Yehezkiel 21:10

21:10 It is sharpened for slaughter,

it is polished to flash like lightning!

“‘Should we rejoice in the scepter of my son? No! The sword despises every tree! ¹ 

Yehezkiel 31:7

31:7 It was beautiful in its loftiness, in the length of its branches;

for its roots went down deep to plentiful waters.

Yehezkiel 31:13

31:13 On its ruins all the birds of the sky will live, and all the wild animals ²  will walk ³  on its branches.

[21:10]  ¹ tn Heb “Or shall we rejoice, scepter of my son, it despises every tree.” The translation understands the subject of the verb “despises,” which is a feminine form in the Hebrew text, to be the sword (which is a feminine noun) mentioned just before this. Alternatively, the line may be understood as “let us not rejoice, O tribe of my son; it despises every tree.” The same word in Hebrew may be either “rod,” “scepter,” or “tribe.” The word sometimes translated as “or” or taken as an interrogative particle may be a negative particle. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:672, n. 79.

[21:10]  sn The people of Judah should not place false hope in their king, symbolized by his royal scepter, for God’s judgment (symbolized by fire and then a sword) would destroy every tree (see 20:47), symbolizing the righteous and wicked (see 21:3-4).

[31:13]  ² tn Heb “the beasts of the field,” referring to wild as opposed to domesticated animals.

[31:13]  ³ tn Heb “be.”