Ezekiel 31: The Cedar That Fell
Egypt is warned by the parable of Assyria, a towering cedar whose height lifted up its heart, until God cut it down to the pit.
Ezekiel 31 (WEB)
1 In the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month, Yahweh’s word came to me, saying,
2 Son of man, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude: Whom are you like in your greatness?
3 Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with beautiful branches, and with a forest-like shade, and of high stature; and its top was among the thick boughs.
4 The waters nourished it, the deep made it to grow: its rivers ran all around its plantation; and it sent out its channels to all the trees of the field.
5 Therefore its stature was exalted above all the trees of the field; and its boughs were multiplied, and its branches became long by reason of many waters, when it spread them out.
6 All the birds of the sky made their nests in its boughs; and under its branches all the animals of the field gave birth to their young; and all great nations lived under its shadow.
7 Thus was it beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches; for its root was by many waters.
8 The cedars in the garden of God could not hide it; the fir trees were not like its boughs, and the plane trees were not as its branches; nor was any tree in the garden of God like it in its beauty.
9 I made it beautiful by the multitude of its branches, so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied it.
10 Therefore thus said the Lord Yahweh: Because you are exalted in stature, and he has set his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height;
11 I will even deliver him into the hand of the mighty one of the nations; he shall surely deal with him; I have driven him out for his wickedness.
12 Strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him: on the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the watercourses of the land; and all the peoples of the earth are gone down from his shadow, and have left him.
13 On his ruin all the birds of the sky shall dwell, and all the animals of the field shall be on his branches;
14 to the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves in their stature, neither set their top among the thick boughs, nor that their mighty ones stand up on their height, even all who drink water: for they are all delivered to death, to the lower parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with those who go down to the pit.
15 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: In the day when he went down to Sheol I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained its rivers; 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 Sheol with those who descend into the pit; and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the lower parts of the earth.
17 They also went down into Sheol with him to those who are slain by the sword; yes, those who were his arm, who lived under his shadow in the midst of the nations.
18 To whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet you will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the lower parts of the earth: you shall lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, says the Lord Yahweh.
Ezekiel 31 (KJV)
1 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness?
3 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.
4 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.
5 Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth.
6 All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations.
7 Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by great waters.
8 The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chesnut trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty.
9 I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him.
10 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; 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; 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 slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, that 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 slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord God.
Ezekiel 31 (ASV)
1 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the thirdmonth, in the firstdayof the month, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, say unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude: Whom art thou like in thy greatness?
3 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.
4 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.
5 Therefore its stature was exalted above all the trees of the field; and its boughs were multiplied, and its branches became long by reason of many waters, when it shot them forth.
6 All the birds of the heavens made their nests in its boughs; and under its branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young; and under its shadow dwelt all great nations.
7 Thus was it fair in its greatness, in the length of its branches; for its root was by many waters.
8 The cedars in the garden of God could not hide it; the fir-trees were not like its boughs, and the plane-trees were not as its branches; nor was any tree in the garden of God like unto it in its beauty.
9 I made it fair by the multitude of its branches, so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied it.
10 Therefore thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because thou art exalted in stature, and he hath set his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height;
11 I will even deliver him into the hand of the mighty one of the nations; 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 watercourses of the land; and all the peoples of the earth are gone down from his shadow, and have left him.
13 Upon his ruin all the birds of the heavens shall dwell, 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 in their stature, neither set their top among the thick boughs, nor that their mighty ones stand up in their height, even 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 Jehovah: In the day when he went down to Sheol I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the rivers 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 Sheol with them that descend into the pit; and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the nether parts of the earth.
17 They also went down into Sheol with him unto them that are slain by the sword; yea, they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the nations.
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 are slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord Jehovah.
Summary
The Lord poses a question to Pharaoh and his multitude: “Whom are you like in your greatness?” The answer comes in the form of a parable about Assyria, pictured as a magnificent cedar in Lebanon. Its top reached among the clouds, its branches spread wide, the deep waters nourished it, and all the birds of the sky nested in its boughs while the nations of the earth lived in its shade. It was more beautiful than any tree in the garden of God, so that all the trees of Eden envied it. But because its heart was lifted up in its height, God handed it over to the mightiest of the nations to be cut down. Strangers felled it; its branches fell on the mountains and in the valleys, and the peoples who had sheltered under it departed. When the great cedar went down to Sheol, God made the deep mourn and the nations shake at the sound of its fall, and the trees of Eden were comforted to find that even this greatest of trees joined them in the pit. The lesson is pointed: Pharaoh and all his multitude, for all their glory, will be brought down in just the same way.
Key Figures
- Yahweh (the LORD) — The God who tends the trees of the nations and brings down the proud cedar, warning Egypt by the example of fallen Assyria.
- Pharaoh and his multitude — The king of Egypt and his people, asked “Whom are you like in your greatness?” and warned that they will share the cedar's fate.
- Assyria, the great cedar — The once-towering empire pictured as a cedar of Eden, beautiful and sheltering, whose lifted-up heart brought it crashing down to the pit.
- The nations in its shade — The peoples who lived under the cedar's branches and departed when it fell, picturing how empires gather and then abandon those who depend on them.
Key Verse
Ezekiel 31:10 (WEB)
Therefore thus said the Lord Yahweh: Because you are exalted in stature, and he has set his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height;
Lessons Learned
- The greatness God gives is meant to bless others, not to lift up our hearts in pride.
- Those who shelter under human greatness will scatter when it falls.
- History is a graveyard of empires that thought themselves too great to fall.
- God brings down the lofty, and the warnings of the past are mercy to the present.
- Greatness is a gift, not a possession. “I made it beautiful by the multitude of its branches” (Ezekiel 31:9, WEB). Whatever height we reach is given by God and held in trust.
- A lifted-up heart invites a fall. “His heart is lifted up in his height” (Ezekiel 31:10, WEB) is the reason given for the cedar's ruin. Pride is the disease at the root of every collapse.
- What shelters us is not our security. When the cedar fell, “all the peoples of the earth are gone down from his shadow” (Ezekiel 31:12, WEB). The powers people rely on cannot hold them when judgment comes.
- Past judgments warn the present. Egypt is shown Assyria's fall so it will not presume on its own glory (Ezekiel 31:18, WEB). God's dealings with others are meant to humble and instruct us.
- Why does God answer the question about Egypt's greatness with a parable about Assyria?
- What made the great cedar so magnificent, and where did its downfall begin?
- What happens to the birds and nations that sheltered under the cedar when it falls?
- How is Assyria's fall meant to be a warning to Pharaoh and Egypt?
- What “heights” in your own life could quietly lift up your heart in pride?
- Assyria had been the dominant empire and had already fallen, so it serves as a living illustration. God essentially says to Egypt: look at the greatest tree of all, and look where it now lies. The parable lets Egypt see its own future in another's past.
- The cedar was beautiful, towering, well-watered, and sheltering, the envy even of the trees of Eden (31:3-9). Its downfall began not with weakness but with pride: “his heart is lifted up in his height” (31:10). Glory itself became the occasion for arrogance.
- When the cedar is cut down, the birds and the nations that lived in its shade depart and go down from its shadow (31:12-13). Those who depend on human greatness are left exposed when it collapses, a sober picture of misplaced trust.
- The whole parable presses toward verse 18: “This is Pharaoh and all his multitude.” If the mightiest empire could be felled for its pride, Egypt has no grounds for confidence. God holds up Assyria's grave as a mirror to warn Egypt away from the same fate.
- This is a gentle personal-application question. Invite members to identify the achievements, roles, or strengths that most tempt them toward a lifted-up heart, and to ask God to keep them humble. Encourage them to receive their gifts with gratitude and to use them to shelter and serve others.