Ezekiel 31:10

10 'Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Because * it is high in stature and has set its top among the clouds, and its ¹heart is haughty in its loftiness,

Ezekiel 31:10 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 31:10

Therefore thus saith the Lord God
Having described the greatness of the Assyrian monarch; now follows the account of his fall, and the cause of it, pride: because thou hast lifted up thyself in height;
this is either an address to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who, though he did not rise up so high as the Assyrian monarch in glory and grandeur; yet he lifted up himself, and thought himself superior to any; which reason he must be brought down: or the words are directed to the Assyrian monarch, by a change of person frequent in Scripture; who, though he was raised by the Lord to the height of honour and dignity he was, yet ascribed it to himself: and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs;
the multitude of provinces over which he became head and governor; (See Gill on Ezekiel 31:3): and his heart is lifted up in his height;
with pride, insolence, and contempt of God and men; of which see the instances in ( Isaiah 10:8-15 ) ( 36:18-20 ) ( 37:10-13 ) .

Ezekiel 31:10 In-Context

8 'The cedars in God's garden could not match it; The cypresses could not compare with its boughs, And the plane trees could not match its branches. No tree in God's garden could compare with it in its beauty.

9 'I made it beautiful with the multitude of its branches, And all the trees of Eden, which were in the garden of God, were jealous of it.

10 'Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Because it is high in stature and has set its top among the clouds, and its heart is haughty in its loftiness,

11 therefore I will give it into the hand of a despot of the nations; he will thoroughly deal with it. According to its wickedness I have driven it away.

12 "Alien tyrants of the nations have cut it down and left it; on the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen and its boughs have been broken in all the ravines of the land. And all the peoples of the earth have gone down from its shade and left it.

Cross References

• 1. 2 Chronicles 32:25; Isaiah 10:12; Isaiah 14:13, 14; Ezekiel 28:17; Daniel 5:20

Footnotes

• [a]. Heb "YHWH," usually rendered LORD, and so throughout the ch
• [b]. Lit "you are"
• [c]. Or "thick boughs"