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 his hordes: “‘Who are you like in your greatness? Consider Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches, like a forest giving shade, and extremely tall; its top reached into the clouds. 4The water made it grow; underground springs made it grow tall. Rivers flowed all around the place it was planted, while smaller channels watered all the trees of the field. 5Therefore it grew taller than all the trees of the field; its boughs grew large and its branches grew long, because of the plentiful water in its shoots.

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 guilty of bloodshed! She is full of lies; she is filled with plunder; she has hoarded her spoil!
• Zephaniah 2:13The Lord will attack the north and destroy Assyria. He will make Nineveh a heap of ruins; it will be as barren as the desert.
• Ezekiel 17:3Say to them: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: “‘A great eagle with broad wings, long feathers, with full plumage which was multi-hued, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar.
• Isaiah 10:33Look, the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, is ready to cut off the branches with terrifying power. The tallest trees will be cut down, the loftiest ones will be brought low.
• Isaiah 37:24Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master, ‘With my many chariots I climbed up the high mountains, the slopes of Lebanon. I cut down its tall cedars and its best evergreens. I invaded its most remote regions, its thickest woods.
• Daniel 4:10Here are the visions of my mind while I was on my bed. While I was watching, there was a tree in the middle of the land. It was enormously tall.
• Zechariah 11:2Howl, fir tree, because the cedar has fallen; the majestic trees have been destroyed. Howl, oaks of Bashan, because the impenetrable forest has fallen.
• Ezekiel 31:6All the birds of the sky nested in its boughs; under its branches all the beasts of the field gave birth, in its shade all the great nations lived.
• Judges 9:15The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to choose me as your king, then come along, find safety under my branches! Otherwise may fire blaze from the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’
• Daniel 4:12Its foliage was attractive and its fruit plentiful; on it there was food enough for all. Under it the wild animals used to seek shade, and in its branches the birds of the sky used to nest. All creatures used to feed themselves 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