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,

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:

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, speak to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to his people: To whom can you be compared in 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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,

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,

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 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.

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.

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.

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 lived upon his ruins, and all the beasts of the countryside were among his branches.

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.

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.

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)

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)

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 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)

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)

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)

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!”

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.”