Ezekiel 31:10
in Ezekiel 31Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Since it became great in height and set its top among the clouds, and it grew proud on account of its height,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Therefore thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because thou art exalted in stature, and he hath set his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height;
KJV
Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height;
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This verse in Ezekiel 31
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Assyria’s fall. Eze 31:11 More accurately: Therefore I will deliver him, etc ... he shall surely deal with him. I have driven him out, etc. Eze 31:14 Their trees - Rather, as in the margin, “standing unto themselves” meaning “standing in their own strength.” The clause will then run thus: “Neither all that drink water stand up” in their own strength. “All that drink water” means mighty princes to whom wealth and prosperity flow in. The Egyptians owed everything to the waters of the Nile.
This site's exposition
it became great in height
on Ezekiel 31:10-11
The charge is named without ornament, because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and judgment follows on that ground alone. The Lord delivers him into the hand of the mighty one, which Henry and Keil both identify as the Babylonian power that ended Assyria's empire.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 31.) And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his people: Whom are you like in your greatness? Behold, Assyria was like a cedar (or cypress) in Lebanon, beautiful in branches and dense with foliage, towering in height, and its top was among the thick foliage (or in the midst of clouds).
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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. lii. 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.
Therefore thus saith the Lord God,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Because you grew haughty with your height So I said to Assyria.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Therefore, thus said Hashem Elokim: Because you grew high in stature, and placed his lordship over kingdoms, and his heart grew haughty in his strength,
into the hands of the strongest of nations into the hands of the harshest of nations; I gave him into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, as the master said (Seder Olam, ch.; Meg. 11b; Arachin 12a): In his first year, he conquered Nineveh.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לָכֵ֗ן | lakhen | <to> therefore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| כֹּ֤ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַר֙ | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֣י | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| יְהוִ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3069 → | 306 times |
| יַ֕עַן | yaan | because | H3282 → | 99 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| גָּבַ֖הְתָּ | gavahta | you were tall | H1361 → | 34 times |
| בְּקוֹמָ֑ה | bekomah | in height | H6967 → | 45 times |
| וַיִּתֵּ֤ן | vaiyiten | and it set | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| צַמַּרְתּוֹ֙ | tzamarto | treetop its | H6788 → | 5 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בֵּ֣ין | bein | between | H996 → | 407 times |
| עֲבוֹתִ֔ים | avotim | branches | H5688 → | 24 times |
| וְרָ֥ם | veram | and it was lifted up | H7311 → | 190 times |
| לְבָב֖וֹ | levavo | heart its | H3824 → | 252 times |
| בְּגָבְהֽוֹ׃ | begaveho | in height its | H1363 → | 17 times |
לָכֵ֗ן<to> therefore
lakhenH3651 →771 times
כֹּ֤הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
אָמַר֙he says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
אֲדֹנָ֣י[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
יְהוִ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3069 →306 times
יַ֕עַןbecause
yaanH3282 →99 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
גָּבַ֖הְתָּyou were tall
gavahtaH1361 →34 times
בְּקוֹמָ֑הin height
bekomahH6967 →45 times
וַיִּתֵּ֤ןand it set
vaiyitenH5414 →2011 times
צַמַּרְתּוֹ֙treetop its
tzamartoH6788 →5 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בֵּ֣יןbetween
beinH996 →407 times
עֲבוֹתִ֔יםbranches
avotimH5688 →24 times
וְרָ֥םand it was lifted up
veramH7311 →190 times
לְבָב֖וֹheart its
levavoH3824 →252 times
בְּגָבְהֽוֹ׃in height its
begavehoH1363 →17 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Obadiah 1:3The pride of your heart has deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks whose habitation is the heights, who say in your heart, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’
it leads to
- Isaiah 14:13–15
You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of…
- Proverbs 29:23
A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor.
- Jeremiah 49:16
The terror you cause and the pride of your heart have deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks, O occupiers of the mountain summit. Though you elevate your nest like the…
- 2 Kings 14:7
Amaziah struck down 10,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. He took Sela in battle and called it Joktheel, which is its name to this very day.
- Isaiah 14:13–15
Through
Daniel 5:20But when his heart became arrogant and his spirit was hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne, and his glory was taken from him.
it leads to
- Proverbs 16:18
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Kings 17:14
But they would not listen, and they stiffened their necks like their fathers, who did not believe the LORD their God.
- Proverbs 16:18
Through
2 Chronicles 32:25But because his heart was proud, Hezekiah did not repay the favor shown to him. Therefore wrath came upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 24:18
They abandoned the house of the LORD, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherah poles and idols. So wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs.
- 2 Chronicles 24:18
Through
Ezekiel 28:17Your heart grew proud of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor; so I cast you to the earth; I made you a spectacle before kings.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 28:5
By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, but your heart has grown proud because of it.
- Ezekiel 28:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.