Ezekiel 31:13

13 All the birds settled on the fallen tree, and all the wild animals lived among its branches.

Ezekiel 31:13 in Other Translations

KJV
13 Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven remain, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches:
ESV
13 On its fallen trunk dwell all the birds of the heavens, and on its branches are all the beasts of the field.
NLT
13 “The birds roost on its fallen trunk, and the wild animals lie among its branches.
MSG
13 On that dead log birds perch. Wild animals burrow under it.
CSB
13 All the birds of the sky nested on its fallen trunk, and all the animals of the field were among its boughs.

Ezekiel 31:13 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 31:13

Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven remain
Or, "on his fall" F19; the fall of this tree: and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches as when a tree is cut down, and its lopped off branches and boughs lie here and there, either the birds and beasts that before dwelt in it or under it, though for a while frightened away, return unto it; or others come: the birds come and sit upon the boughs, and pick up what they can find on them; and the beasts browse upon the branches: this may signify that even those people who before put themselves under the protection of this monarch, or sought alliance with him, now preyed upon his dominions; or the Medes and Babylonians, the conquerors, seized on the provinces of the empire, and plundered them of their riches, The Targum understands it literally of the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, feeding upon the carcasses of the slain; which is no bad sense of the passage; thus,

``upon the fall of his slain all the fowls of heaven have dwelt, and upon the carcasses of his army all the beasts of the field have rested.''

FOOTNOTES:

F19 (wtlpm le) "super prolapse ejus", Cocceius; "super cadivum truncum ejus", Junius & Tremellius.

Ezekiel 31:13 In-Context

11 I gave it into the hands of the ruler of the nations, for him to deal with according to its wickedness. I cast it aside,
12 and the most ruthless of foreign nations cut it down and left it. Its boughs fell on the mountains and in all the valleys; its branches lay broken in all the ravines of the land. All the nations of the earth came out from under its shade and left it.
13 All the birds settled on the fallen tree, and all the wild animals lived among its branches.
14 Therefore no other trees by the waters are ever to tower proudly on high, lifting their tops above the thick foliage. No other trees so well-watered are ever to reach such a height; they are all destined for death, for the earth below, among mortals who go down to the realm of the dead.
15 “ ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: On the day it was brought down to the realm of the dead I covered the deep springs with mourning for it; I held back its streams, and its abundant waters were restrained. Because of it I clothed Lebanon with gloom, and all the trees of the field withered away.

Cross References 1

  • 1. S Isaiah 18:6; S Ezekiel 29:5; Ezekiel 32:4
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