Ezekiel 31:2
in Ezekiel 31“Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude: ‘Who can be compared to your greatness?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Son of man, say unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude: Whom art thou like in thy greatness?
KJV
Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness?
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This verse in Ezekiel 31
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
the third month
on Ezekiel 31:1-2
The date sets the oracle two months before Jerusalem's own fall. The Lord turns the prophet toward Egypt with a single rhetorical question, whom art thou like in thy greatness? Keil reads the timing as deliberate, Egypt measured for its fall in the same season Jerusalem's siege is closing.
This site's exposition
to Pharaoh king of Egypt
Pharaoh's multitude is his army and the peoples who depended on Egypt. The king in these years was Hophra, named in Jeremiah 44:30, whose army had briefly drawn Babylon away from Jerusalem at Jeremiah 37:5. His failed rescue made Egypt look great and proved it weak.
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
Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt,....
These he was proud of, these he put a confidence in; and they were as proud of him and trusted as much in him. Now ask him, Whom art thou like in thy greatness? We are apt to judge of ourselves by comparison.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בֶּן־ | ben- | O son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אָדָ֕ם | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| אֱמֹ֛ר | ʾemor | say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| פַּרְעֹ֥ה | paroh | Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| מִצְרַ֖יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וְאֶל־ | veel- | and to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הֲמוֹנ֑וֹ | hamono | multitude his | H1995 → | 83 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | <to> | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מִ֖י | mi | whom? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| דָּמִ֥יתָ | damita | are you like | H1819 → | 30 times |
| בְגָדְלֶֽךָ׃ | vegadelekha | in greatness your | H1433 → | 13 times |
בֶּן־O son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אָדָ֕םhumankind
ʾadamH120 →551 times
אֱמֹ֛רsay
ʾemorH559 →5305 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
פַּרְעֹ֥הPharaoh
parohH6547 →274 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
מִצְרַ֖יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
וְאֶל־and to
veel-H413 →5510 times
הֲמוֹנ֑וֹmultitude his
hamonoH1995 →83 times
אֶל־<to>
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מִ֖יwhom?
miH4310 →423 times
דָּמִ֥יתָare you like
damitaH1819 →30 times
בְגָדְלֶֽךָ׃in greatness your
vegadelekhaH1433 →13 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 29:19Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will carry off its wealth, seize its spoil, and remove its plunder. This…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 30:24–25
I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king and place My sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, who will groan before him like a mortally wounded man.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 30:24–25
Through
Jeremiah 1:17Get yourself ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not be intimidated by them, or I will terrify you before them.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 18:46
And the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah, and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
- Jeremiah 1:7–8
But the LORD told me: “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ For to everyone I send you, you must go, and all that I command you, you must speak.
- Luke 12:35
Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning.
- 1 Peter 1:13
Therefore prepare your minds for action. Be sober-minded. Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
- Ezekiel 3:14–18
So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD upon me.
- 1 Kings 18:46
Through
Ezekiel 31:18Who then is like you in glory and greatness among the trees of Eden? You also will be brought down to the depths of the earth to be with the trees of Eden. You…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 32:19
Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down and be placed with the uncircumcised!
- Ezekiel 32:19
Through
Ezekiel 30:10This is what the Lord GOD says: I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 29:19
Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will carry off its wealth, seize its spoil, and remove its plunder. This…
- Ezekiel 29:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.