(4) His plants.—Should rather be, his plantation.Sent out her little rivers.—The thought is that the various surrounding and subordinate nations were nourished from the great stream of prosperity which swelled the power and wealth of Assyria. read more
(6) All the fowls of heaven.—Comp. Ezekiel 17:23; Daniel 4:21. read more
(8) The garden of God.—See Ezekiel 31:9; Ezekiel 31:16; Ezekiel 31:18; also Ezekiel 28:13. This is not a representation of Assyria as being in the garden of God, as in the case of Tyre in Ezekiel 28:13, but only a further expression of its greatness by a comparison of the tree representing it with the trees of Paradise. Yet this comparison may have been suggested by the fact that the traditionary site of Eden was within the bounds of the Assyrian Empire. Fir trees are generally understood to be... read more
Ezekiel 31:3 In Proserpina, after quoting this passage, Ruskin proceeds: 'Now hear what follows. "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 beauty." So that you see, whenever a nation rises into consistent, vital, and, through many generations, enduring power, there is still the Garden of God; still it is the water of life which feeds... read more
EGYPTEzekiel 29:1-21; Ezekiel 30:1-26; Ezekiel 31:1-18; Ezekiel 32:1-32EGYPT figures in the prophecies of Ezekiel as a great world-power cherishing projects of universal dominion. Once more, as in the age of Isaiah, the ruling factor in Asiatic politics was the duel for the mastery of the world between the rival empires of the Nile and the Euphrates. The influence of Egypt was perhaps even greater in the beginning of the sixth century than it had been in the end of the eighth, although in the... read more
Ezekiel 31:1-18 . Pharaoh’s greatness is described in the first part of the chapter (Ezekiel 31:1-9 ). He is compared to the Assyrian, once so powerful and proud. The fall and desolation of the proud monarch under the picture of a tree follows in Ezekiel 31:10-14 . The overthrow of Egypt and the resulting consternation among the nations is predicted in the last section of this chapter (Ezekiel 31:15-18 ). Ezekiel 32:1-32 . The lamentation over Pharaoh is contained in Ezekiel 32:1-10 , followed... read more
31:1 And it came to pass in the {a} eleventh year, in the third [month], in the first [day] of the month, [that] the word of the LORD came to me, saying,(a) Of Zedekiah’s reign, or of Jeconiah’s captivity. read more
31:2 Son of man, speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou {b} like in thy greatness?(b) Meaning that he was not the same in strength to the king of the Assyrians whom the Babylonians overcame. read more
31:4 The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round his plants, and sent out her {c} little rivers to all the trees of the field.(c) Many other nations were under their dominion. read more
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Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Ezekiel 31:3
(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 Ezekiel 19:11 .Comp. also Ezekiel 31:10; Ezekiel 31:14.) read more