Ezekiel 31:2

2 Son of man, speak to Pharao king of Egypt, and to his people: To whom art thou like in thy greatness?

Ezekiel 31:2 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 31:2

Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt
To Pharaohhophra, the then reigning king; not to him personally by word of mouth, for the prophet was now in Chaldea; but by delivering out a prophecy concerning him, and which he might have an opportunity of sending to him: and to his multitude;
the multitude of his subjects, of which he boasted, and in whom he trusted: whom art thou like in thy greatness?
look over all the records of time, and into all the empires, kingdoms, and states that have been; draw a comparison between thyself and the greatest potentate that ever was; fancy thyself to be equal to him; this will not secure thee from ruin and destruction; for as they have been humbled, and are fallen, so wilt thou be: pitch for instance on the Assyrian monarch, whose empire has been the most ancient, extensive, and flourishing, and yet now crushed; and as thou art like him in greatness, at least thou thinkest so, so thou art in pride, and wilt be in thine end; to assure of which is the drift of the following account of the king of Assyria.

Ezekiel 31:2 In-Context

1 And it came to pass, in the eleventh year, the third month the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

2 Son of man, speak to Pharao king of Egypt, and to his people: To whom art thou like in thy greatness?

3 Behold, the Assyrian like a cedar in Libanus, with fair branches, and full of leaves, of a high stature, and his top was elevated among the thick boughs.

4 The waters nourished him, the deep set him tip on high, the streams thereof ran round about his roots, and it sent, forth its rivulets to all the trees of the country.

5 Therefore was his height exalted above all the trees of the country and his branches were multiplied, and his boughs were elevated because of many waters.