Ezekiel 31:3

Ezekiel 31:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs.
• New International Version (NIV)Consider Assyria, once a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches overshadowing the forest; it towered on high, its top above the thick foliage.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches and forest shade, and of towering height, its top among the clouds.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Indeed Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon, With fine branches that shaded the forest, And of high stature; And its top was among the thick boughs.

Context of Ezekiel 31:3

1In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2“Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes, ‘Who are you like in your greatness? Think of Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches and shady foliage and of lofty height. Its top was among the clouds. 4The waters caused it to grow; the underground springs made it tall, directing their rivers all around the place where the tree was planted and sending their channels to all the trees of the field. 5Therefore the cedar became greater in height than all the trees of the field. Its branches multiplied, and its boughs grew long as it spread them out because of the abundant water.

Ezekiel 31:3 word by word

הִנֵּ֨ה אַשּׁ֜וּר אֶ֣רֶז בַּלְּבָנ֗וֹן יְפֵ֥ה עָנָ֛ף וְחֹ֥רֶשׁ מֵצַ֖ל וּגְבַ֣הּ קוֹמָ֑ה וּבֵ֣ין עֲבֹתִ֔ים הָיְתָ֖ה צַמַּרְתּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Behold, the Assyrianאַשּׁוּר'ashshûr 'ashshûr · AssyriaH804
• a cedarאֶ֫רֶז'erez · cedarH730
• in Lebanonלְבָנוֹןlebânôn · LebanonH3844
• with fairיָפֶהyâpheh · beautifulH3303
• branchesעָנָף‛ânâph · branchH6057
• and with a shadowingצָלַלtsâlal · to shadeH6751
• shroudחֹ֫רֶשׁchôresh · woodH2793
• and of an highגָּבֹהַּgâbâhh · highH1362
• statureקוֹמָהqômâh · heightH6967
• and his topצַמֶּ֫רֶתtsammereth · treetopH6788
• was among the thick boughsעֲבֹת‛ăbôth ‛ăbôth ‛ăbôthâh · cordH5688

Cross-references for Ezekiel 31:3

• Nahum 3:1Woe to the city of blood, totally deceitful, full of plunder, never without prey.
• Zephaniah 2:13He will also stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria; he will make Nineveh a desolate ruin, dry as the desert.
• Ezekiel 17:3You are to say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: A huge eagle with powerful wings, long feathers, and full plumage of many colors came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar.
• Isaiah 10:33Look, the Lord God of Armies will chop off the branches with terrifying power, and the tall trees will be cut down, the high trees felled.
• Isaiah 37:24You have mocked the Lord through your servants. You have said, “With my many chariots I have gone up to the heights of the mountains, to the far recesses of Lebanon. I cut down its tallest cedars, its choice cypress trees. I came to its distant heights, its densest forest.
• Daniel 4:10In the visions of my mind as I was lying in bed, I saw this: There was a tree in the middle of the earth, and it was very tall.
• Zechariah 11:2Wail, cypress, for the cedar has fallen; the glorious trees are destroyed! Wail, oaks of Bashan, for the stately forest has fallen!
• Ezekiel 31:6All the birds of the sky nested in its branches, and all the animals of the field gave birth beneath its boughs; all the great nations lived in its shade.
• Judges 9:15The bramble said to the trees, “If you really are anointing me as king over you, come and find refuge in my shade. But if not, may fire come out from the bramble and consume the cedars of Lebanon.”
• Daniel 4:12Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit was abundant, and on it was food for all. Wild animals found shelter under it, the birds of the sky lived in its branches, and every creature was fed from it.

Commentaries on Ezekiel 31:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar - Why is the Assyrian introduced here, when the whole chapter concerns Egypt? Bp. Lowth has shown that ארז אשור ashshur erez should be translated the tall cedar, the very stately cedar; hence there is reference to his lofty top; and all the following description belongs to Egypt, not to Assyria. But see on Ezekiel 31:11; (note).Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3-9Verses 3-9 Fifth prophecy against Egypt: a warning to Pharaoh from the fate of the Assyrians. The Assyrian empire, after having been supreme in Asia for four centuries, had been overthrown by the united forces of the Babylonians and Medes, in the year of the battle of Carchemish (605 b.c.), which had broken the power of Egypt. This gives force to the warning to Egypt from Assyria‘s fall. Ezekiel 31:4 His plants - Rather, her plantation. The water…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-4The cedar of Lebanon was a tree known for its beauty and great value. People used its wood for building, trade, and even military purposes. Assyria is compared to a tall cedar tree. Its army had once been stronger than any other army. Like a tree whose top reaches the clouds, Assyria’s power seemed greater than all others.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. He illustrates the pride and the consequent overthrow of the Assyrian, that Egypt may the better know what she must expect. cedar in Lebanon--often eighty feet high, and the diameter of the space covered by its boughs still greater: the symmetry perfect. Compare the similar image (Eze 17:3; Da 4:20-22). with a shadowing shroud--with an overshadowing thicket. top ... among ... thick boughs--rather [Hengstenberg], "among the clouds." But English Version…Read the comment

Topics related to Ezekiel 31:3

• Cedar

In the dictionaries

• Lebanon
• Assyria, Assyrian, Assyrian Empire
• Cedar
• Egypt
• Fair
• Branch ;bough
• Forest
• Glory
• Horesh
• Isaiah

Commentaries on Ezekiel 31

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings