Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Ezekiel 31:2

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

The mighty cedar tree (31:1-18)

Pharaoh, and through him Egypt, is likened to a giant cedar tree, well watered and tall, which provides shelter for birds and animals alike. It is a picture of the strong and proud kingdom of Egypt, upon whom neighbouring countries relied for protection (31:1-6). (Some versions suggest that this poem was written concerning Assyria. If that is the case, the writer quotes it here so that Egypt might learn the lesson.)
Other countries were impressed by Egypt and envied its stability and strength (7-9). But no matter how impressive the tree is, foreigners will cut it down. Egypt will be conquered (10-13). The ruin of Egypt will be a warning to others not to be dominated by pride and selfish ambition (14).
As the trees of the forest mourn the death of this mighty cedar tree, so will nations tremble when they hear of the fall of Egypt. Other nations who had ‘died’ previously will feel some comfort to learn that mighty Egypt has now suffered the same fate (15-17). The once glorious nation now lies in humiliation among the dishonoured dead (18).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

THE LOFTY CEDAR

“And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, say unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude: Whom art thou like in thy greatness? Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a forest-like shade, and of high stature, and its top was among the thick boughs. The waters nourished it, the deep made it grow; the rivers thereof ran about its plantation; and it sent out its channels unto all the trees of the field; and its boughs were multiplied, and its branches became long by reason of many waters, when it shot them forth. All the birds of the heavens made their nests in its boughs; and under its branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young: and under its shadows dwelt all great nations. Thus was it fair in its greatness, in the length of its branches; for its root was by many waters. The cedars in the garden of God could not hide it; the fir trees were not like its boughs, and the plane-trees were not as its branches; nor was any tree in the garden of God like unto it in its beauty. I made it fair by the multitude of its branches, so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God envied it.”

“Whom art thou like in thy greatness” This question declares the following description to be of a person whom Pharaoh is “like,” not a description of Pharaoh.

“The Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon” A cedar in Lebanon cannot possibly refer to Egypt. Lebanon was a province of Assyria. Nevertheless, “the emenders” of God’s Word emended Assyria out of the passage, making it read: “Behold, I will liken you to a cedar in Lebanon.” (Revised Standard Version). Any one can see, that if this change was correct, the initial question would have been, “What art thou like?” not “Whom art thou like?”

Nevertheless, Beasley-Murray explained the emendation thus: “The initial letter of t’assur (cedar) fell out leaving assur (meaning Assyria). The context clearly shows that Pharaoh is in mind.”G. R. Beasley-Murray in the New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 678. This is a beautiful theory, but there is no proof of it. The Hebrew and all the ancient versions read as does our text in ASV; and we are unwilling to allow the present generation of scholars to revise the Bible to make it read like what they thought the author “was trying to say.” As long as the ancient text is understandable as it stands, such emendations are absolutely contraindicated.

“The waters nourished it, the deep made it to grow” ’The deep’ here was understood by Bunn as, “the primordial waters beneath the earth, the deep which figures so largely in Babylonian mythology.” Such nonsense should be rejected with contempt.

The fundamental reason why such allegations as that just cited cannot be allowed by true believers is that the allowance of such a thing would mean that God Himself, the true author of Ezekiel, accepted and allowed as truth the monstrous Babylonian myth concerning a great subterranean ocean. To inject that myth into the prophecy leaves Ezekiel as the ignorant author of it; it leaves God out of it altogether, and raises the question that if Ezekiel was wrong about this, why should he be trusted in anything else found in the prophecy?

“The `deep’ which nourished the growth of Assyria was nothing less than the tremendous source of waters provided by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.”RHA, p. 899.

And it sent out its channels unto all the trees of the field” These were undoubtedly the elaborate system of canals that pertained to the Euphrates, and perhaps also to the Tigris. We should notice how the modern crop of perverters of God’s Word, once they start fiddling with the text, branch out in all directions. The Good News Bible, for example translates this verse,

“There was water to make it grow,
And underground rivers to feed it.”

There is not a word in this passage about “underground waters,” which cannot possibly be represented, as in our text, by the word “channels.” What is indicated is that the so-called Good News Bible is giving us Babylonian mythology instead of God’s Word!

Having emended Assyria into cedar, Cooke then proceeded to translate it “pine tree,” better to fit Egypt.”International Critical Commentary, 339. This is another excellent example of how one emendation always leads to others. However, Cooke admitted that, “Nothing could be less suggestive of the land Egypt than the tall cedar trees and scenery of Lebanon.”Ibid. It is sad, however, that he missed the point, namely that the description here is not of Egypt at all, but of Assyria.

The extravagant glory of the great Assyrian empire is fittingly represented here as being the envy even of those trees that God had planted in the garden of Eden. The Assyrian empire had existed since the days of Nimrod; and it was doubtless considered to be as established and permanent as the earth itself; but because of their inordinate pride, cruelty, and sadistic blood-lust, and contrary to all that anyone on earth could possibly have anticipated, they had fallen, totally and completely, to Babylonians in 612 B.C. In verse 18, below, the prophecy would call upon Pharaoh to accept the meaning of that event to him and to Egypt.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Shall we turn now to Ezekiel, chapter 31.

In chapters 29 and 30 of Ezekiel, he was prophesying concerning the judgment of God that was to come against the nation of Egypt, who was like a reed when Israel sought to lean upon it, it broke and only injured Israel. They were, of course, warned about leaning upon Egypt, but the warnings were not heeded and thus Egypt became as a broken staff and did not really help Israel except only temporarily when Pharaoh Haaibre came against Babylon for a time and they stopped the siege against Jerusalem for a short period.

Now in chapter 31 he begins a prophecy against the Pharaoh himself. And in this prophecy against the Pharaoh, he turns to more or less a parable in which he likens the Egyptian leader to a great cedar tree in Lebanon. Now Lebanon used to be famous for its huge cedar trees. And, of course, you remember that the king of Tyre, Hiram, made a covenant with Solomon to provide the cedars, with David and with Solomon to provide the cedars for the building of the temple in Jerusalem. And so in a parabolic way, the Lord speaks of the parable, really, of the Pharaoh as a giant cedar in Lebanon.

It came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month ( Ezekiel 31:1 ),

This would be the eleventh year of king Zedekiah, or 586 B.C.

The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Who are thou like in greatness? ( Ezekiel 31:1-2 )

Egypt, of course, was a great, powerful empire in the ancient world. It was one of the world empires, or the world-dominating, or leading empires, and always a force to be reckoned with. "Who are you like?" And he likens them unto the Assyrians, who were also a great world power. It was the Assyrians who conquered over the Northern Kingdom of Israel. And so they are like unto Assyria.

[They are like] a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and a shadowing shroud, of high stature; the top among the thick boughs. And the waters made him great ( Ezekiel 31:3-4 ),

That would be the Nile River.

the deep set him on the high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto the trees of the field ( Ezekiel 31:4 ).

The tributaries and the delta area where the Nile spread out in the delta and that rich farm land.

Therefore his height was exalted above the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth. And all of the fowls of heaven made their nest 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 ( Ezekiel 31:5-6 ).

So Egypt was one of the great nations and overshadowed the other nations. Notice the parable here, the birds lodged in the branches. This is also said by Daniel of Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian kingdom. But bringing it into the New Testament, we remember Jesus gave a kingdom parable, "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a mustard seed, which is a small little seed, but it was planted and it grew into a tree. And the birds of the air came and lodged in it" ( Luke 13:19 ). Now, in a parabolic way, birds are always thought of in an evil sense. You remember that when the seed was planted and it fell by the wayside, the birds of the air plucked it up so that it wasn't able to take root and they were likened unto the evil one who comes and plucks the Word of God out of a person's heart so that it doesn't have any effect.

So in that kingdom parable of the mustard seed that grew into a tree, first of all, that is abnormal. A mustard seed is not a tree seed, it is a bush, but there was this abnormal growth. It grew into a tree and all of the birds came and lodged in it. Is a parable, really, of the Gentile church that would become a haven for every kind of bird that exists. And so we look at the Gentile church today and see all the weird birds lodging in its branches. It's amazing the things that have been brought into the church, incorporated as a part of Christianity, and the people who have taken on the name or the title of Christian. But, of course, it certainly reminds us of what Jesus said, "Not all who say, 'Lord, Lord,' are going to enter into the kingdom of heaven" ( Matthew 7:21 ). So Jesus is referring to the fact that as the Gentile church grows, the abnormal type of growth, that it is not a healthy, solid growth, that it is become the haven for birds.

Now here, "The fowls of the heaven made their nest in the boughs." That is, these other nations conquered by... these other peoples conquered by Egypt.

Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by the great waters. And the cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: and the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chestnut trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty. I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches; so that all the trees of Eden, that were in garden of God, envied him ( Ezekiel 31:7-9 ).

The great cedar. A parable, of course, of Egypt, how it became such a great nation, the envy of other nations.

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, his heart is lifted up in his height; and I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen; and he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out for his wickedness ( Ezekiel 31:10-11 ).

So the Pharaoh, judgment is pronounced upon him and again the reason for the judgment, notice carefully, is his pride. Because his heart was lifted up for his height, for his greatness. "Pride cometh before destruction, a haughty spirit before the fall" ( Proverbs 16:18 ).

It is extremely difficult for men to handle a position of power or authority. I think one of the hardest things in the world is to be in a position of ruling over other men, because there is always that danger of pride coming in. And looking at your position and saying, "Look what I have done."

You remember, and we'll get to it, you remember it trustfully, for about four years ago when we were in Daniel and we'll be getting there pretty soon again, when Nebuchadnezzar was looking over Babylon, no doubt walking through the hanging gardens, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and walking through this beautiful garden and this fabulous city that he had built, walls three hundred feet high, eighty feet thick. And he said, "Is not this the great Babylon that I have built?" And a voice came from heaven saying, "Hey, the watchers have been watching you, and your heart has been lifted up with pride." And Nebuchadnezzar came to Daniel and said, you know, told him of this experience of hearing this voice saying that the watchers had been watching and saw his pride and God was going to bring him into judgment, and Daniel says, "Hey, walk carefully. Be careful." About a year later, again old Nebuchadnezzar was boasting in his greatness, "The great Babylon that I have built," and the voice came from heaven and said, "That's it, you've had it." And he had a period of insanity where for seven seasons he lived with the animals in the field. He ate grass like the oxen. His hair grew like feathers, and the dew of the heaven settled on him. And he lived like a wild man until he knew that the God in heaven is the one who sets upon the kingdoms those whom He will.

The pride was the thing that brought Nebuchadnezzar to this place of being broken, until seven seasons had passed over him, and then God restored and he made that tremendous proclamation, declaring his belief and faith in the God of heaven who establishes upon the kingdoms those whom He would. Now, all the way along through history, from the beginning, pride is a destroyer. It has destroyed so many. Shakespeare has the statement in one of his plays, "Cromwell, flee from pride, for by this sin did the angels fall." Satan said, "I will exalt my throne." And here is the Pharaoh of Egypt being lifted up with pride, and yet, God says, "I will destroy, I will deliver him to the hand of mighty one of the heathen, and he shall surely deal with him. And I have driven him out for his wickedness." So God was to use Nebuchadnezzar the mighty one of the heathen to destroy the Pharaoh.

And, of course, Jeremiah was making a similar prophecy. He was telling those in Jerusalem, "Now don't trust in the Pharaoh. Don't lean upon Egypt. For Egypt also will be destroyed by Babylon. Egypt will not be a real help." And, of course, they wouldn't listen to Jeremiah and they finally, of course, went down to Egypt, and there at Tahpanhes, he took and put these rocks down and he said, "Above these rocks," he buried these rocks. He said, "Above these rocks Nebuchadnezzar will build his throne and rule in Egypt." And, of course, it was fulfilled.

The 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, his boughs are broken by rivers of the land; and all the people of the earth are gone down from his shadow, and have left him. Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of heaven remain, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches: To the end that none of all of 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 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. Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when he went down to hell [Sheol in the Hebrew] I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, I restrained the floods thereof, and the great waters were stayed: and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all of the trees of the field fainted for him. And 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 the best of Lebanon, all that did drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth. And they also went down into hell with him, unto them that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, and that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen. 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 to 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 ( Ezekiel 31:12-18 ).

So that destruction and being cast down to hell is predicted by God to be the destiny of the Pharaoh of Egypt.

"

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

A poem extolling Assyria’s glory 31:1-9

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The prophet was to speak this one to Pharaoh Hophra and to the Egyptians. Obviously Ezekiel was in Babylon and they were in Egypt, but he was to speak publicly as though he were addressing them in person. He asked rhetorically who the Egyptians were like in their greatness.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt,.... To Pharaohhophra, the then reigning king; not to him personally by word of mouth, for the prophet was now in Chaldea; but by delivering out a prophecy concerning him, and which he might have an opportunity of sending to him:

and to his multitude; the multitude of his subjects, of which he boasted, and in whom he trusted:

whom art thou like in thy greatness? look over all the records of time, and into all the empires, kingdoms, and states that have been; draw a comparison between thyself and the greatest potentate that ever was; fancy thyself to be equal to him; this will not secure thee from ruin and destruction; for as they have been humbled, and are fallen, so wilt thou be: pitch for instance on the Assyrian monarch, whose empire has been the most ancient, extensive, and flourishing, and yet now crushed; and as thou art like him in greatness, at least thou thinkest so, so thou art in pride, and wilt be in thine end; to assure of which is the drift of the following account of the king of Assyria.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 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,   2 Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness?   3 Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of a high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs.   4 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.   5 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.   6 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.   7 Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by great waters.   8 The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chestnut-trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty.   9 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.

      This prophecy bears date the month before Jerusalem was taken, as that in the close of the foregoing chapter about four months before. When God's people were in the depth of their distress, it would be some comfort to them, as it would serve likewise for a check to the pride and malice of their neighbours, that insulted over them, to be told from heaven that the cup was going round, even the cup of trembling, that it would shortly be taken out of the hands of God's people and put into the hands of those that hated them, Isaiah 51:22; Isaiah 51:23. In this prophecy,

      I. The prophet is directed to put Pharaoh upon searching the records for a case parallel to his own (Ezekiel 31:2; Ezekiel 31:2): Speak to Pharaoh and to his multitude, to the multitude of his attendants, that contributed so much to his magnificence, and the multitude of his armies, that contributed so much to his strength. These he was proud of, these he put a confidence in; and they were as proud of him and trusted as much in him. Now ask him, Whom art thou like in thy greatness? We are apt to judge of ourselves by comparison. Those that think highly of themselves fancy themselves as great and as good as such and such, that have been mightily celebrated. The flatterers of princes tell them whom they equal in pomp and grandeur. "Well," says God, "let him pitch upon the most famous potentate that ever was, and it shall be allowed that he is like him in greatness and no way inferior to him; but, let him pitch upon whom he will, he will find that his day came to fall; he will see there was an end of all his perfection, and must therefore expect the end of his own in like manner." Note, The falls of others, both into sin and ruin, are intended as admonitions to us not to be secure or high-minded, nor to think we stand out of danger.

      II. He is directed to show him an instance of one whom he resembles in greatness, and that was the Assyrian (Ezekiel 31:3; Ezekiel 31:3), whose monarchy had continued from Nimrod. Sennacherib was one of the mighty princes of that monarchy; but it sunk down soon after him, and the monarchy of Nebuchadnezzar was built upon its ruins, or rather grafted upon its stock. Let us now see what a flourishing prince the king of Assyria was. He is here compared to a stately cedar, Ezekiel 31:3; Ezekiel 31:3. The glory of the house of David is illustrated by the same similitude, Ezekiel 17:3; Ezekiel 17:3. The olive-tree, the fig-tree, and the vine, which were all fruit-trees, had refused to be promoted over the trees because they would not leave their fruitfulness (Judges 9:8, c.), and therefore the choice falls upon the cedar, that is stately and strong, and casts a great shadow, but bears no fruit. 1. The Assyrian monarch was a tall cedar, such as the cedars in Lebanon generally were, of a high stature, and his top among the thick boughs he was attended by other princes that were tributaries to him, and was surrounded by a life-guard of brave men. He surpassed all the princes in his neighbourhood; they were all shrubs to him (Ezekiel 31:5; Ezekiel 31:5): His height was exalted above all the trees of the field; they were many of them very high, but he overtopped them all, Ezekiel 31:8; Ezekiel 31:8. The cedars, even those in the garden of Eden, which we may suppose were the best of the kind, would not hide him, but his top branches outshot theirs. 2. He was a spreading cedar; his branches did not only run up in height, but run out in breadth, denoting that this mighty prince was not only exalted to great dignity and honour, and had a name above the names of the great men of the earth, but that he obtained great dominion and power; his territories were large, and he extended his conquests far and his influences much further. This cedar, like a vine, sent forth his branches to the sea, to the river,Psalms 80:11. His boughs were multiplied; his branches became long (Ezekiel 31:5; Ezekiel 31:5); so that he had a shadowing shroud,Ezekiel 31:3; Ezekiel 31:3. This contributed very much to his beauty, that he grew proportionably large as well as high. He was fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches (Ezekiel 31:7; Ezekiel 31:7), very comely as well as very stately, fair by the multitude of his branches,Ezekiel 31:9; Ezekiel 31:9. His large dominions were well managed, like a spreading tree that is kept in shape and good order by the skill of the gardener, so as to be very beautiful to the eye. His government was as amiable in the eyes of wise men as it was admirable in the eyes of all men. The fir-trees were not like his boughs, so straight, so green, so regular; nor were the branches of the chestnut-trees like his branches, so thick, so spreading. In short, no tree in the garden of God, in Eden, in Babylon (for that stood where paradise was planted), where there was every tree that was pleasant to the sight (Genesis 2:9), was like to this cedar in beauty; that is, in all the surrounding nations there was no prince so much admired, so much courted, and whom every body was so much in love with, as the king of Assyria. Many of them did virtuously, but he excelled them all, outshone them all. All the trees of Eden envied him,Ezekiel 31:9; Ezekiel 31:9. When they found they could not compare with him they were angry and grieved that he so far outdid them, and secretly grudged him the praise due to him. Note, It is the unhappiness of those who in any thing excel others that thereby they make themselves the objects of envy; and who can stand before envy? 3. He was serviceable, as far as a standing growing cedar could be, and that was only by his shadow (Ezekiel 31:6; Ezekiel 31:6): All the fowls of heaven, some of all sorts, made their nests in his boughs, where they were sheltered from the injuries of the weather. The beasts of the field put themselves under the protection of his branches. There they were levant--rising up, and couchant--lying down; there they brought forth their young; for they had there a natural covert from the heat and from the storm. The meaning of all is, Under his shadow dwelt all great nations; they all fled to him for safety, and were willing to swear allegiance to him if he would undertake to protect them, as travellers in a shower come under thick trees for shelter. Note, Those who have power ought to use it for the protection and comfort of those whom they have power over; for to that end they are entrusted with power. Even the bramble, if he be anointed king, invites the trees to come and trust in his shadow,Judges 9:15. But the utmost security that any creature, even the king of Assyria himself, can give, is but like the shadow of a tree, which is but a scanty and slender protection, and leaves a man many ways exposed. Let us therefore flee to God for protection, and he will take us under the shadow of his wings, where we shall be warmer and safer than under the shadow of the strongest and stateliest cedar, Psalms 17:8; Psalms 91:4. 4. He seemed to be settled and established in his greatness and power. For, (1.) It was God that made him fair,Ezekiel 31:9; Ezekiel 31:9. For by him kings reign. He was comely with the comeliness that God put upon him. Note, God's hand must be eyed and owned in the advancement of the great men of the earth, and therefore we must not envy them; yet that will not secure the continuance of their prosperity, for he that gave them their beauty, if they be deprived of it, knows how to turn it into deformity. (2.) He seemed to have a good bottom. This cedar was not like the heath in the desert, made to inhabit the parched places (Jeremiah 17:6); it was not a root in a dry ground,Isaiah 53:2. No; he had abundance of wealth to support his power and grandeur (Ezekiel 31:4; Ezekiel 31:4): The waters made him great; he had vast treasures, large stores and magazines, which were as the deep that set him up on high, constant revenues coming in by taxes, customs, and crown-rents, which were as rivers running round about his plants; these enabled him to strengthen and secure his interests every where, for he sent out his little rivers, or conduits, to all the trees of the field, to water them; and when they had maintenance from the king's palace (Ezra 4:14), and their country was nourished by the king's country (Acts 12:20), they would be serviceable and faithful to him. Those that have wealth flowing upon them in great rivers find themselves obliged to send it out again in little rivers; for, as goods are increased, those are increased that eat them, and the more men have the more occasion they have for it; yea, and still the more they have occasion for. The branches of this cedar became long, because of the multitude of waters which fed them (Ezekiel 31:5; Ezekiel 31:7); his root was by great waters, which seemed to secure it that its leaf should never wither (Psalms 1:3), that it should not see when heat came,Jeremiah 17:8. Note, Worldly people may seem to have an established prosperity, yet it only seems so, Job 5:3; Psalms 37:35.