10<\/strong>. the thick boughs<\/em> ] the clouds.<\/p>\n 10 14<\/strong>. Because of his pride in his height he shall be cut down. Nebuchadnezzar, the mighty one of the nations, shall hew him to the ground, and the beasts shall feed on him. Such judgment must overtake any great tree that exalts itself into the heavens<\/p>\n Assyrias fall.<\/P> Eze 31:11<\/B><\/span><\/P> More accurately: Therefore I will deliver him, etc … he shall surely deal with him. I have driven him out, etc.<\/P> Eze 31:14<\/B><\/span><\/P> Their trees – <\/B>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. The substance is, that Assyrias fall was decreed in order that the mighty ones of the earth might learn not to exalt themselves in pride or to rely on themselves, seeing that they must share the common lot of mortality.<\/P> <\/p>\n Now you shall hear the sin and the fall of this great kingdom of Assyria. His mind could not longer bear so great prosperity, he lifts up himself, and in his pride forgets God who lifted him up and will cast him down. You have a specimen of it in that of Isa 10:7-20<\/span> Isa 36:9<\/span>,15<\/span>,18<\/span>. This, as other best framed politics, degenerated into pride and violence against neighbours, subjects, friends, as well as against enemies; though it was too much to despise man, yet it was intolerably more insolent to reproach God. It is but time to lop, nay, cut down this cedar, as Isa 10:33<\/span>, with Isa 37:36<\/span>,38<\/span>. <\/P> <\/p>\n 10. thou . . . he<\/B>The changeof persons is because the language refers partly to the cedar, partlyto the person signified by the cedar.<\/P><\/p>\n Therefore thus saith the Lord God<\/strong>,…. Having described the greatness of the Assyrian monarch; now follows the account of his fall, and the cause of it, pride:<\/p>\n because thou hast lifted up thyself in height<\/strong>; this is either an address to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who, though he did not rise up so high as the Assyrian monarch in glory and grandeur; yet he lifted up himself, and thought himself superior to any; which reason he must be brought down: or the words are directed to the Assyrian monarch, by a change of person frequent in Scripture; who, though he was raised by the Lord to the height of honour and dignity he was, yet ascribed it to himself:<\/p>\n and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs<\/strong>; the multitude of provinces over which he became head and governor;<\/p>\n [See comments on Eze 31:3]<\/span>:<\/p>\n and his heart is lifted up in his height<\/strong>; with pride, insolence, and contempt of God and men; of which see the instances in<\/p>\n Isa 10:8<\/span>.<\/p>\n The Felling of this Cedar, or the Overthrow of Asshur on Account of Its Pride<\/p>\n Eze 31:10<\/span>. Therefore thus said the Lord Jehovah, Because thou didst exalt thyself in height, and he stretched his top to the midst of the clouds, and his heart exalted itself in its height, <\/em> Eze 31:11<\/span>. I will give him into the hand of the prince of the nations; he shall deal with him: for his wickedness I rejected him. <\/em> Eze 31:12<\/span>. And strangers cut him down, violent ones of the nations, and cast him away: upon the mountains and in all the valleys his shoots fell, and his boughs were broken in pieces into all the deep places of the earth; and all the nations of the earth withdrew from his shadow, and let him lie. <\/em> Eze 31:13<\/span>. Upon his fallen trunk all the birds of the heaven settle, and all the beasts of the field are over his branches: <\/em> Eze 31:14<\/span>. That no trees by the water may exalt themselves on account of their height, or stretch their top to the midst of the clouds, and no water-drinkers stand upon themselves in their exaltation: for they are all given up to death into hell, in the midst of the children of men, to those that go into the grave.<\/em> – In the description of the cause of the overthrow of Asshur which commences with , the figurative language changes in the third clause into the literal fact, the towering of the cedar being interpreted as signifying the lifting up of the heart in his height, – that is to say, in his pride. In the first clause the tree itself is addressed; but in the clauses which follow, it is spoken of in the third person. The direct address in the first clause is to be explained from the vivid manner in which the fact presented itself. The divine sentence in Eze 31:10<\/span> and Eze 31:11<\/span> is not directed against Pharaoh, but against the Assyrian, who is depicted as a stately cedar; whilst the address in Eze 31:10<\/span><\/em>, and the imperfect (future) in Eze 31:11<\/span><\/em>, are both to be accounted for from the fact that the fall of Asshur is related in the form in which it was denounced on the part of Jehovah upon that imperial kingdom. The perfect is therefore a preterite here: the Lord said…for His part: because Asshur has exalted itself in the pride of its greatness, I give it up. The form is not to be changed into , but is defended against critical caprice by the imperfect which follows. That the penal sentence of God is not to be regarded as being first uttered in the time then present, but belongs to the past, – and therefore the words merely communicate what God had already spoken, – is clearly shown by the preterites commencing with , the historical tenses and , and the preterite , which must not be turned into futures in violation of grammar. does not mean, to be high in its height, which would be a tautology; but to exalt itself (be proud) in, or on account of, its height. And in the same way is also affirmed of the heart, in the sense of exultation from pride. For the fact itself, compare Isa 10:5<\/span>. does not mean God, but a powerful one of the nations, i.e., Nebuchadnezzar. is a simple appellative from , the strong one; and is neither a name of God nor a defective form for , the construct state of , a ram. For this defective form is only met with once in the case of , a ram, namely, in Job 42:8<\/span>, where we have the plural , and nowhere else; whereas, in the case of , , in the sense of a strong one, the scriptio plena <\/em> very frequently alternates with the defectiva <\/em>. Compare, for example, Job 42:8<\/span>, where both readings occur just as in this instance, where many MSS have (vid., de Rossi, variae lectt. ad h. l. <\/em>); also Exo 15:15<\/span> and Eze 17:13<\/span>, , compared with in Eze 32:21<\/span>, after the analogy of , 2Sa 22:29<\/span>, and , 2Ch 2:16<\/span>. is not a relative clause, “who should treat him ill,” nor is the w relat<\/em>. omitted on account of the preceding , as Hitzig imagines; but it is an independent sentence, and is a forcible expression for the imperative: he will deal with him, equivalent to, “let him deal with him.” , to do anything to a person, used here as it frequently is in an evil sense; compare Psa 56:5<\/span>. -or , which Norzi and Abarbanel (in de Rossi, variae lectt. ad. h. l. <\/em>) uphold as the reading of many of the more exact manuscripts and editions – belongs to : for, or according to, his wickedness, I rejected him.<\/p>\n In Eze 31:12<\/span> the figure of the tree is resumed; and the extinction of the Assyrian empire is described as the cutting down of the proud cedar. as in Eze 28:7<\/span> and Eze 30:11-12<\/span>. : they cast him away and let him lie, as in Eze 29:5<\/span>; Eze 32:4<\/span>; so that in the first sentence the idea of casting away predominates, and in the second that of letting lie. By the casting away, the tree became so shattered to atoms that its boughs and branches fell upon the mountains and on the low ground and valleys of the earth, and the nations which had sat under its shadow withdrew. (they descended) is to be explained from the idea that the three had grown upon a high mountain (namely Lebanon); and Hitzig is mistaken in his conjecture that was the original reading, as , to fly, is not an appropriate expression for . On the falling of the tree, the birds which had made their nests in its branches naturally flew away. If, then, in Eze 31:13<\/span>, birds and beasts are said to settle upon the fallen trunk, as several of the commentators have correctly observed, the description is based upon the idea of a corpse, a (Jdg 14:8<\/span>), around which both birds and beasts of prey gather together to tear it in pieces (cf. Eze 32:4<\/span> and Isa 18:6<\/span>). , to come towards or over any one, to be above it. The thought expressed is, that many nations took advantage of the fall of Asshur and rose into new life upon its ruins. – Eze 31:14<\/span>. This fate was prepared for Asshur in order that henceforth no tree should grow up to the sky any more, i.e., that no powerful one of this earth (no king or prince) should strive after superhuman greatness and might. is dependent upon in Eze 31:11<\/span>; for Eze 31:12<\/span> and Eze 31:13<\/span> are simply a further expansion of the thought expressed in that word. are trees growing near the water, and therefore nourished by water. For ‘ , see Eze 31:10<\/span>. The words ‘ are difficult. As , with Tzere<\/em> under , to which the Masora<\/em> calls attention, cannot be the preposition with the suffix, many have taken to be a noun, in the sense of fortes, principes <\/em>, or terebinthi <\/em> (vid., Isa 61:3<\/span>), and have rendered the clause either ut non perstent terebinthi eorum in altitudine sua, <\/em> o mnes (ceterae arbores) bibentes aquam <\/em> (Vatabl., Starck, Maurer, and Kliefoth), or, that their princes may not lift themselves up in their pride, all the drinkers of water (Hvernick). But both renderings founder on the simple fact that they leave the suffix in either unnoticed or unexplained. As only the trees of the water have been spoken of previously, the suffix must be taken as referring to them. But the water-trees have neither terebinths nor princes; on the contrary, these are what they must either be, or signify. Terebinths, or princes of the water-trees, would be senseless ideas. Ewald has therefore taken as the object, and rendered it thus: “and (that) no water-drinkers may contend with their gods in their pride.” He has not proved, however, but has simply asserted, that is to endure = to contend (!). The only remaining course is to follow the lxx, Targum, and many commentators, and to take as a pronoun, and point it . : to station oneself against, or upon = (Eze 33:26<\/span>), in the sense of resting, or relying upon anything. The suffix is to be taken in a reflective sense, as in Eze 34:2<\/span>, etc. (vid., Ewald, 314 c<\/em>), and precedes the noun to which it refers, as in Pro 14:20<\/span> for example. , as in Eze 31:10<\/span>, referring to pride. , the subject of the sentence, is really synonymous with , except that the figure of the tree falls into the background behind the fact portrayed. The rendering of the Berleburg Bible is very good: “and no trees abounding in water stand upon themselves (rely upon themselves) on account of their height.” The water-drinkers are princes of this earth who have attained to great power through rich resources. “As a tree grows through the moisture of water, so men are accustomed to become proud through their abundance, not reflecting that these waters have been supplied to them by God” (Starck). The reason for this warning against proud self-exaltation is given in Eze 31:14<\/span><\/em> in the general statement, that all the proud great ones of this earth are delivered up to death. , all of them, the water-drinkers or water-trees already named, by whom kings, earthly potentates, are intended. = (Eze 26:20<\/span>). : in the midst of the children of men, i.e., like all other men. “Thus the prophet teaches that princes must die as well as the people, that death and decomposition are common to both. Hence he takes all ground of proud boasting away” (Starck).<\/p>\n The King of Assyria’s Downfall; The Fall of Assyria.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/I><\/span><\/P> <\/TD> B. C.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> 588.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> <\/TABLE> 10 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD<\/B>; 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; 11 I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen; he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out for his wickedness. 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. 13 Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven remain, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches: 14 To the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves for their height, neither shoot up their top among the thick boughs, neither their trees stand up in their height, all that drink water: for they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit. 15 Thus saith the Lord GOD<\/B>; In the day when he went down to the grave I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the floods thereof, and the great waters were stayed: and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him. 16 I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth. 17 They also went down into hell with him unto them that be<\/I> slain with the sword; and they that were<\/I> his arm, that<\/I> dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen. 18 To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that be<\/I> slain by the sword. This is<\/I> Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD<\/B>.<\/P> We have seen the king of Egypt resembling the king of Assyria in pomp, and power, and prosperity, how like he was to him in his greatness; now here we see,<\/P> I. How he does likewise resemble him in his pride, v.<\/I><\/span> 10<\/span>. For, as face answers to face in a glass, so does one corrupt carnal heart to another; and the same temptations of a prosperous state by which some are overcome are fatal to many others too. “Thou,<\/I> O king of Egypt! hast lifted up thyself in height,<\/I> hast been proud of thy wealth and power, ch.<\/I><\/span> xxix. 3<\/span>. And just so he<\/I> (that is, the king of Assyria); when he had shot up his top among the thick boughs his heart<\/I> was immediately lifted up in his height,<\/I> and he grew insolent and imperious, set God himself at defiance, and trampled upon his people;” witness the messages and letter which the great king, the king of Assyria,<\/I> sent to Hezekiah, Isa. xxxvi. 4<\/span>. How haughtily does he speak of himself and his own achievements! how scornfully of that great and good man! 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<\/span>); but here that sin is traced up to its cause, and that was pride; for it is the contempt of the proud<\/I> that they are filled with.<\/I> Note, When men’s outward condition rises their minds commonly rise with it; and it is very rare to find a humble spirit in the midst of great advancements.<\/P> II. How he shall therefore resemble him in his fall; and for the opening of this part of the comparison,<\/P> 1. Here is a history of the fall of the king of Assyria. For his part, says God (v.<\/I><\/span> 11<\/span>), I have therefore,<\/I> because he was thus lifted up, delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen.<\/I> Cyaxares, king of the Medes, in the twenty-sixth year of his reign, in conjunction with Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the first year of his reign, destroyed Nineveh, and with it the Assyrian empire. Nebuchadnezzar, though he was not then, yet afterwards became, very emphatically, the mighty one of the heathen,<\/I> most mighty among them and most mighty over them, to prevail against them.<\/P> (1.) Respecting the fall of the Assyrian three things are affirmed:– [1.] It is God himself that orders his ruin: I have delivered him into the hand<\/I> of the executioner; I have driven him out.<\/I> Note, God is the Judge, who puts down one and sets up another (Ps. lxxv. 7<\/span>); and when he pleases he can extirpate and expel those who think themselves, and seem to others, to have taken deepest root. And the mightiest ones of the heathens could not gain their point against those they contended with if the Almighty did not himself deliver them into their hands. [2.] It is his own sin that procures his ruin: I have driven him out for his wickedness.<\/I> None are driven out from their honour, power, and possessions, but it is for their wickedness.<\/I> None of our comforts are ever lost but what have been a thousand times forfeited. If the wicked are driven away,<\/I> it is in their wickedness.<\/I> [3.] It is a mighty one of the heathen<\/I> that shall be the instrument of his ruin; for God often employs one wicked man in punishing another. He shall surely deal with him,<\/I> shall know how to manage him, great as he is. Note, Proud imperious men will, sooner or later, meet with their match.<\/P> (2.) In this history of the fall of the Assyrian observe, [1.] A continuation of the similitude of the cedar. He grew very high, and extended his boughs very far; but his day comes to fall. First,<\/I> This stately cedar was cropped: The terrible of the nations cut him off.<\/I> Soldiers, who being both armed and commissioned to kill, and slay, and destroy, may well be reckoned among the terrible of the nations.<\/I> They have lopped off his branches first, have seized upon some parts of his dominion and forced them out of his hands; so that in all mountains<\/I> and valleys<\/I> of the nations about, in the high-lands and low-lands, and by all the rivers,<\/I> there were cities or countries that were broken off from the Assyrian monarchy, that had been subject to it, but had either revolted or were recovered from it. Its feathers were borrowed; and, when every bird had fetched back its own, it was naked like the stump of a tree. Secondly,<\/I> It was deserted: All the people of the earth,<\/I> that had fled to him for shelter, have gone down from his shadow and have left him.<\/I> When he was disabled to give them protection they thought they no longer owed him allegiance. Let not great men be proud of the number of those that attend them and have a dependence upon them; it is only for what they can get. When Providence frowns upon them their retinue is soon dispersed and scattered from them. Thirdly,<\/I> It was insulted over, and its fall triumphed in (v.<\/I><\/span> 13<\/span>): Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven remain,<\/I> to tread upon the broken branches of this cedar. Its fall is triumphed in by the other trees, who were angry to see themselves overtopped so much: All the trees of Eden,<\/I> that were cut down and had fallen before him, all that drank water<\/I> of the rain of heaven, as the stump of the tree that is left in the south<\/I> is said to be wet with the dew of heaven<\/I> (Dan. iv. 23<\/span>) and to bud through the scent of water<\/I> (Job xiv. 9<\/span>), shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth<\/I> when they see this proud cedar brought as low as themselves. Solamen miseris socios habuisse doloris<\/I>—To have companions in woe is a solace to those who suffer.<\/I> But, on the contrary, the trees of Lebanon, that are yet standing in their height and strength, mourned for him,<\/I> and the trees of the field fainted for him,<\/I> because they could not but read their own destiny in his fall. Howl, fir-trees, if the cedar be shaken,<\/I> for they cannot expect to stand long, Zech. xi. 2<\/span>. [2.] An explanation of the similitude of the cedar. By the cutting down of this cedar is signified the slaughter of this mighty monarch and all his adherents and supporters; they are all delivered to death,<\/I> to fall by the sword, as the cedar by the axe. He and his princes, who, he said, were altogether kings,<\/I> go down to the grace, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men,<\/I> as common persons of no quality or distinction. They died like men<\/I> (Ps. lxxxii. 7<\/span>); they were carried away with those that go down to the pit,<\/I> and their pomp did neither protect them nor descend after them.<\/I> Again (v.<\/I><\/span> 16<\/span>), He was cast down to hell with those that descend into the pit;<\/I> he went into the state of the dead, and was buried as others are, in obscurity and oblivion. Again (v.<\/I><\/span> 17<\/span>), They all that were his arm,<\/I> on whom he stayed, by whom he acted and exerted his power, all that dwelt under his shadow,<\/I> his subjects and allies, and all that had any dependence on him, they all went down<\/I> into ruin, down into the grace with him, unto those that were slain with the sword,<\/I> to those that were cut off by untimely deaths before them, under the load of guilt and shame. When great men fall a great many fall with them, as a great many in like manner have fallen before them. [3.] What God designed, and aimed at, in bringing down this mighty monarch and his monarchy. He designed thereby, First, To give an alarm<\/I> to the nations about, to put them all to a stand, to put them all to a gaze (v.<\/I><\/span> 16<\/span>): I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall.<\/I> They were all struck with astonishment to see so mighty a prince brought down thus. It give a shock to all their confidences, every one thinking his turn would be next. When he went down to the grace<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 15<\/span>) I caused a mourning,<\/I> a general lamentation, as the whole kingdom goes into mourning at the death of the king. In token of this general grief, I covered the deep for him,<\/I> put that into black, gave a stop to business, in complaisance to this universal mourning. I restrained the floods, and the great waters were stayed,<\/I> that they might run into another channel, that of lamentation. Lebanon particularly, the kingdom of Syria, that was sometimes in confederacy with the Assyrian, mourned for him; as the allies of Babylon, Rev. xviii. 9<\/span>. Secondly,<\/I> To give an admonition to the nations about, and to their kings (v.<\/I><\/span> 14<\/span>): To the end that none of all the trees by the waters,<\/I> though ever so advantageously situated, may exalt themselves for their height,<\/I> may be proud and conceited of themselves and shoot up their top among the thick boughs,<\/I> looking disdainfully upon others, nor stand upon themselves for their height,<\/I> confiding in their own politics and powers, as if they could never be brought down. Let them all take warning by the Assyrian, for he once held up his head as high, and thought he kept his footing as firm, as any of them; but his pride went before his destruction, and his confidence failed him. Note, The fall of proud presumptuous men is intended for warning to others to keep humble. It would have been well for Nebuchadnezzar, who was himself active in bringing down the Assyrian, if he had taken the admonition.<\/P> 2. Here is a prophecy of the fall of the king of Egypt in like manner, v.<\/I><\/span> 18<\/span>. He thought himself like the Assyrian in glory and greatness,<\/I> over-topping all the trees of Eden,<\/I> as the cypress does the shrubs. “But thou<\/I> also shalt be brought down,<\/I> with the other trees that are pleasant to the sight, as those in Eden. Thou shalt be brought to the grave,<\/I> to the nether or lower parts of the earth;<\/I> thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised,<\/I> that die in their uncleanness, die ingloriously, die under a curse and at a distance from God; then shall those whom thou hast trampled upon triumph over thee, saying, This is Pharaoh and all his multitude.<\/I> See how mean he looks, how low he lies; see what all his pomp and pride have come to; here is all that is left of him.” Note, Great men and great multitudes, with the great figure and great noise they make in the world, when God comes to contend with them, will soon become little, less than nothing, such as Pharaoh and all his multitude.<\/P><\/p>\n B. The Downfall of the Tree 31:1014<\/p>\n TRANSLATION<\/strong><\/p>\n (10) Therefore, thus says the Lord CX)D: Because YOU were exalted in height, and he has set his top among the thick boughs, and his heart was lifted up in his height; (11) therefore, I will give him into the hand of the mighty one of the nations; he will surely deal with him in the midst of his wickedness; I have driven him out. (12) And strangers, the most ruthless of the nations, have cut him off, and have cast him down; upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches have fallen, and his boughs are broken in all the channels of the land; and all the peoples of the earth have gone down from his shadow, and have left him. (13) Upon his carcass all the birds of the heavens shall dwell, and upon his boughs every beast of the field; (14) to the end that no tree by the waters shall exalt itself in its height, nor set its top among the thick boughs, nor their mighty ones stand up in their height, even all who drink water; for they are all given over to death, unto the lower parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with those who go down to the pit.<\/p>\n COMMENTS<\/strong><\/p>\n Because the Assyrian had manifested such arrogant pride (Eze. 31:10<\/span>) God would deliver him into the hand of the mighty one of the nations, i.e., Nebuchadnezzar. The Assyrian would be driven out of the garden of God as surely as Adam had been driven out of primeval Eden (Eze. 31:11<\/span>). The most ruthless of foreign invaders (cf. Eze. 28:7<\/span>) would fell that cedar and abandon it as something useless. The boughs of that once glorious tree the Assyrian armies would be broken and dispersed about the countryside. Those vassal states which had resided in the protective shadow of Assyria would now desert their master (Eze. 31:12<\/span>). The birds and beasts would feed upon the dead bodies of the Assyrian soldiers (Eze. 31:13<\/span>). All of this would befall Assyria so that other trees (nations) in the world would not be tempted to follow her example. Nations, like men, are mortal; they die. They depart the scene of history to descend, as it were, into Sheol the pit the abode of the dead (Eze. 31:14<\/span>).<\/p>\n (10) Among the thick boughs.<\/strong>The clouds,<\/em> as in Eze. 31:3<\/span>; Eze. 31:14<\/span>, and Eze. 19:11<\/span>. As Eze. 31:3-9<\/span> have described Assyrias greatness, so Eze. 31:10-14<\/span> speak of her fall. This was now a past event, yet is in part poetically spoken of in the future (Eze. 31:11<\/span>; Eze. 31:13<\/span>), making the whole more graphic and effective. The future may also have been used because the object of this parable is not Assyria, but Egypt, whose fall was still to come. At the outset Assyria is directly addressed in the second person in the vividness of the description, but the third person is used afterwards. The ground of the judgment upon Assyria is its pride, on which 2Ki. 18:32-35<\/span> may be considered a commentary.<\/p>\n The Downfall of Pharaoh and Egypt Because of Their Wickedness ( Eze 31:10-14<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> ).<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n ‘Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh, “Because you are exalted in height, and he has set his top among the interweaving boughs, and his heart is lifted up because of his height, I will even deliver him into the hand of the mighty one of the nations. He will surely deal with him. I have driven him out for his wickedness. And strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him. On the mountains and in all the valleys his branches have fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the watercourses of the land, and all the people of the earth have deserted his shadow and have left him.” ’<\/p>\n The passage begins by addressing Pharaoh and his great people and then immediately turns into the third person to speak to all. What was to happen was because in their uplifting and plenty they had been over-proud, had exalted themselves above others and had behaved wickedly. Thus they were to be delivered into the hands of ‘the mighty one of the nations’ and ‘the terrible of the nations’. This refers to Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon (compare Eze 28:7<\/span>; Eze 30:11<\/span>).<\/p>\n Note that it is Yahweh Who will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, and it will be Yahweh Who has ‘driven him out’ for his wickedness. He is acting as Righteous Judge and Supreme Overlord, (as He will later against Babylon), and Nebuchadnezzar is at present His servant and His means of exacting justice.<\/p>\n The picture is a vivid one. The branches of the great Cypress would be cut off, falling in the mountains and valleys, and into the different rivers and channels, and the Cypress will no longer be great and impressive. Egypt which had for millenniums been great and exalted would be so no more. It would be stunted, and no longer provide shelter for others. Those who do not use what they have for good will eventually lose it.<\/p>\n The Lesson of Assyria’s Fall<\/p>\n v. 10. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God,<\/strong> here addressing the king of Assyria directly, although the object, bringing home the lesson to Pharaoh by means of the message, is unmistakable, because thou hast lifted up thyself in height,<\/strong> in blasphemous high-mindedness on account of a prosperity which was nothing but a gift from above, and he,<\/strong> the address here turning to the third person, hath shot up his top among the thick boughs,<\/strong> up into the very clouds, and his heart is lifted up in his height,<\/strong> in sinful and insulting pride, <\/p>\n v. 11. I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen,<\/strong> namely, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon; he shall surely deal with him,<\/strong> literally, “he will do, do to him,” or, in modern form, he will surely do away with him; I have driven him out for his wickedness,<\/strong> the Lord rejecting Assyria from before His face. <\/p>\n v. 12. And strangers,<\/strong> foreign invaders, the terrible of the nations,<\/strong> the Chaldean soldiers, known for their fierceness, have cut him off and have left him,<\/strong> the picture of a tree that is felled being retained here; upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen,<\/strong> all the tributary nations and provinces being lopped off, and his boughs,<\/strong> all the colonies and dependent cities, are broken by all the rivers of the land,<\/strong> as when a mighty tree, in falling down the mountainside, is shattered into little pieces; and all the people of the earth,<\/strong> formerly in dependence upon Assyria, are gone down from his shadow and have left him. <\/p>\n v. 13. Upon his ruin,<\/strong> as he has fallen headlong, thus presenting the picture of a carcass, shall all the fowls of the heaven remain, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches,<\/strong> the very ones that had formerly been under his dominion now turning to birds and beasts of prey in tearing the carcass to pieces, that is, in deriving life from Assyria’s downfall, in building themselves up on its ruins: <\/p>\n v. 14. to the end,<\/strong> with this final object in mind, that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves for their height,<\/strong> all other nations profiting by the example of Assyria, neither shoot up their top among the thick boughs,<\/strong> between the very clouds of the sky, neither their trees stand up in their height,<\/strong> in the same sinful pride, Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n