Ezechiele 31:8

8 I cedri non gli facevano ombra nel giardin di Dio; gli abeti non eran simili pure a’ suoi rami; ed i platani non eran pur come i suoi ramoscelli; niun albero, nel giardino del Signore, lo pareggiava di bellezza.

Ezechiele 31:8 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 31:8

The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him
That is, could not rise so high as this cedar, and overtop him, and obscure his glory; even those that were most excellent, which grew in Eden, near to which Babylon stood, and where a mighty king dwelt. The sense is, that the greatest kings and potentates in the whole world, which is like a garden planted by the Lord, were not equal to the king of Assyria, and much less exceeded him in grandeur, wealth, and power: the fir trees were not like his boughs:
lesser kings and princes, comparable to fir trees for the beauty, regularity, order, and flourishing condition of their kingdoms; yet these were but petty states, and not to be compared even with the provinces of the king of Assyria: and the chesnut trees were not like his branches;
lesser states still: which, though well set, and well spread, and full of people, yet not answerable to some countries that were in the provinces that belonged to the Assyrian empire: not any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty;
no king, prince, or potentate whatever in the whole world, was to be compared to him for royal majesty and greatness. The Targum is,

``mighty kings could not prevail against him, because of the strength of his power, which he had from the Lord; rulers could not stand before his army, and mighty men could not prevail against his auxiliaries, because of the strength of power he had from the Lord; there is none like to him in his strength.''

Ezechiele 31:8 In-Context

6 Tutti gli uccelli del cielo si annidavano ne’ suoi rami, e tutte le bestie della campagna figliavano sotto a’ suoi ramoscelli; e tutte le gran nazioni dimoravano all’ombra sua.
7 Egli era adunque bello nella sua grandezza, nella lunghezza de’ suoi rami; perciocchè la sua radice era presso a grandi acque.
8 I cedri non gli facevano ombra nel giardin di Dio; gli abeti non eran simili pure a’ suoi rami; ed i platani non eran pur come i suoi ramoscelli; niun albero, nel giardino del Signore, lo pareggiava di bellezza.
9 Io l’avea fatto bello nella moltitudine de’ suoi rami; e tutti gli alberi di Eden, ch’erano nel giardino di Dio, l’invidiavano.
10 Perciò, così ha detto il Signore Iddio: Perciocchè tu ti sei elevato in altezza; e ch’esso ha messe le sue vette di mezzo i rami folti, che il suo cuor si è elevato nella sua altezza;
The Giovanni Diodati Bible is in the public domain.