Ezekiel 31

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

Then it came about in the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, that the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

2 “Son of man, speak to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to his people: To whom can you be compared in your greatness?

“Son of man, say to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to his multitudes around him, 'In your greatness, who are you like?

3 Behold, Assur is like the cedar of Lebanon, with fair branches, and full of leaves, and of high stature, and his summit has been elevated above the thick branches.

Behold! Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon with beautiful branches, giving shade to the forest, and the tallest in height, and the branches formed its treetop.

4 The waters have nourished him. The abyss has exalted him. Its rivers have flowed around his roots, and it has sent forth its streams to all the trees of the regions.

Many waters made it tall; the deep waters made it huge. Rivers flowed all around its area, for their channels stretched out to all the trees in the field.

5 Because of this, his height was exalted above all the trees of the regions, and his groves were multiplied, and his own branches were elevated, because of the many waters.

Its great height was more than any of the other trees in the field, and its branches became very many; its branches grew long because of many waters as they grew.

6 And when he had extended his shadow, all the birds of the air made their nests in his branches, and all the beasts of the forest conceived their young under his foliage, and an assembly of the many peoples lived under his shadow.

Every bird of the heavens nested in its branches, while every living thing of the field gave birth to its young under its foliage. All of the many nations lived under its shade.

7 And he was most beautiful in his greatness and in the expansion of his groves. For his root was near many waters.

For it was beautiful in its greatness and the length of its branches, for its roots were in many waters.

8 The cedars in the Paradise of God were not higher than he was. The spruce trees were not equal to his summit, and the plane trees were not equal to his fullness. No tree in the Paradise of God was similar to him or to his beauty.

Cedars in the garden of God could not equal it. None among the cypress trees matched its branches, and the plane tree could not equal its boughs. There was no other tree in the garden of God that was like it in its beauty.

9 For I made him beautiful, and dense with many branches. And all the trees of delight, which were in the Paradise of God, were jealous of him.

I made it beautiful with its many branches and all the trees of Eden that were in the garden of God envied it.

10 Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Since he was sublime in height, and he made his summit green and dense, and his heart was exalted because of his height,

Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this: Because it was tall in height, and it set its treetop between its branches, it lifted up its heart because of its height.

11 I have delivered him into the hands of the most powerful one among the Gentiles, so that he will deal with him. I have cast him out, in accord with his impiety.

I have given it into the hand of a mighty one of the nations, to deal with it according to what its wickedness deserves. I have thrown it out.

12 And foreigners, and the most cruel among the nations, will cut him down. And they will cast him on the mountains. And his branches will fall in every steep valley, and his grove will be broken apart on every cliff of the earth. And all the peoples of the earth will withdraw from his shadow, and abandon him.

Foreigners who were the terror of all the nations cut it off and left it to die. Its branches fell on the mountains and all the valleys, and its boughs lay broken in all the ravines of the land. Then all the nations on earth came out from under its shade and they went away from it.

13 All the birds of the air lived upon his ruins, and all the beasts of the countryside were among his branches.

All the birds of the sky rested on the trunk of the fallen tree, and every animal of the field came to its branches.

14 For this reason, none of the trees among the waters will exalt themselves because of their height, nor will they place their summits above the thick branches and foliage, nor will any of those that are irrigated stand out because of their height. For they have all been delivered unto death, to the lowest part of the earth, into the midst of the sons of men, those who descend into the pit.

This happened so that no other trees that grow by the waters will lift up their foliage to the height of the tallest trees, and that no other trees that grow beside the waters will reach up to that height. All of them have been assigned to death, to the earth below, among the children of humanity, with those that go down to the pit.

15 Thus says the Lord God: In the day when he descended into hell, I led in grieving. I covered him with the abyss. And I held back its rivers, and I restrained the many waters. Lebanon was saddened over him, and all the trees of the field were struck together. (Sheol h7585)

The Lord Yahweh says this: On the day when the cedar went down to Sheol I brought mourning to the earth. I covered the deep waters over it, and I held back the ocean waters. I kept back the great waters, and I brought mourning to Lebanon for him. So all the trees of the field mourned because of it. (Sheol h7585)

16 I shook the Gentiles with the sound of his ruin, when I led him down to hell, with those who were descending into the pit. And all the trees of delights, the finest and best in Lebanon, all that were irrigated with waters, were consoled in the deepest parts of the earth. (Sheol h7585)

I brought shuddering to the nations at the sound of its downfall, when I threw it down to Sheol with those who went down into the pit. So I comforted all the trees of Eden in the lowest parts of the earth. These had been the choicest and best trees of Lebanon; the trees that drank the waters. (Sheol h7585)

17 For they, too, will descend with him into hell, to those who have been slain by the sword. And the arm of each one will reside under his shadow, in the midst of the nations. (Sheol h7585)

For they also went down with it to Sheol, to the ones who had been killed by the sword. These were its strong arm, those nations who had lived in its shade. (Sheol h7585)

18 To whom can you be compared, O famous and sublime one, among the trees of pleasure? Behold, you have been brought down, with the trees of pleasure, to the lowest part of the earth. You will sleep in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those who have been slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh, and all his multitude, says the Lord God.”

Which of the trees in Eden was your equal in glory and greatness? For you will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the lowest parts of the earth among the uncircumcised; you will live with those who were killed by the sword.' This is Pharaoh and all of his multitudes—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.”