Ezekiel / Chapter 31

Ezekiel 31

18 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

Ezekiel 31 is an oracle against Pharaoh delivered on the first day of the third month of the eleventh year (June 587 BCE), just weeks before Jerusalem's fall. God challenges Pharaoh by directing his gaze to Assyria — a towering cedar of Lebanon whose height, beauty, and shade surpassed all other trees. Even the trees of Eden envied it. Yet this great cedar was brought down, cast into Sheol, and all the nations that had sheltered under it were shaken. The message is unmistakable: if Assyria fell despite its greatness, Egypt will share the same fate. The tallest tree falls the farthest.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

The chapter is structured as a parable within an oracle — God does not directly describe Egypt's coming judgment but forces Pharaoh to contemplate Assyria's collapse as a mirror. The cedar imagery draws on ancient Near Eastern cosmic-tree mythology, where the world-tree connects heaven, earth, and the underworld. Ezekiel transforms this mythological motif into a theological argument: no empire, however magnificent, can claim the height that belongs to God alone. The mention of Eden (vv. 8-9, 16, 18) is remarkable — Ezekiel is the only prophet who extensively deploys Eden traditions, and here the garden of God becomes the backdrop against which imperial arrogance is measured. The descent-to-Sheol passage (vv. 15-17) anticipates the fuller underworld tour in chapter 32, with the earth mourning and the deep being restrained as cosmic responses to the cedar's fall.

Translation Friction

The opening question in verse 2 — 'Whom are you like in your greatness?' — sets up a comparison with Assyria, but the Hebrew of verse 3 is notoriously difficult. The MT reads 'Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon' (ashur erez ba-levanon), but some scholars emend ashur ('Assyria') to te'ashur ('cypress' or 'box tree'), reading 'I made you like a cypress, a cedar in Lebanon.' We follow the MT reading, which makes better sense of the sustained political parable: Assyria is the exemplary fallen empire. The verb qana ('envied') in verse 9 applied to Eden's trees is striking — it suggests that even paradise itself could not match what God had made Assyria. The Sheol imagery in verses 15-17 personifies the underworld as a destination that 'comforts' the fallen — a deeply unsettling concept rendered without softening.

Connections

The cosmic-tree imagery connects to Daniel 4 (Nebuchadnezzar's dream of a great tree cut down), Isaiah 14:3-21 (the fall of the king of Babylon into Sheol), and Ezekiel's own cedar allegory in chapter 17. The Eden references link to Ezekiel 28:13 (the king of Tyre in Eden) and Genesis 2-3. The Sheol descent anticipates the fuller tour of the underworld in chapter 32:17-32. The pattern of imperial hubris and divine judgment echoes Isaiah 10:5-19 (Assyria as God's instrument who overreached) and Jeremiah 46-51 (oracles against the nations).

Ezekiel 31:1

וַיְהִ֗י בְּאַחַ֤ת עֶשְׂרֵה֙ שָׁנָ֔ה בַּשְּׁלִישִׁ֖י בְּאֶחָ֣ד לַחֹ֑דֶשׁ הָיָ֥ה דְבַר־יְהוָ֖ה אֵלַ֥י לֵאמֹֽר׃

In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:

KJV And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The date formula places this oracle in June 587 BCE — approximately one month before Nebuchadnezzar's forces breached Jerusalem's walls. The timing is significant: Pharaoh Hophra had marched north to relieve Jerusalem, temporarily lifting the Babylonian siege (Jeremiah 37:5-11), giving Egypt a brief illusion of power. Ezekiel's oracle punctures that illusion. The Hebrew le'mor ('saying') is rendered as a colon introducing direct speech.
Ezekiel 31:2

בֶּן־אָדָ֗ם אֱמֹ֛ר אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֥ה מֶֽלֶךְ־מִצְרַ֖יִם וְאֶל־הֲמוֹנ֑וֹ אֶל־מִ֥י דָמִ֖יתָ בְּגָדְלֶֽךָ׃

Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes: Whom are you like in your greatness?

KJV Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The word hamon ('multitude, hordes, throngs') recurs throughout Ezekiel's Egypt oracles (29-32) as a term for Egypt's teeming population and military masses. The rhetorical question 'Whom are you like?' sets up the Assyria comparison that follows — the answer being that Pharaoh resembles Assyria in both greatness and vulnerability to divine judgment.
Ezekiel 31:3

הִנֵּ֥ה אַשּׁ֛וּר אֶ֖רֶז בַּלְּבָנ֑וֹן יְפֵ֣ה עָנָ֗ף וְחֹ֙רֶשׁ֙ מֵצַ֔ל וּגְבַ֣הּ קוֹמָ֔ה וּבֵ֥ין עֲבוֹתִ֖ים הָיְתָ֥ה צַמַּרְתּֽוֹ׃

Consider Assyria — a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches, dense shade, and towering height; its crown reached among the thick clouds.

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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The MT reads ashur ('Assyria') which we retain — the political parable requires Assyria as the exemplary empire that rose and fell. Some scholars emend to te'ashur ('cypress'), producing 'I made you like a cypress, a cedar in Lebanon,' but this weakens the sustained comparison with a known historical power. The word choresh can mean 'forest' or 'thicket' but here modifies 'shade' — the cedar's canopy was so dense it created a forest-like shadow. The word avotim can mean 'thick boughs' or 'clouds'; the ambiguity is preserved in the Hebrew imagery of a tree whose crown penetrates the sky.
Ezekiel 31:4

מַ֣יִם גִּדְּל֔וּהוּ תְּה֖וֹם רֹֽמְמָ֑תְהוּ אֶת־נַהֲרֹתֶ֗יהָ הֹלֵךְ֙ סְבִיב֣וֹת מַטָּעָ֔הּ וְאֶת־תְּעָלֹתֶ֣יהָ שִׁלְחָ֔ה אֶ֖ל כָּל־עֲצֵ֥י הַשָּׂדֶֽה׃

Waters made it grow; the deep made it tall, sending its rivers around the place where it was planted, channeling its streams to all the trees of the field.

KJV The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

תְּהוֹם tehom
"the deep" — deep, abyss, primordial waters, subterranean ocean

The same primordial waters of Genesis 1:2. In ancient Near Eastern cosmology, the tehom is the vast underground freshwater ocean that feeds springs and rivers. Ezekiel's use here suggests that Assyria's growth was sustained by cosmic forces — making its fall all the more dramatic.

Translator Notes

  1. The tehom ('deep') is the primordial subterranean waters, the same word used in Genesis 1:2 for the deep over which God's spirit moved. The cedar draws its sustenance from cosmic waters, not ordinary rain — this elevates Assyria's greatness beyond the merely political into the mythological. The deep itself nourished this empire. The feminine pronouns reflect the grammatical gender of tehom.
Ezekiel 31:5

עַל־כֵּ֥ן גָּבְהָ֛א קוֹמָת֖וֹ מִכֹּ֣ל עֲצֵ֣י הַשָּׂדֶ֑ה וַיִּרְבּ֣וּ סַרְעַפֹּתָ֗יו וַתֶּאֱרַ֙כְנָה֙ פֹּארֹתָ֔יו מִמַּ֥יִם רַבִּ֖ים בְּשַׁלְּחֽוֹ׃

So its height surpassed all the trees of the field; its boughs multiplied and its branches grew long from the abundance of water as it spread.

KJV Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The three-part description — height, boughs multiplied, branches lengthened — systematically catalogs Assyria's expansion. The word sar'appotav ('its boughs') refers to the main limbs, while po'arotav ('its branches') refers to the secondary growth. The distinction mirrors the structure of Assyria's empire: core territories and vassal states. The verb shalach ('send forth, spread') describes organic growth but carries overtones of military expansion.
Ezekiel 31:6

בִּסְעַפֹּתָ֗יו קִנְּנ֤וּ כָּל־עוֹף֙ הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וְתַ֤חַת פֹּארֹתָיו֙ יָֽלְד֔וּ כֹּ֖ל חַיַּ֣ת הַשָּׂדֶ֑ה וּבְצִלּוֹ֙ יֵֽשְׁב֔וּ כֹּ֖ל גּוֹיִ֥ם רַבִּֽים׃

In its boughs all the birds of the sky made their nests; under its branches all the wild animals gave birth; and in its shade all the great nations settled.

KJV All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The three tiers of life — birds in the boughs, animals under the branches, nations in the shade — form a cosmic hierarchy. The shift from animal imagery to explicit political language ('all the great nations') breaks the metaphor deliberately, ensuring the audience cannot miss the referent. This same world-tree imagery reappears in Daniel 4:12 applied to Nebuchadnezzar, and in Jesus's mustard-seed parable (Mark 4:32). The verb yashav ('settled, dwelt') for the nations suggests vassal dependence — they took shelter under Assyria's imperial canopy.
Ezekiel 31:7

וַיְּיִ֣ף בְּגָדְל֔וֹ בְּאֹ֖רֶךְ דָּלִיּוֹתָ֑יו כִּֽי־הָיָ֥ה שָׁרְשׁ֖וֹ אֶל־מַ֥יִם רַבִּֽים׃

It was beautiful in its greatness, in the spread of its limbs, for its roots reached down to abundant waters.

KJV Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by great waters.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb yaphah ('was beautiful') is the same root used to describe physical beauty in the Song of Songs. Applied to a political empire, it conveys the allure of power — Assyria was not merely strong but magnificent. The daliyyotav ('its hanging branches, tendrils') suggests a luxuriant canopy. The causal clause ('for its roots reached down to abundant waters') locates the source of beauty in the deep — the same cosmic waters of verse 4.
Ezekiel 31:8

אֲרָזִ֣ים לֹֽא־עֲמָמֻ֣הוּ בְּגַן־אֱלֹהִ֡ים בְּרוֹשִׁים֩ לֹ֨א דָמ֤וּ אֶל־סְעַפֹּתָיו֙ וְעַרְמוֹנִ֔ים לֹא־הָי֖וּ כְּפֹארֹתָ֑יו כָּל־עֵץ֙ בְּגַן־אֱלֹהִ֔ים לֹא־דָמָ֥ה אֵלָ֖יו בְּיָפְיֽוֹ׃

The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it; the cypresses could not match its boughs; the plane trees could not compare to its branches. No tree in the garden of God equaled it in beauty.

KJV The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chesnut trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The gan Elohim ('garden of God') is Eden — the primordial paradise. The comparison is extraordinary: Assyria's cedar surpassed even the trees of paradise. Three species are named — cedars (arazim), cypresses (beroshim), and plane trees (armonim) — and each falls short by a different measure. The fourfold negative construction (lo...lo...lo...lo) hammers the point: nothing in creation, not even Eden, could compete with what God had made Assyria. This sets up the theological reversal: what God exalted beyond Eden, God will cast below the earth.
Ezekiel 31:9

יָפֶ֣ה עֲשִׂיתִ֔יו בְּרֹ֖ב דָּֽלִיּוֹתָ֑יו וַיְקַנְאֻ֙הוּ֙ כָּל־עֲצֵי־עֵ֔דֶן אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּגַ֥ן הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃

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

KJV I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

עֵדֶן Eden
"Eden" — delight, pleasure, the garden of God, paradise

Ezekiel deploys Eden traditions more extensively than any other prophet (see also 28:13, 36:35). Here Eden serves as the ultimate standard of beauty — and Assyria surpassed even that.

Translator Notes

  1. The shift to first-person divine speech ('I made it beautiful') is the theological crux of the chapter. Assyria did not achieve greatness on its own — God fashioned it. This establishes God's sovereign right to bring it down. The verb qana ('envied, were jealous of') attributes emotion to the trees of Eden, intensifying the mythological register. Eden here functions as a superlative — even paradise envied Assyria.
Ezekiel 31:10

לָכֵ֗ן כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֔ה יַ֕עַן אֲשֶׁ֥ר גָּבַ֖הְתָּ בְּקוֹמָ֑ה וַיִּתֵּ֤ן צַמַּרְתּוֹ֙ אֶל־בֵּ֣ין עֲבוֹתִ֔ים וְרָ֥ם לְבָב֖וֹ בְּגָבְהֽוֹ׃

Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: Because it grew tall in height and thrust its crown among the thick clouds, and its heart became proud in its height —

KJV Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height;

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The transition from beauty to judgment is marked by laken ('therefore'). The verb gavah ('grew tall, was exalted') shifts from describing natural growth to implying arrogance. The phrase ram levavo ('its heart became proud,' literally 'its heart was high') attributes self-exaltation to the tree — the shift from passive greatness (God made it beautiful) to active pride (its heart became proud) is the point of condemnation. The pronoun shifts between second and third person in the Hebrew, blurring the line between the cedar and Pharaoh.
Ezekiel 31:11

וְאֶתְּנֵ֣הוּ בְּיַד֮ אֵ֣ל גּוֹיִם֒ עָשׂ֤וֹ יַעֲשֶׂה֙ ל֔וֹ כְּרִשְׁע֖וֹ גֵּרַשְׁתִּֽהוּ׃

I handed it over to the ruler of the nations. He will deal with it as it deserves; for its wickedness I drove it out.

KJV I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen; he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out for his wickedness.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The 'ruler of the nations' (el goyim) refers to Nebuchadnezzar — Babylon is God's instrument against Assyria (historically) and now against Egypt (prophetically). The verb gerash ('drove out, expelled') echoes the expulsion from Eden in Genesis 3:24, reinforcing the Eden framework of the chapter. The shift between past ('I handed it over,' 'I drove it out') and future ('he will deal with it') collapses the timeline: Assyria's past fate and Egypt's coming fate merge.
Ezekiel 31:12

וַיִּכְרְתֻ֤הוּ זָרִים֙ עָרִיצֵ֣י גוֹיִ֔ם וַיִּטְּשֻׁ֑הוּ אֶל־הֶֽהָרִים֙ וּבְכָל־גֵּ֣אָי֔וֹת נָפְל֣וּ דָלִיּוֹתָ֗יו וַתִּשָּׁבַ֤רְנָה פֹארֹתָיו֙ בְּכֹ֛ל אֲפִיקֵ֥י הָאָ֖רֶץ וַיֵּֽרְד֤וּ מִצִּלּוֹ֙ כָּל־עַמֵּ֣י הָאָ֔רֶץ וַיִּטְּשֻֽׁהוּ׃

Foreigners — the most ruthless of the nations — cut it down and abandoned it. On the mountains and in every valley its limbs fell; its branches were broken in every ravine of the land. All the peoples of the earth came down from its shade and left it.

KJV And strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him: upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the rivers of the land; and all the people of the earth are gone down from his shadow, and have left him.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The 'ruthless of the nations' (aritsei goyim) is a stock phrase in Ezekiel for the Babylonian military forces (also 28:7, 30:11, 32:12). The verb natash ('abandoned') used twice creates a frame of desertion — the tree is both cut down and abandoned, its carcass left to rot where it fell. The dismemberment of the tree across mountains and valleys represents the disintegration of empire — its provinces scattered, its vassal states broken free. The departure of 'all the peoples' reverses verse 6 where 'all the great nations settled' in its shade.
Ezekiel 31:13

עַל־מַפַּלְתּ֖וֹ יֵשְׁב֣וּ כָל־ע֣וֹף הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם וְאֶל־פֹּארֹתָ֣יו הָי֔וּ כֹּ֖ל חַיַּ֥ת הַשָּׂדֶֽה׃

On its fallen trunk all the birds of the sky settled, and among its branches all the wild animals gathered —

KJV Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven remain, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches:

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb yashav ('settled') for the birds on the fallen trunk deliberately echoes verse 6, where birds nested in the living tree's boughs. The reversal is complete: the birds and animals that once thrived in the living cedar now scavenge on its corpse. The mappalto ('its fallen trunk, its ruin') comes from the root naphal ('to fall'), emphasizing collapse rather than mere death.
Ezekiel 31:14

לְמַ֡עַן אֲשֶׁר֩ לֹא־יִגְבְּה֨וּ בְקוֹמָתָ֜ם כָּל־עֲצֵי־מַ֗יִם וְלֹא־יִתְּנ֤וּ אֶת־צַמַּרְתָּם֙ אֶל־בֵּ֣ין עֲבוֹתִ֔ים וְלֹֽא־יַעַמְד֧וּ אֵלֵיהֶ֛ם בְּגָבְהָ֖ם כָּל־שֹׁ֣תֵי מָ֑יִם כִּֽי־כֻלָּ֤ם נִתְּנוּ֙ לַמָּ֔וֶת אֶל־אֶ֥רֶץ תַּחְתִּ֖ית בְּת֣וֹךְ בְּנֵ֣י אָדָ֔ם אֶל־י֖וֹרְדֵי בֽוֹר׃

This happened so that no trees by the waters would exalt themselves in height, or thrust their crowns among the thick clouds, and so that no well-watered tree would stand so tall — for all of them are destined for death, for the underworld, among mortal humans, with those who descend to the pit.

KJV To the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves for their height, neither shoot up their top among the thick boughs, neither their trees stand up in their height, all that drink water: for they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

אֶרֶץ תַּחְתִּית erets tachtit
"the underworld" — lowest earth, netherworld, underworld, Sheol

Ezekiel's characteristic term for the realm of the dead, used extensively in chapters 31-32. It envisions the underworld as the lowest stratum of a three-tiered cosmos: heavens above, earth in the middle, and the realm of the dead below.

Translator Notes

  1. This verse states the theological purpose of Assyria's fall: it is a warning to all empires. The phrase erets tachtit ('the underworld,' literally 'the lowest earth') is Ezekiel's term for Sheol — the realm beneath the earth where the dead reside. The expression yoredei vor ('those who descend to the pit') is a standard designation for the dead. The pairing of 'mortal humans' (benei adam) with 'those who descend to the pit' emphasizes mortality as the great equalizer — even the mightiest empires share the common human destination of death.
Ezekiel 31:15

כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֔ה בְּי֥וֹם רִדְתּ֛וֹ שְׁא֖וֹלָה הֶאֱבַ֑לְתִּי כִּסֵּ֨תִי עָלָ֤יו אֶת־תְּהוֹם֙ וָאֶמְנַ֣ע נַהֲרוֹתֶ֔יהָ וַיִּכָּלְא֖וּ מַ֣יִם רַבִּ֑ים וָאַקְדִּ֤ר עָלָיו֙ לְבָנ֔וֹן וְכָל־עֲצֵ֥י הַשָּׂדֶ֖ה עָלָ֥יו עֻלְפֶּֽה׃

This is what the Lord GOD says: On the day it descended to Sheol, I caused mourning. I covered the deep over it and held back its rivers; the abundant waters were stopped. I made Lebanon grow dark for it, and all the trees of the field wilted because of it.

KJV Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when he went down to the grave I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the floods thereof, and the great waters were stayed: and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

שְׁאוֹל Sheol
"Sheol" — the grave, the underworld, the realm of the dead, the pit

The Hebrew underworld — not a place of punishment (that concept develops later) but the destination of all the dead. Ezekiel's Sheol passages in chapters 31-32 are the most vivid topography of the underworld in the Hebrew Bible, depicting it as a stratified realm where fallen nations lie in organized sections.

Translator Notes

  1. The cosmic mourning for the fallen cedar is remarkable — God himself orchestrates the funeral. The tehom ('deep') that nourished the tree (v. 4) is now covered over; the rivers that fed it are restrained. The verb he'evalti ('I caused mourning') is in the hiphil, indicating God as the active agent of cosmic grief. The verb aqdir ('I made dark') suggests Lebanon's forests going into mourning — darkness as an expression of grief. The verb ulpeh ('wilted, fainted') describes the trees collapsing in sympathetic death, as if the ecosystem that depended on the great cedar cannot survive its loss.
Ezekiel 31:16

מִקּ֣וֹל מַפַּלְתּ֗וֹ הִרְעַ֤שְׁתִּי גוֹיִם֙ בְּהוֹרִדִ֤י אֹתוֹ֙ שְׁא֔וֹלָה אֶת־י֖וֹרְדֵי ב֑וֹר וַיִּנָּ֨חֲמ֜וּ בְּאֶ֤רֶץ תַּחְתִּית֙ כָּל־עֲצֵי־עֵ֔דֶן מִבְחַ֤ר וְטוֹב֙ לְבָנ֔וֹן כָּל־שֹׁ֖תֵי מָֽיִם׃

At the sound of its fall I made the nations tremble, when I brought it down to Sheol with those who descend to the pit. Then all the trees of Eden — the choicest and finest of Lebanon, all that were well-watered — were comforted in the underworld.

KJV I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb hir'ashti ('I made tremble') describes seismic terror — the nations quake as empires collapse. The verb yinnachamu ('were comforted') is deeply unsettling: the trees already in Sheol (fallen empires already destroyed) find comfort in the great cedar's arrival. Misery finds company. The dead welcome the newly dead. This macabre consolation appears again in 32:31 where Pharaoh will be 'comforted' by seeing other slain nations in Sheol. The trees of Eden in the underworld connect the primordial garden to the realm of the dead — paradise lost doubly, first from earth, then into death.
Ezekiel 31:17

גַּם־הֵ֗ם אִתּ֛וֹ יָרְד֥וּ שְׁא֖וֹלָה אֶל־חַלְלֵי־חָ֑רֶב וּזְרֹע֛וֹ יָשְׁב֥וּ בְצִלּ֖וֹ בְּת֥וֹךְ גּוֹיִֽם׃

They too descended with it to Sheol, to those slain by the sword — those who had been its strength, who had lived in its shade among the nations.

KJV They also went down into hell with him unto them that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The 'they' who descend with the cedar are Assyria's vassal states and allies — when the imperial tree fell, its dependents fell with it. The word zero'o ('its arm, its strength') refers to military allies who served as Assyria's instrument of power. The phrase challalei charev ('those slain by the sword') introduces the category of violent death that dominates chapter 32's underworld tour. Those who lived 'in its shade' in life now lie with it in death — the shade of the living tree becomes the shadow of the grave.
Ezekiel 31:18

אֶל־מִ֨י דָמִ֥יתָ כָּ֛כָה בְּכָב֥וֹד וּבְגֹ֖דֶל בַּעֲצֵי־עֵ֑דֶן וְהוּרַדְתָּ֤ אֶת־עֲצֵי־עֵ֙דֶן֙ אֶל־אֶ֣רֶץ תַּחְתִּ֔ית בְּת֨וֹךְ עֲרֵלִ֤ים תִּשְׁכַּב֙ אֶת־חַלְלֵי־חֶ֔רֶב ה֤וּא פַרְעֹה֙ וְכָל־הֲמוֹנ֔וֹ נְאֻ֖ם אֲדֹנָ֥י יְהוִֽה׃

Whom then do you resemble in glory and greatness among the trees of Eden? Yet you will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the underworld. You will lie among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the Lord GOD.

KJV To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

עֲרֵלִים arelim
"the uncircumcised" — uncircumcised, ritually impure, culturally degraded, barbarian dead

In Ezekiel's underworld geography (chs. 31-32), the uncircumcised occupy the lowest, most shameful position. For Egypt — a circumcising culture — to be consigned among them is the ultimate indignity.

Translator Notes

  1. The rhetorical question from verse 2 returns transformed: 'Whom do you resemble?' The answer, now clear, is Assyria — and Assyria is in Sheol. The word arelim ('uncircumcised') is a term of contempt marking those outside covenant relationship and cultural dignity. Egypt practiced circumcision, making this designation particularly degrading — Pharaoh will not even retain his cultural markers in death. The closing identification formula ('This is Pharaoh and all his hordes') rips away the allegory and names the target directly. The phrase ne'um Adonai YHWH ('declares the Lord GOD') seals the oracle with divine authority.
Chapter 30 Report an error Ezekiel index Chapter 32