Ezekiel 31:13
in Ezekiel 31All the birds of the air nested on its fallen trunk, and all the beasts of the field lived among its boughs.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Upon his ruin all the birds of the heavens shall dwell, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches;
KJV
Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven remain, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches:
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This verse in Ezekiel 31
Commentary
7 notes on this verseHe must leave the king of Egypt to apply all this to himself, to see his own face in the looking-glass of the king of Assyria's sin, and to foresee his own fall through the perspective glass of his ruin,
This site's exposition
the most ruthless of the nations
on Ezekiel 31:12-14
Strangers, the terrible of the nations, cut him down, and his branches lie broken by every river of the land he once shadowed. Verse 14 turns the fall into a standing warning, language JFB reads as aimed past Assyria at every power that measures itself by its resources.
This site's exposition
nested on its fallen trunk
Verse 13 reverses verse 6. The same birds and beasts that once sheltered under the living tree now settle on its ruin. The peoples Assyria protected turn to profit from its fall.
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
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. iv.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven remain,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Upon his ruin shall all the fowls - The fall of Egypt is likened to the fall of a great tree; and as the fowls and beasts sheltered under its branches before, Eze 31:6, so they now feed upon its ruins.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Upon its carcass..rested as the Targum paraphrases: Upon the carcass of his slain.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
water trees which are tender and frail, but have numerous and long branches because of the moisture of the water, should not compare themselves to the cedars of Eden; i.e., he should not have been haughty over Israel and should not have stood over them.
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
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מַפַּלְתּ֥וֹ | mapalto | fallen trunk its | H4658 → | 8 times |
| יִשְׁכְּנ֖וּ | yishkenu | they dwelt | H7931 → | 129 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| ע֣וֹף | of | <the> bird of | H5775 → | 71 times |
| הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| וְאֶל־ | veel- | and to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| פֹּארֹתָ֣יו | porotav | branches its | H6288 → | 7 times |
| הָי֔וּ | hayu | they came | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כֹּ֖ל | kol | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| חַיַּ֥ת | chaiyat | <the> animal of | H2416 → | 498 times |
| הַשָּׂדֶֽה׃ | hasadeh | the field | H7704 → | 334 times |
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
מַפַּלְתּ֥וֹfallen trunk its
mapaltoH4658 →8 times
יִשְׁכְּנ֖וּthey dwelt
yishkenuH7931 →129 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
ע֣וֹף<the> bird of
ofH5775 →71 times
הַשָּׁמָ֑יִםthe heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 times
וְאֶל־and to
veel-H413 →5510 times
פֹּארֹתָ֣יוbranches its
porotavH6288 →7 times
הָי֔וּthey came
hayuH1961 →3559 times
כֹּ֖לevery
kolH3605 →5413 times
חַיַּ֥ת<the> animal of
chaiyatH2416 →498 times
הַשָּׂדֶֽה׃the field
hasadehH7704 →334 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
Ezekiel 29:5I will leave you in the desert, you and all the fish of your streams. You will fall on the open field and will not be taken away or gathered for burial. I have…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 32:4–6
I will abandon you on the land and hurl you into the open field. I will cause all the birds of the air to settle upon you, and all the beasts of the earth…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 8:2
They will be exposed to the sun and moon, and to all the host of heaven which they have loved, served, followed, consulted, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered up or buried,…
- Jeremiah 34:20
I will deliver into the hands of their enemies who seek their lives. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.
- Ezekiel 32:4–6
Through
Isaiah 18:6They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey, and to the beasts of the land. The birds will feed on them in summer, and all the wild animals in winter.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 7:33
The corpses of this people will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to scare them away.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 39:17–20
And as for you, son of man, this is what the Lord GOD says: Call out to every kind of bird and to every beast of the field: ‘Assemble and come together from all…
- Jeremiah 7:33
Through
Ezekiel 32:4I will abandon you on the land and hurl you into the open field. I will cause all the birds of the air to settle upon you, and all the beasts of the earth…
it leads to
- Revelation 19:17–18
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice to all the birds flying overhead, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 18:6
They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey, and to the beasts of the land. The birds will feed on them in summer, and all the wild animals in winter.
- Ezekiel 31:12–13
Foreigners, the most ruthless of the nations, cut it down and left it. Its branches have fallen on the mountains and in every valley; its boughs lay broken in all the earth’s ravines. And…
- Revelation 19:17–18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel and Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible.