters … little rivers—the Tigris with its branches and "rivulets," or "conduits" for irrigation, the source of Assyria's fertility. "The deep" is the ever flowing water, never dry. Metaphorically, for Assyria's resources, as the "conduits" are her colonies.
5. when he shot forth—because of the abundant moisture which nourished him in shooting forth. But see Margin.
6. fowls … made … nests in … boughs—so Eze 17:23; Da 4:12. The gospel kingdom shall gather all under its covert, for their good and for the glory of God, which the world kingdoms did for evil and for self-aggrandizement (Mt 13:32).
8. cedars … could not hide him—could not outtop him. No other king eclipsed him.
were not like—were not comparable to.
garden of God—As in the case of Tyre (Eze 28:13), the imagery, that is applied to the Assyrian king, is taken from Eden; peculiarly appropriate, as Eden was watered by rivers that afterwards watered Assyria (Ge 2:10-14). This cedar seemed to revive in itself all the glories of paradise, so that no tree there outtopped it.
9. I … made him—It was all due to My free grace.
10. thou … he—The change of persons is because the language refers partly to the cedar, partly to the person signified by the cedar.
11. Here the literal supersedes the figurative.
shall surely deal with him—according to his own pleasure, and according to the Assyrian's (Sardanapalus) desert. Nebuchadnezzar is called "the mighty one" (El, a name of God), because he was God's representative and instrument of judgment (Da 2:37, 38).
12. from his shadow—under which they had formerly dwelt as their covert (Eze 31:6).
13. Birds and beasts shall insult over his fallen trunk.
14. trees by the waters—that is, that are plentifully supplied by the waters: nations abounding in resources.
stand up in their height—that is, trust in their height: stand upon it as their ground of confidence. Fairbairn points the Hebrew differently, so as for "their trees," to translate, "(And that none that drink water may stand) on themselves, (because of their greatness)." But the usual reading is better, as Assyria and the confederate states throughout are compared to strong trees. The clause, "All that drink water," marks the ground of the trees' confidence "in their height," namely, that they have ample sources of supply. Maurer, retaining the same Hebrew, translates, "that neither their terebinth trees may stand up in their height, nor all (the other trees) that drink water."
to … nether … earth … pit—(Eze 32:18; Ps 82:7).
15. covered the deep—as mourners cover their heads in token of mourning, "I made the deep that watered the cedar" to wrap itself in mourning for him. The waters of the deep are the tributary peoples of Assyria (Re 17:15).
fainted—literally, were "faintness" (itself); more forcible than the verb.
16. hell—Sheol or Hades, the unseen world: equivalent to, "I cast him into oblivion" (compare Isa 14:9-11).
shall be comforted—because so great a king as the Assyrian is brought down to a level with them. It is a kind of consolation to the wretched to have companions in misery.
17. his arm, that dwelt under his shadow—those who were the helpers or tool of his tyranny, and therefore enjoyed his protection (for example, Syria and her neighbors). These were sure to share her fate. Compare the same phrase as to the Jews living under the protection of their king (La 4:20); both alike "making flesh their arm, and in heart departing from the Lord" (Jer 17:5).
18. Application of the parabolic description of Assyria to the parallel case of Egypt. "All that has been said of the Assyrian consider as said to thyself. To whom art thou so like, as thou art to the Assyrian? To none." The lesson on a gigantic scale of Eden-like privileges abused to pride and sin by the Assyrian, as in the case of the first man in Eden, ending in ruin, was to be repeated in Egypt's case. For the unchangeable God governs the world on the same unchangeable principles.
thou shall lie in … uncircumcised—As circumcision was an object of mocking to thee, thou shall lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, slain by their sword [Grotius]. Retribution in kind (Eze 28:10).
This is Pharaoh—Pharaoh's end shall be the same humiliating one as I have depicted the Assyrian's to have been. "This" is demonstrative, as if he were pointing with the finger to Pharaoh lying prostrate, a spectacle to all, as on the shore of the Red Sea (Ex 14:30, 31).