Ezekiel 31:4
in Ezekiel 31The waters made it grow; the deep springs made it tall, directing their streams all around its base and sending their channels to all the trees of the field.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The waters nourished it, the deep made it to grow: the rivers thereof ran round about its plantation; and it sent out its channels unto all the trees of the field.
KJV
The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field.
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This verse in Ezekiel 31
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThe waters made him great - Alluding to the fertility of Egypt by the overflowing of the Nile. But waters often mean peoples. By means of the different nations under the Egyptians, that government became very opulent. These nations are represented as fowls and beasts, taking shelter under the protection of this great political Egyptian tree, Eze 31:6.
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.
This site's exposition
the deep springs made it tall
The deep translates tehom, the word for the great waters of Genesis 1:2. The tree owes its height to a gift. Its channels running out to the other trees picture an empire whose wealth flowed on to the nations beneath it.
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
20 ), they would be serviceable and faithful to him. Those that have wealth flowing upon them in great rivers find themselves obliged to send it out again in little rivers; for, as goods are increased, those are increased that eat them, and the more men have the more occasion they have for it; yea, and still the more they have occasion for.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
The waters made him great,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
waters . . . little rivers--the Tigris with its branches and "rivulets," or "conduits" for irrigation, the source of Assyria's fertility. "The deep" is the ever flowing water, never dry. Metaphorically, for Assyria's resources, as the "conduits" are her colonies.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מַ֣יִם | mayim | waters | H4325 → | 581 times |
| גִּדְּל֔וּהוּ | gideluhu | they made grow it | H1431 → | 117 times |
| תְּה֖וֹם | tehom | [the] deep | H8415 → | 36 times |
| רֹֽמְמָ֑תְהוּ | romematehu | it raised up it | H7311 → | 190 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| נַהֲרֹתֶ֗יהָ | naharoteiha | rivers its | H5104 → | 119 times |
| הֹלֵךְ֙ | holekh | going | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| סְבִיב֣וֹת | sevivot | around | H5439 → | 336 times |
| מַטָּעָ֔הּ | mataah | planting place its | H4302 → | 6 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| תְּעָלֹתֶ֣יהָ | tealoteiha | channels its | H8585 → | |
| שִׁלְחָ֔ה | shilchah | it sent out | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֶ֖ל | ʾel | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עֲצֵ֥י | ʾatzei | [the] trees of | H6086 → | 328 times |
| הַשָּׂדֶֽה׃ | hasadeh | the field | H7704 → | 334 times |
מַ֣יִםwaters
mayimH4325 →581 times
גִּדְּל֔וּהוּthey made grow it
gideluhuH1431 →117 times
תְּה֖וֹם[the] deep
tehomH8415 →36 times
רֹֽמְמָ֑תְהוּit raised up it
romematehuH7311 →190 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
נַהֲרֹתֶ֗יהָrivers its
naharoteihaH5104 →119 times
הֹלֵךְ֙going
holekhH1980 →1546 times
סְבִיב֣וֹתaround
sevivotH5439 →336 times
מַטָּעָ֔הּplanting place its
mataahH4302 →6 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
תְּעָלֹתֶ֣יהָchannels its
tealoteihaH8585 →
שִׁלְחָ֔הit sent out
shilchahH7971 →845 times
אֶ֖לto
ʾelH413 →5510 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
עֲצֵ֥י[the] trees of
ʾatzeiH6086 →328 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
Revelation 17:1Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 51:13
You who dwell by many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come; the thread of your life is cut.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 19:2
For His judgments are true and just. He has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality. He has avenged the blood of His servants that was poured out by her…
- Revelation 17:1–17
Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters.
- Revelation 16:19
The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. And God remembered Babylon the great and gave her the cup of the wine of the fury of His…
- Revelation 21:9
Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls full of the seven final plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
- Jeremiah 51:13
Through
Revelation 17:15Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute was seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.
it leads to
- Revelation 17:1
Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters.
- Revelation 17:1
Through
Proverbs 14:28A large population is a king’s splendor, but a lack of subjects is a prince’s ruin.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 4:20–21
The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore, and they were eating and drinking and rejoicing.
- 1 Kings 4:20–21
Through
Ezekiel 17:5He took some of the seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil; he placed it by abundant waters and set it out like a willow.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 8:7–9
For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks and fountains and springs that flow through the valleys and hills;
- Deuteronomy 8:7–9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Ezekiel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.
