Ezekiel 31

1 And it comes to pass, in the eleventh year, in the third [month], on the first of the month, a word of YHWH has been to me, saying,

In the eleventh year, on the first day of the third month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude: To whom have you been like in your greatness?

“Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude: ‘Who can be compared to your greatness?

3 Behold, Asshur, a cedar in Lebanon, Beautiful in branch, and shading bough, and high in stature, And its foliage has been between thickets.

Look at Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches that shaded the forest. It towered on high; its top was among the clouds.

4 Waters have made it great, The deep has exalted him with its flowings, Going around its planting, And it has sent forth its conduits to all trees of the field.

The waters made it grow; the deep springs made it tall, directing their streams all around its base and sending their channels to all the trees of the field.

5 Therefore his stature has been higher than all trees of the field, And his boughs are multiplied, and his branches are long, Because of many waters in his shooting forth.

Therefore it towered higher than all the trees of the field. Its branches multiplied, and its boughs grew long as it spread them out because of the abundant waters.

6 Every bird of the heavens has made a nest in his boughs, And every beast of the field has brought forth under his branches, And all great nations dwell in his shade.

All the birds of the air nested in its branches, and all the beasts of the field gave birth beneath its boughs; all the great nations lived in its shade.

7 And he is beautiful in his greatness, In the length of his thin shoots, For his root has been by great waters.

It was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its limbs, for its roots extended to abundant waters.

8 Cedars have not hid him in the garden of God, Firs have not been like to his boughs, And plane-trees have not been as his branches, No tree in the garden of God has been like to him in his beauty,

The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it; the cypresses could not compare with its branches, nor the plane trees match its boughs. No tree in the garden of God could compare with its beauty.

9 I have made him beautiful in the multitude of his thin shoots, And all trees of Eden that [are] in the garden of God envy him.

I made it beautiful with its many branches, the envy of all the trees of Eden, which were in the garden of God.’

10 Therefore, thus said Lord YHWH: Because that you have been high in stature, And he yields his foliage between thickets, And his heart is high in his haughtiness,

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Since it became great in height and set its top among the clouds, and it grew proud on account of its height,

11 I give him into the hand of a god of nations, He deals severely with him, In his wickedness I have cast him out.

I delivered it into the hand of the ruler of the nations, for him to deal with it according to its wickedness. I have banished it.

12 And strangers cut him off, The terrible of nations, and they leave him, His thin shoots have fallen on the mountains and in all valleys, And his boughs are broken at all streams of the land, And all peoples of the land go down from his shade, and they leave him.

Foreigners, the most ruthless of the nations, cut it down and left it. Its branches have fallen on the mountains and in every valley; its boughs lay broken in all the earth’s ravines. And all the peoples of the earth left its shade and abandoned it.

13 Every bird of the heavens dwells on his ruin, And all beasts of the field have been on his boughs,

All the birds of the air nested on its fallen trunk, and all the beasts of the field lived among its boughs.

14 In order that none of the trees of the waters May become haughty because of their stature, Nor give their foliage between thickets, Nor any drinking waters stand up to them in their haughtiness, For all of them are given up to death, To the lower earth, In the midst of the sons of men, To those going down to the pit.

This happened so that no other trees by the waters would become great in height and set their tops among the clouds, and no other well-watered trees would reach them in height. For they have all been consigned to death, to the depths of the earth, among the mortals who descend to the Pit.’

15 Thus said Lord YHWH: I have caused mourning in the day of his going down to Sheol, I have covered the deep over him, and diminish its flowings, And many waters are restrained, And I make Lebanon black for him, And all trees of the field [have been] a covering for him. (Sheol h7585)

This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘On the day it was brought down to Sheol, I caused mourning. I covered the deep because of it; I held back its rivers; its abundant waters were restrained. I made Lebanon mourn for it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it. (Sheol h7585)

16 I have caused nations to shake at the sound of his fall, In My causing him to go down to Sheol, With those going down to the pit, And all trees of Eden are comforted in the lower earth, The choice and good of Lebanon—All drinking waters. (Sheol h7585)

I made the nations quake at the sound of its downfall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who descend to the Pit. Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, all the well-watered trees, were consoled in the earth below. (Sheol h7585)

17 Those with him have also gone down to Sheol, To the pierced of the sword, And—his arm—they dwelt in his shade in the midst of nations. (Sheol h7585)

They too descended with it to Sheol, to those slain by the sword. As its allies they had lived in its shade among the nations. (Sheol h7585)

18 To whom have you been thus like, In glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? And you have been brought down with the trees of Eden, To the lower earth, You lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, With the pierced of the sword. This [is] Pharaoh, and all his multitude, A declaration of Lord YHWH!”

Who then is like you in glory and greatness among the trees of Eden? You also will be brought down to the depths of the earth to be with the trees of Eden. You will lie among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord GOD.’”