5 Therefore his height H6967 was exalted H1361 above all the trees H6086 of the field, H7704 and his boughs H5634 were multiplied, H7235 and his branches H6288 became long H748 because of the multitude H7227 of waters, H4325 when he shot forth. H7971
The tree H363 grew, H7236 and was strong, H8631 and the height H7314 thereof reached H4291 unto heaven, H8065 and the sight H2379 thereof to the end H5491 of all H3606 the earth: H772
I have seen H7200 the wicked H7563 in great power, H6184 and spreading H6168 himself like a green H7488 bay tree. H249 Yet he passed away, H5674 and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought H1245 him, but he could not be found. H4672
For he saith, H559 Are not my princes H8269 altogether H3162 kings? H4428 Is not Calno H3641 as Carchemish? H3751 is not Hamath H2574 as Arpad? H774 is not Samaria H8111 as Damascus? H1834 As my hand H3027 hath found H4672 the kingdoms H4467 of the idols, H457 and whose graven images H6456 did excel them of Jerusalem H3389 and of Samaria; H8111 Shall I not, as I have done H6213 unto Samaria H8111 and her idols, H457 so do H6213 to Jerusalem H3389 and her idols? H6091 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 he saith, H559 By the strength H3581 of my hand H3027 I have done H6213 it, and by my wisdom; H2451 for I am prudent: H995 and I have removed H5493 the bounds H1367 of the people, H5971 and have robbed H8154 their treasures, H6259 H6264 and I have put down H3381 the inhabitants H3427 like a valiant H47 H3524 man: And my hand H3027 hath found H4672 as a nest H7064 the riches H2428 of the people: H5971 and as one gathereth H622 eggs H1000 that are left, H5800 have I gathered H622 all the earth; H776 and there was none that moved H5074 the wing, H3671 or opened H6475 the mouth, H6310 or peeped. H6850
Beware lest Hezekiah H2396 persuade H5496 you, saying, H559 The LORD H3068 will deliver H5337 us. Hath any H376 of the gods H430 of the nations H1471 delivered H5337 his land H776 out of the hand H3027 of the king H4428 of Assyria? H804 Where are the gods H430 of Hamath H2574 and Arphad? H774 where are the gods H430 of Sepharvaim? H5617 and have they delivered H5337 Samaria H8111 out of my hand? H3027
Behold, thou hast heard H8085 what the kings H4428 of Assyria H804 have done H6213 to all lands H776 by destroying them utterly; H2763 and shalt thou be delivered? H5337 Have the gods H430 of the nations H1471 delivered H5337 them which my fathers H1 have destroyed, H7843 as Gozan, H1470 and Haran, H2771 and Rezeph, H7530 and the children H1121 of Eden H5729 which were in Telassar? H8515 Where is the king H4428 of Hamath, H2574 and the king H4428 of Arphad, H774 and the king H4428 of the city H5892 of Sepharvaim, H5617 Hena, H2012 and Ivah? H5755
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).