Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with beautiful branches, and with a forest-like shade, of high stature; and its top was among the thick boughs.
The waters nourished it. The deep made it to grow. Its rivers ran all around its plantation; and it sent out its channels to all the trees of the field.
Therefore its stature was exalted above all the trees of the field; and its boughs were multiplied. Its branches became long by reason of many waters, when it spread them out.
All the birds of the sky made their nests in its boughs. Under its branches, all the animals of the field gave birth to their young. All great nations lived under its shadow.
Thus it was beautiful 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 cypress trees were not like its boughs. The pine trees were not as its branches; nor was any tree in the garden of God like it in its beauty.
I made it beautiful by the multitude of its branches, so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied it.’
“Therefore thus said the Lord Yahweh: ‘Because you are exalted in stature, and he has set his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height; I will even deliver him into the hand of the mighty one of the nations. He will surely deal with him. I have driven him out for his wickedness. Strangers, the tyrants of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him. His branches have fallen on the mountains and in all the valleys and his boughs are broken by all the watercourses of the land. All the peoples of the earth have gone down from his shadow, and have left him. All the birds of the sky will dwell on his ruin, and all the animals of the field will be on his branches; to the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves in their stature, and don’t set their top among the thick boughs. Their mighty ones don’t stand up on their height, even all who drink water; for they are all delivered to death, to the lower parts of the earth, among the children of men, with those who go down to the pit.’
“The Lord Yahweh says: ‘In the day when he went down to Sheol I caused a mourning. I covered the deep for him, and I restrained its rivers. The great waters were stopped. I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him. I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to Sheol with those who descend into the pit. All the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the lower parts of the earth. They also went down into Sheol with him to those who are slain by the sword; yes, those who were his arm, who lived under his shadow in the middle of the nations.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv4, 8, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16 Or, country.
Or, country.
Many other nations were under their dominion.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv3–17 Eze 31:3 Behold, the Assyrian [was] a cedar in…
Eze 31:3 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.
Ver. 3. Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar.] See Eze 17:3; Eze 17:22-23 Dan 4:10-11. {See Trapp on "Eze 17:3"} {See Trapp on "Eze 17:22"} {See Trapp on "Eze 17:23"} {See Trapp on "Dan 4:10"} {See Trapp on "Dan 4:11"} The cedar is a very tall, fair, shady, leafy, and lively tree. Such was Esarhaddon, King of Assyria, once a most potent monarch, now not the master of a mole hill. Now, therefore (by an argument from the greater to the less), if he so fell through his pride, shalt not thou much more?
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv3–17 The Assyrian kingdom and its kings were the greatest…
The Assyrian kingdom and its kings were the greatest the world ever knew before thee, they had longest time of growth, through 1340 or 1360 years, from Belus who was Nimrod, or Belus Assyrius, to Sardanapalus, from 1719 or 1717, or 1718, to 3059, of the world. And they had as fair advantages, as reaching a foresight, and as unwearied diligence to advance the kingdom; yet I bought it down.
A cedar; like a cedar; kings and kingdoms oft compared to trees, both in profane and sacred emblems; or like the most goodly cedar for strength and beauty. In Lebanon; a great mountainous tract from east to west, one hundred and twenty five miles in length, encloseth Canaan on the north.
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With fair branches, which are the beauty, greatness, strength of the tree; so had this mighty kingdom fair provinces, as branches springing from it.
With a shadowing shroud: what we render shadowing in the Hebrew may signify either silent and quiet, or framing and modelling, intimating that this kingdom, like a shady tree, gave shelter to the weak, as if framed artificially to this, and it was a silent quiet repose its subjects had; as weak creatures find shelter in a mighty wood, so these.
Of an high stature: this kingdom grew to great height, while its branches were so beneficial.
Among the thick boughs, or clouds; for so the word will without violence bear, clouds being called so from their thickness; however, the head among the thick boughs speaks the magnificence and greatness of this king, compassed about with tributary kings and princes and mighty men.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v10 We have seen the king of Egypt resembling the…
We have seen the king of Egypt resembling the king of Assyria in pomp, and power, and prosperity, how like he was to him in his greatness; now here we see,
I. How he does likewise resemble him in his pride, Eze 31:10. For, as face answers to face in a glass, so does one corrupt carnal heart to another; and the same temptations of a prosperous state by which some are overcome are fatal to many others too. "Thou, O king of Egypt! hast lifted up thyself in height, hast been proud of thy wealth and power, Eze 29:3. And just so he (that is, the king of Assyria); when he had shot up his top among the thick boughs his heart was immediately lifted up in his height, and he grew insolent and imperious, set God himself at defiance, and trampled upon his people;" witness the messages and letter which the great king, the king of Assyria, sent to Hezekiah, Isa 36:4. How haughtily does he speak of himself and his own achievements! how scornfully of that great and good man! There were other sins in which the Egyptians and the Assyrians did concur, particularly that of oppressing God's people, which is charged upon them both together (Isa 52:4); but here that sin is traced up to its cause, and that was pride; for it is the contempt of the proud that they are filled with. Note, When men's outward condition rises their minds commonly rise with it; and it is very rare to find a humble spirit in the midst of great advancements.
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II. How he shall therefore resemble him in his fall; and for the opening of this part of the comparison,
1. Here is a history of the fall of the king of Assyria. For his part, says God (Eze 31:11), I have therefore, because he was thus lifted up, delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen. Cyaxares, king of the Medes, in the twenty-sixth year of his reign, in conjunction with Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the first year of his reign, destroyed Nineveh, and with it the Assyrian empire. Nebuchadnezzar, though he was not then, yet afterwards became, very emphatically, the mighty one of the heathen, most mighty among them and most mighty over them, to prevail against them.
(1.) Respecting the fall of the Assyrian three things are affirmed: - [1.] It is God himself that orders his ruin: I have delivered him into the hand of the executioner; I have driven him out. Note, God is the Judge, who puts down one and sets up another (Psa 75:7); and when he pleases he can extirpate and expel those who think themselves, and seem to others, to have taken deepest root. And the mightiest ones of the heathens could not gain their point against those they contended with if the Almighty did not himself deliver them into their hands. [2.] It is his own sin that procures his ruin: I have driven him out for his wickedness. None are driven out from their honour, power, and possessions, but it is for their wickedness. None of our comforts are ever lost but what have been a thousand times forfeited. If the wicked are driven away, it is in their wickedness. [3.] It is a mighty one of the heathen that shall be the instrument of his ruin; for God often employs one wicked man in punishing another. He shall surely deal with him, shall know how to manage him, great as he is. Note, Proud imperious men will, sooner or later, meet with their match.
(2.) In this history of the fall of the Assyrian observe, [1.] A continuation of the similitude of the cedar. He grew very high, and extended his boughs very far; but his day comes to fall. First, This stately cedar was cropped: The terrible of the nations cut him off. Soldiers, who being both armed and commissioned to kill, and slay, and destroy, may well be reckoned among the terrible of the nations. They have lopped off his branches first, have seized upon some parts of his dominion and forced them out of his hands; so that in all mountains and valleys of the nations about, in the high-lands and low-lands, and by all the rivers, there were cities or countries that were broken off from the Assyrian monarchy, that had been subject to it, but had either revolted or were recovered from it. Its feathers were borrowed; and, when every bird had fetched back its own, it was naked like the stump of a tree. Secondly, It was deserted: All the people of the earth, that had fled to him for shelter, have gone down from his shadow and have left him. When he was disabled to give them protection they thought they no longer owed him allegiance. Let not great men be proud of the number of those that attend them and have a dependence upon them; it is only for what they can get. When Providence frowns upon them their retinue is soon dispersed and scattered from them. Thirdly, It was insulted over, and its fall triumphed in (Eze 31:13): Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven remain, to tread upon the broken branches of this cedar. Its fall is triumphed in by the other trees, who were angry to see themselves overtopped so much: All the trees of Eden, that were cut down and had fallen before him, all that drank water of the rain of heaven, as the stump of the tree that is left in the south is said to be wet with the dew of heaven (Dan 4:23) and to bud through the scent of water (Job 14:9), shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth when they see this proud cedar brought as low as themselves. Solamen miseris socios habuisse doloris - To have companions in woe is a solace to those who suffer. But, on the contrary, the trees of Lebanon, that are yet standing in their height and strength, mourned for him, and the trees of the field fainted for him, because they could not but read their own destiny in his fall. Howl, fir-trees, if the cedar be shaken, for they cannot expect to stand long, Zac 11:2. [2.] An explanation of the similitude of the cedar. By the cutting down of this cedar is signified the slaughter of this mighty monarch and all his adherents and supporters; they are all delivered to death, to fall by the sword, as the cedar by the axe. He and his princes, who, he said, were altogether kings, go down to the grace, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, as common persons of no quality or distinction. They died like men (Psa 82:7); they were carried away with those that go down to the pit, and their pomp did neither protect them nor descend after them. Again (Eze 31:16), He was cast down to hell with those that descend into the pit; he went into the state of the dead, and was buried as others are, in obscurity and oblivion. Again (Eze 31:17), They all that were his arm, on whom he stayed, by whom he acted and exerted his power, all that dwelt under his shadow, his subjects and allies, and all that had any dependence on him, they all went down into ruin, down into the grace with him, unto those that were slain with the sword, to those that were cut off by untimely deaths before them, under the load of guilt and shame. When great men fall a great many fall with them, as a great many in like manner have fallen before them. [3.] What God designed, and aimed at, in bringing down this mighty monarch and his monarchy. He designed thereby, First, To give an alarm to the nations about, to put them all to a stand, to put them all to a gaze (Eze 31:16): I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall. They were all struck with astonishment to see so mighty a prince brought down thus. It give a shock to all their confidences, every one thinking his turn would be next. When he went down to the grace (Eze 31:15) I caused a mourning, a general lamentation, as the whole kingdom goes into mourning at the death of the king. In token of this general grief, I covered the deep for him, put that into black, gave a stop to business, in complaisance to this universal mourning. I restrained the floods, and the great waters were stayed, that they might run into another channel, that of lamentation. Lebanon particularly, the kingdom of Syria, that was sometimes in confederacy with the Assyrian, mourned for him; as the allies of Babylon, Rev 18:9. Secondly, To give an admonition to the nations about, and to their kings (Eze 31:14): To the end that none of all the trees by the waters, though ever so advantageously situated, may exalt themselves for their height, may be proud and conceited of themselves and shoot up their top among the thick boughs, looking disdainfully upon others, nor stand upon themselves for their height, confiding in their own politics and powers, as if they could never be brought down. Let them all take warning by the Assyrian, for he once held up his head as high, and thought he kept his footing as firm, as any of them; but his pride went before his destruction, and his confidence failed him. Note, The fall of proud presumptuous men is intended for warning to others to keep humble. It would have been well for Nebuchadnezzar, who was himself active in bringing down the Assyrian, if he had taken the admonition.
2. Here is a prophecy of the fall of the king of Egypt in like manner, Eze 31:18. He thought himself like the Assyrian in glory and greatness, over-topping all the trees of Eden, as the cypress does the shrubs. "But thou also shalt be brought down, with the other trees that are pleasant to the sight, as those in Eden. Thou shalt be brought to the grave, to the nether or lower parts of the earth; thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, that die in their uncleanness, die ingloriously, die under a curse and at a distance from God; then shall those whom thou hast trampled upon triumph over thee, saying, This is Pharaoh and all his multitude. See how mean he looks, how low he lies; see what all his pomp and pride have come to; here is all that is left of him." Note, Great men and great multitudes, with the great figure and great noise they make in the world, when God comes to contend with them, will soon become little, less than nothing, such as Pharaoh and all his multitude.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv3–17 Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon,.... Here…
Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon,.... Here grew the tallest, most stately, broad and flourishing ones. This sense is, that he was as one of them; comparable to one, for his exaltation and dignity; for the largeness of his dominion, the flourishing circumstances of it, and its long duration; that empire having lasted from the times of Nimrod unto a few years of the present time; for this is to be understood, either of the monarchy itself, or of Esarhaddon; or rather of Chynilidanus, or Saracus, the last king of it. The Septuagint, and Arabic versions render it the "cypariss" in Lebanon; but not that, but the cedar, grew there, and which best suits the comparison:
with fair branches; meaning not children, nor nobles, nor subjects; but provinces, many and large, which were subject to this monarch:
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and with a shadowing shroud; power, dominion, authority, a mighty army sufficient to protect all that were under his government, and subject to it:
and of an high stature: exalted above all the kings and kingdoms of the earth:
and his top was among the thick boughs; his kingly power, headship, and dominion, was over a multitude of petty princes and states, comparable to the thick boughs and branches of a tree: or, "among the clouds"; as the Septuagint and Arabic versions render it; above the heights of which the Assyrian monarch attempted to ascend, Isa 14:14.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 5, 8, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17 A cedar - Like the most goodly cedar for…
A cedar - Like the most goodly cedar for strength and beauty.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 8, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17 Verse 3. Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar] Why…
Verse 3. Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar] Why is the Assyrian introduced here, when the whole chapter concerns Egypt? Bp. Lowth has shown that אשור ארז ashshur erez should be translated the tall cedar, the very stately cedar; hence there is reference to his lofty top; and all the following description belongs to Egypt, not to Assyria. But see on Eze 31:11.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv3, 10, 15, 16 Eze 31:3-9. Behold the Assyrian — This, says Archbishop…
Eze 31:3-9. Behold the Assyrian — This, says Archbishop Secker, seems an admonitory comparison of Pharaoh to the late Assyrian monarch, applied to Pharaoh, Eze 31:18. By the Assyrian, compared here to a tall and fair cedar, such as grew in mount Lebanon, Archbishop Usher and Dr. Prideaux understand that king of Assyria whom some call Chyniladanus, others Saracus, of whom it seems the words of the Prophet Nahum (Nah 3:18) are to be understood. In like manner Zephaniah joins the destruction of Assyria and the desolation of Nineveh together, Zep 2:13. Nabopolassar, the king of Babylon, and Cyaxares, the king of Media, called by the names of Nebuchadonosor and Assuerus in Tobit, (chap. Eze 14:15,) joining their forces together against him, besieged Nineveh, took it, and, after having slain the king, utterly destroyed that great and famous city, and put an end to that part of the Assyrian empire, Nabopolassar having before possessed himself of the other part, which was properly called the Babylonian empire. See Dr. Prideaux, p. 45. In this remarkable catastrophe the prophecies of Jonah, Nahum, and Zephaniah, foretelling the destruction of Nineveh, were fulfilled. His top was among the thick boughs — He overtopped all the other flourishing trees. The waters made him great — “As trees flourish by a river side, so the traffic of the several branches of the river Tigris, upon which Nineveh was situate, made that city and kingdom rich and populous, and she imparted her wealth and stores among the neighbouring provinces.” — Lowth. Therefore his height was exalted, &c. — He became greater than all the kings about him. The greatness of Nebuchadnezzar’s power and kingdom is set forth under the same emblem, Dan 4:10, &c. All the fowls made their nests in his boughs — Several nations applied to him for protection, and thought themselves and all their concerns safe under his government. Under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth, &c. — Under the protection of his extensive empire did the people increase, and the countries become more populous. The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him, &c. — He overtopped the goodly cedars, called in the Hebrew the cedars of God, Psa 80:9; such fair ones as might be supposed to have grown in paradise. The expressions are all allegorical, signifying the super-eminent greatness of the king of Assyria, and how much more powerful he was than any other of the kings of that time. All the trees of Eden, &c. — All the kings of the East envied him, and his greatness. So the Chaldee paraphrast.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv3, 10, 15 Fifth prophecy against Egypt: a warning to Pharaoh from…
Fifth prophecy against Egypt: a warning to Pharaoh from the fate of the Assyrians. The Assyrian empire, after having been supreme in Asia for four centuries, had been overthrown by the united forces of the Babylonians and Medes, in the year of the battle of Carchemish (605 b.c.), which had broken the power of Egypt. This gives force to the warning to Egypt from Assyria’s fall.
Eze 31:4
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His plants - Rather, her plantation. The water represents the riches and might which flowed into Assyria.
Eze 31:5
When be shot forth - Or, when the deep water sent forth its streams.
Eze 31:8
Garden of God - Paradise.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 Assyrian. The ruin of this great empire (Calmet) might…
Assyrian. The ruin of this great empire (Calmet) might have admonished the king of Egypt of his frail condition. (Haydock) --- About thirty-eight years before (Calmet) Ninive had been taken, and its king (Sarac or Chinaladan) slain by his own general, Nabopolassar, and by Astyages, of Media. They divided the empire between them, and the father of Nabuchodonosor fixed his residence at Babylon. (Usher, the year of the world 3378.) --- Cedar. Septuagint, "cypress." --- Top; the king of Ninive. (Calmet) --- Egypt’s monarch thought himself invincible; yet would fall like the Assyrians. (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 He illustrates the pride and the consequent overthrow of…
He illustrates the pride and the consequent overthrow of the Assyrian, that Egypt may the better know what she must expect.
cedar in Lebanon--often eighty feet high, and the diameter of the space covered by its boughs still greater: the symmetry perfect. Compare the similar image (Eze 17:3; Dan 4:20-22).
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with a shadowing shroud--with an overshadowing thicket.
top . . . among . . . thick boughs--rather [HENGSTENBERG], "among the clouds." But English Version agrees better with the Hebrew. The top, or topmost shoot, represents the king; the thick boughs, the large resources of the empire.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 6, 8, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17 3. The Assyrian — The Hebrew text and all…
3. The Assyrian — The Hebrew text and all versions read as A.V.; in which case Egypt would be compared to Assyria, a country as great as itself yet now crushed by Nebuchadnezzar. One species of cedar was, however, called Tasshur, and if this is referred to here we could translate, “Behold, there was a cedar on Lebanon.”
Shroud — This refers to the thick foliage. The word is usually rendered forest.
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Thick boughs — Rather, as R.V., margin, “clouds;” also in Eze_31:10; Eze_31:14.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 3. the Assyrian was a cedar] It is evident…
3. the Assyrian was a cedar] It is evident that the Assyrian has nothing to do here; any comparison of Egypt to Assyria is without motive. Besides Eze_31:3 is repeated in Eze_31:10, and spoken of Egypt (cf. Eze_31:18). The word “asshur” here is the name of a tree, either the same as teasshur (ch. Eze_27:6), or this form should be read. Render: Behold a stately cedar in Lebanon (lit. a teasshur of a cedar); or, behold a sherbin, a cedar in Lebanon—the more general “cedar” being added after the species.
a shadowing shrowd] The “shroud,” usually “forest,” must refer to the closely interwoven branches, hardly to the underwood. The phrase is wanting in LXX.
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the thick boughs] The clouds, so Eze_31:10; Eze_31:14; cf. Eze_19:11.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 (3) A cedar in Lebanon.—Lebanon is mentioned only because…
(3) A cedar in Lebanon.—Lebanon is mentioned only because it was the place where the most famous cedars grew in their greatest perfection. Assyria did, indeed, at one time possess Lebanon, but this was never its home or seat of empire. The word “shroud” in the description refers to the thickness of the shade of the branches.
Among the thick boughs.—Rather, among the clouds. (See Note on Eze_19:11 .Comp. also Eze_31:10; Eze_31:14.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon. The…
Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon. The Hebrew text, as rendered in all versions and interpreted by most commentators, gives us, in the form of the parable of the cedar, the history of the Assyrian empire in its glory and its fall. That had passed away in spite of its greatness, and so should Egypt. The question in Ver. 18 takes the place of "Thou art the man!" in Nathan"s interpretation of his parable, (2Sa_12:7) or the mutato nominee de te fabula, narratur of the Roman satirist. Some recent commentaters, however, either like Ewald, taking the Hebrew word for, Assyrian" as describing a particular kind of cedar or fir tree, or, like Comill and amend, adopting a conjectural emendation of the text which actually gives that meaning (Tasshur for Asshur), refer the whole parable primarily to Egypt, and dwell on the fact that the words of Vers. 10, 18 are addressed to the living representative of a great monarchy, and not to a power that has already passed away into the Hades of departed glory. The former view seems to me the more tenable of the two, and I therefore adopt it throughout the chapter. It may be admitted, however, that the inner meaning of the parable at times breaks through the outward imagery, as was indeed to be expected, the prophet seeking to apply his apologue even before he had completed it. The "cedar in Lebanon" has already met us as the symbol of s kingdom, in Eze_17:2. The shadowing shroud may be noted as a specially vivid picture of the peculiar foliage of the cedar rendered with singular felicity. His top was among the thick boughs; better, clouds, as in the margin of the Revised Version. So Keil, Smend, and others (comp. Vers. 10, 14).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v17 They . . . that dwelt under His shadow…
Eze_31:17
They . . . that dwelt under His shadow in the midst of the heathen.
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Under God's shadow among the heathen
Whatever may be the primary meaning of these words, they have a very blessed application to those who have gone forth from so many Christian families into heathen lands. For no choice of their own, and simply in obedience to their King's command, hundreds of our sons and daughters have gone forth to dwell in the midst of the heathen. They have taken up their home amid conditions which they would not have chosen had it not been for the constraining love of Christ, and the imperative need of dying men; and as fond relatives and friends regard their lot from a distance, they are often filled with anxious forebodings. May they not be involved in some sudden riot, and sacrificed to a frenzy of hate? May not the sanitary conditions and methods of life be seriously detrimental to their health or morals? "Oh, if only I could be there," you sigh. Hush! Christ is there; as near them as He is to you, casting over them the shadow of His presence, beckoning them to His secret place. He is the shadow of a great Rock in a weary land; or like the canopy of cloud that hovered over the camp of Israel by day, screening it from the torrid glare. Do not fear to trust your loved ones to the immortal Lover, who fainteth not, neither is weary. The hand that would harm is arrested and paralysed when it attempts to penetrate that safe enclosure. (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)
.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v16 Heb. "Sheol," (See Scofield "Hab 2:5").
hell
Heb. "Sheol," (See Scofield "Hab 2:5").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v10 The Lesson of Assyria’s Fall
The Lesson of Assyria’s Fall
v. 10. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, here addressing the king of Assyria directly, although the object, bringing home the lesson to Pharaoh by means of the message, is unmistakable, because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, in blasphemous high-mindedness on account of a prosperity which was nothing but a gift from above, and he, the address here turning to the third person, hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, up into the very clouds, and his heart is lifted up in his height, in sinful and insulting pride,
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v. 11. I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen, namely, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon; he shall surely deal with him, literally, "he will do, do to him," or, in modern form, he will surely do away with him; I have driven him out for his wickedness, the Lord rejecting Assyria from before His face.
v. 12. And strangers, foreign invaders, the terrible of the nations, the Chaldean soldiers, known for their fierceness, have cut him off and have left him, the picture of a tree that is felled being retained here; upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, all the tributary nations and provinces being lopped off, and his boughs, all the colonies and dependent cities, are broken by all the rivers of the land, as when a mighty tree, in falling down the mountainside, is shattered into little pieces; and all the people of the earth, formerly in dependence upon Assyria, are gone down from his shadow and have left him.
v. 13. Upon his ruin, as he has fallen headlong, thus presenting the picture of a carcass, shall all the fowls of the heaven remain, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches, the very ones that had formerly been under his dominion now turning to birds and beasts of prey in tearing the carcass to pieces, that is, in deriving life from Assyria’s downfall, in building themselves up on its ruins:
v. 14. to the end, with this final object in mind, that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves for their height, all other nations profiting by the example of Assyria, neither shoot up their top among the thick boughs, between the very clouds of the sky, neither their trees stand up in their height, in the same sinful pride, all that drink water, while they are deriving their strength from the Lord alone; for they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, to the underground kingdom of death, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit. How foolish for the mighty of the earth to lift themselves up in sinful pride, when, after all, they are all weak and mortal men, entirely dependent upon the goodness of the God whose providence alone upholds them!
v. 15. Thus saith the Lord God, in describing the impression which the fall of Assyria made upon other nations and making the application to the case of Pharaoh, In the day when he went down to the grave, when the Assyrian world-power was destroyed, I caused a mourning, men stopping for a time to consider the calamity in horror and grief; I covered the deep for him, literally, "I veiled, on his account, the flood," that which had given him his life-giving power, and I restrained the floods thereof, holding back the various streams spoken of in verse 4, and the great waters were stayed; and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, literally, "to become dark over him, in mourning over the fall of the mighty cedar Assyria," and all the trees of the field fainted for him. On account of the overthrow of Assyria the entire world was drawn into suffering, so that all sources of wealth and power were cut off.
v. 16. I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, foreseeing in his overthrow a similar calamity for themselves, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit, to the kingdom of death; and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, spoken of in verses 8 and 9, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth, since mighty Assyria was obliged to share their fate in the realm of those destroyed from off the face of the earth.
v. 17. They also went down into hell with him, sharing the fate of Assyria, unto them that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, his auxiliaries, or allies, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen, depending upon his military power. In concluding this paragraph and chapter, the application is made to Pharaoh, who is here once more directly addressed.
v. 18. To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? among the various nations of the world, blessed by God, as they are, with many and great gifts of his goodness. Yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden, just as Assyria had been, unto the nether parts of the earth; thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, the godless heathen, with them that be slain by the sword. Thus would the fate of Egypt he like that of Assyria. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, so would it happen to him and all his people with their proud wealth and their boastful behavior, saith the Lord God. It is an easy matter for God to make an example and a spectacle of all His enemies.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17 General Information:
General Information:
These are God's words to Pharaoh about Assyria. God gives his message in the form of a parable about a great cedar tree. (See: Parables)
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Behold!
"Look!" or "Listen!" or "Pay attention to what I am about to tell you!"
Assyria was a cedar
In this parable, God speaks about Assyria as if it were a great tree to emphasize how great and powerful the Assyrians were. This parable continues until Eze 31:9. AT: "Assyria was like a cedar" (See: Parables)
the branches formed its treetop
"its top was above the branches of the other trees." Some versions of the Bible translate this as "the top of the tree was in the clouds."
Many waters made it tall
"Because the cedar had a lot of water, it grew very tall"
the deep waters made it huge
"the water deep in the ground made the cedar grow very big"
for their channels stretched out to all the trees in the field
"and streams flowed from the rivers to all the trees of the field"
translationWords
Assyria
cedar
Lebanon
water
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv6, 10, 12, 15, 16 31:6 Like a great tree, Assyria provided shelter for…
31:6 Like a great tree, Assyria provided shelter for all of the birds and wild animals of the earth. This tree was more splendid than all the trees in the garden of God (that is, the garden of Eden), with a God-given beauty and stature reminiscent of the prince of Tyre in ch 28. Assyria’s power was once so great that all the great nations of the world lived in its shadow.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.