Ezekiel 31:3
in Ezekiel 31Look at Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches that shaded the forest. It towered on high; its top was among the clouds.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a forest-like shade, and of high stature; and its top was among the thick boughs.
KJV
Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs.
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This verse in Ezekiel 31
Commentary
9 notes on this verseBehold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon,.... Here grew the tallest, most stately, broad and flourishing ones. This sense is, that he was as one of them; comparable to one, for his exaltation and dignity; for the largeness of his dominion, the flourishing circumstances of it, and its long duration; that empire having lasted from the times of Nimrod unto a few years of the present time; for this is to be understood, either of the monarchy itself, or of Esarhaddon; or rather of Chynilidanus, or Saracus, the last king of it.
This site's exposition
a cedar in Lebanon
on Ezekiel 31:3-6
Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon, fed by waters that ran to every tree of the field. Gill and Clarke both take the image from Assyria's river-fed empire, the Tigris standing behind the waters that made him great. The allegory is chosen because Egypt's own strength runs on a river.
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 Awakening3 voices
), whose monarchy had continued from Nimrod. Sennacherib was one of the mighty princes of that monarchy; but it sunk down soon after him, and the monarchy of Nebuchadnezzar was built upon its ruins, or rather grafted upon its stock. Let us now see what a flourishing prince the king of Assyria was.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
12 And strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him: upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the rivers of the land; and all the people of the earth are gone down from his shadow, and have left him.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
The Assyrian monarch was a tall cedar, such as the cedars in Lebanon generally were, of a high stature, and his top among the thick boughs; he was attended by other princes that were tributaries to him, and was surrounded by a life-guard of brave men.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Fifth prophecy against Egypt: a warning to Pharaoh from the fate of the Assyrians. The Assyrian empire, after having been supreme in Asia for four centuries, had been overthrown by the united forces of the Babylonians and Medes, in the year of the battle of Carchemish (605 b.c.), which had broken the power of Egypt. This gives force to the warning to Egypt from Assyria’s fall. Eze 31:4 His plants - Rather, her plantation. The water represents the riches and might which flowed into Assyria.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Da 4:20-22). with a shadowing shroud--with an overshadowing thicket. top . . . among . . . thick boughs--rather [HENGSTENBERG], "among the clouds." But English Version agrees better with the Hebrew.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar - Why is the Assyrian introduced here, when the whole chapter concerns Egypt? Bp. Lowth has shown that אשור ארז ashshur erez should be translated the tall cedar, the very stately cedar; hence there is reference to his lofty top; and all the following description belongs to Egypt, not to Assyria. But see on Eze 31:11 (note).
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִנֵּ֨ה | hineh | there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| אַשּׁ֜וּר | ʾashur | Assyria | H804 → | 151 times |
| אֶ֣רֶז | ʾerez | [was] a cedar | H730 → | 73 times |
| בַּלְּבָנ֗וֹן | balevanon | in <the> Lebanon | H3844 → | 71 times |
| יְפֵ֥ה | yepeh | beautiful of | H3303 → | 42 times |
| עָנָ֛ף | ʾanaf | branch[es] | H6057 → | 7 times |
| וְחֹ֥רֶשׁ | vechoresh | and forest | H2793 → | |
| מֵצַ֖ל | metzal | giving shade | H6751 → | |
| וּגְבַ֣הּ | ugevah | and tall of | H1364 → | 41 times |
| קוֹמָ֑ה | komah | height | H6967 → | 45 times |
| וּבֵ֣ין | uvein | and between | H996 → | 407 times |
| עֲבֹתִ֔ים | ʾavotim | branches | H5688 → | 24 times |
| הָיְתָ֖ה | hayetah | it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| צַמַּרְתּֽוֹ׃ | tzamarto | treetop its | H6788 → | 5 times |
הִנֵּ֨הthere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
אַשּׁ֜וּרAssyria
ʾashurH804 →151 times
אֶ֣רֶז[was] a cedar
ʾerezH730 →73 times
בַּלְּבָנ֗וֹןin <the> Lebanon
balevanonH3844 →71 times
יְפֵ֥הbeautiful of
yepehH3303 →42 times
עָנָ֛ףbranch[es]
ʾanafH6057 →7 times
וְחֹ֥רֶשׁand forest
vechoreshH2793 →
מֵצַ֖לgiving shade
metzalH6751 →
וּגְבַ֣הּand tall of
ugevahH1364 →41 times
קוֹמָ֑הheight
komahH6967 →45 times
וּבֵ֣יןand between
uveinH996 →407 times
עֲבֹתִ֔יםbranches
ʾavotimH5688 →24 times
הָיְתָ֖הit was
hayetahH1961 →3559 times
צַמַּרְתּֽוֹ׃treetop its
tzamartoH6788 →5 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
Daniel 4:10In these visions of my mind as I was lying in bed, I saw this come to pass: There was a tree in the midst of the land, and its height was great.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 12:2
You planted them, and they have taken root. They have grown and produced fruit. You are ever on their lips, but far from their hearts.
- Daniel 4:5
I had a dream, and it frightened me; while in my bed, the images and visions in my mind alarmed me.
- Psalms 37:35–36
I have seen a wicked, ruthless man flourishing like a well-rooted native tree,
- Ezekiel 31:3–18
Look at Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches that shaded the forest. It towered on high; its top was among the clouds.
- Jeremiah 12:2
Through
Ezekiel 17:22This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will take a shoot from the lofty top of the cedar, and I will set it out. I will pluck a tender sprig from its topmost…
it leads to
- Psalms 2:6
“I have installed My King on Zion, upon My holy mountain.”
- Isaiah 11:1–5
Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.
- Ezekiel 20:40
For on My holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, declares the Lord GOD, there the whole house of Israel, all of them, will serve Me in the land. There I will accept them…
- Zechariah 6:12–13
And you are to tell him that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Here is a man whose name is the Branch, and He will branch out from His place and build…
- Psalms 2:6
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 Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.