Ezekiel 31:5

5 Therefore it became tall, [with] its height more than all of the trees of the field, and its branches became numerous, and its branches became long {from its sending its shoots from abundant water}.

Ezekiel 31:5 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 31:5

Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the
field
His majesty, grandeur, and glory, were advanced above all princes, nobles, and people; all ranks and degrees of men, let them be compared to trees taller or lower: and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long;
the provinces of his empire became more numerous, and were spread far and near, and reached to distant countries: because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth;
either the vast number of people, which were daily increasing, and were sent out to people distant colonies, newly subdued or planted; or because of the great traffic which was carried on in different parts, and the advantages arising from it. The Targum is,

``therefore he was lifted up in his strength above all the kings of the earth, and his army was multiplied, and his auxiliaries prevailed over many people, through his victories''

Ezekiel 31:5 In-Context

3 Look! Assyria [was] a cedar in Lebanon, [with] beautiful branches and a forest giving shade, and {very high}, and its treetop [was] between [the] clouds.

4 Waters made it great, the deep made it grow high; its rivers [were] going all around {its planting area}, and its channels it sent [out] to all of the trees of the field.

5 Therefore it became tall, [with] its height more than all of the trees of the field, and its branches became numerous, and its branches became long {from its sending its shoots from abundant water}.

6 In its branches all the birds of the heaven made their nest, and under its branches all the animals of the field gave birth, and in its shadow all [the] many nations lived.

7 And it was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches, for its root [was] toward much water.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "from water much at sending [shoots] its"