Yehezkiel 19:11

19:11 Its boughs were strong, fit ¹  for rulers’ scepters; it reached up into the clouds.

It stood out because of its height and its many branches. ² 

Yehezkiel 31:3

31:3 Consider Assyria, ³  a cedar in Lebanon, ⁴ 

with beautiful branches, like a forest giving shade,

and extremely tall;

its top reached into the clouds.

Yehezkiel 31:10

31:10 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because it was tall in stature, and its top reached into the clouds, and it was proud of its height,

Yehezkiel 31:14

31:14 For this reason no watered trees will grow so tall; their tops will not reach into the clouds, nor will the well-watered ones grow that high. ⁵  For all of them have been appointed to die in the lower parts of the earth; ⁶  they will be among mere mortals, ⁷  with those who descend to the pit.

[19:11]  ¹ tn The word “fit” does not occur in the Hebrew text.

[19:11]  ² tn Heb “and it was seen by its height and by the abundance of its branches.”

[31:3]  ³ sn Either Egypt, or the Lord compares Egypt to Assyria, which is described in vv. 3-17 through the metaphor of a majestic tree. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:185. Like Egypt, Assyria had been a great world power, but in time God brought the Assyrians down. Egypt should learn from history the lesson that no nation, no matter how powerful, can withstand the judgment of God. Rather than following the text here, some prefer to emend the proper name Assyria to a similar sounding common noun meaning “boxwood” (see Ezek 27:6), which would make a fitting parallel to “cedar of Lebanon” in the following line. In this case vv. 3-18 in their entirety refer to Egypt, not Assyria. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:121-27.

[31:3]  ⁴ sn Lebanon was know for its cedar trees (Judg 9:15; 1 Kgs 4:33; 5:6; 2 Kgs 14:9; Ezra 3:7; Pss 29:5; 92:12; 104:16).

[31:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “and they will not stand to them in their height, all the drinkers of water.”

[31:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “for death, to the lower earth.”

[31:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “the sons of men.”