Ezekiel 31:10

10 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: "{Because} it was tall in height and it set its treetop between thick clouds, and {he took pride in his tallness},

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 Cedars in the garden of God could not [be] equal to it; fir trees could not resemble its branches, and plane trees were not [even] like its branches; any tree [even] in the garden of God could not resemble it in its beauty.

9 I made it beautiful with the abundance of its branches, and all of the trees of Eden that [were] in the garden of God envied it.'"

10 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: "{Because} it was tall in height and it set its treetop between thick clouds, and {he took pride in his tallness},

11 then I gave it into [the] hand of [the] leader of nations; he {dealt thoroughly} with it according to its wickedness. I drove it [out].

12 And strangers cut it off, [the most] ruthless of nations, and they abandoned it. On the mountains and in all [of the] valleys its branches fell, and its branches were broken in all the river channels of the land, and all the peoples of the world went out from its shadow, and they abandoned it.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "because that"
• [b]. Hebrew "to between"
• [c]. Literally "and his heart he raised in his tallness"