Ezekiel 31:10

10 "Therefore this is what the Lord God says: Since it^[a] became great in height and set its top among the clouds,^[b] and it^[c] grew proud^[d] on account of its height,

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 rival it; the pine trees couldn't compare with its branches, nor could the plane trees match its boughs. No tree in the garden of God could compare with it in beauty.

9 I made it beautiful with its many limbs, and all the trees of Eden, which were in God's garden, envied it.

10 "Therefore this is what the Lord God says: Since it became great in height and set its top among the clouds, and it grew proud on account of its height,

11 I determined to hand it over to a ruler of nations; he would surely deal with it. I banished it because of its wickedness.

12 Foreigners, ruthless men from the nations, cut it down and left it lying. Its limbs fell on the mountains and in every valley; its boughs lay broken in all the earth's ravines. All the peoples of the earth left its shade and abandoned it.

Footnotes

• [a]. Syr, Vg; MT, LXX read you
• [b]. Or thick foliage
• [c]. Lit its heart
• [d]. Ezk 28:17; Dn 5:20