Ezekiel 31:8

8 cedri non fuerunt altiores illo in paradiso Dei abietes non adaequaverunt summitatem eius et platani non fuerunt aequae frondibus illius omne lignum paradisi Dei non est adsimilatum illi et pulchritudini eius

Ezekiel 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.''

Ezekiel 31:8 In-Context

6 cumque extendisset umbram suam in ramis eius fecerunt nidos omnia volatilia caeli et sub frondibus eius genuerunt omnes bestiae saltuum et sub umbraculo illius habitabat coetus gentium plurimarum

7 eratque pulcherrimus in magnitudine sua et in dilatatione arbustorum suorum erat enim radix illius iuxta aquas multas

8 cedri non fuerunt altiores illo in paradiso Dei abietes non adaequaverunt summitatem eius et platani non fuerunt aequae frondibus illius omne lignum paradisi Dei non est adsimilatum illi et pulchritudini eius

9 quoniam speciosum feci eum et multis condensisque frondibus et aemulata sunt eum omnia ligna voluptatis quae erant in paradiso Dei

10 propterea haec dicit Dominus Deus pro eo quod sublimatus est in altitudine et dedit summitatem suam virentem atque condensam et elevatum est cor eius in altitudine sua