Ezekiel 31:8

Translations

Modern

The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it; the cypresses could not compare with its branches, nor the plane trees match its boughs. No tree in the garden of God could compare with its beauty.

Traditional

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.

Literal

The cedars could not darken it in the garden of God; the fir trees were not like unto its boughs, and the plane trees were not like its branches; there was no tree in the garden of God, not any like it in its beauty.

Latin

Cedri non fuerunt altiores illo in paradiso Dei; abietes non adæquaverunt summitatem ejus, et platani non fuerunt æquæ frondibus illius: omne lignum paradisi Dei non est assimilatum illi, et pulchritudini ejus.

Original

Hebrew

English

The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it; the cypresses could not compare with its branches, nor the plane trees match its boughs. No tree in the garden of God could compare with its beauty.

Notes

Ezekiel 31:1–18

Ezekiel asked the Egyptians to compare themselves to Assyria, which was like a great tree in Eden (Ezekiel 31:9). If that tree was cut down and sent to the underworld, how could Egypt, whose glory was less than Assyria's, believe it could survive?

Ezekiel 29:1–32:32

The seventh and final message of judgment against the nations targets Egypt, an old enemy and ally of Israel. This message is the longest and, like the one against Tyre, it addresses both Egypt and its ruler.
Egypt often tempted Israel and Judah to turn away from their loyalty to the Lord. Soon after leaving Egypt, Israel fell into the trap of Egypt's idolatry. Egypt led Judah to rely on chariots and horses instead of the Lord, but Egypt was unreliable when it mattered most. The Lord judged Egypt for leading his people astray (compare Luke 17:1–2).

Ezekiel 25:1–32:32

This section contains a series of messages of judgment against nearby nations. There are six shorter messages against Judah's immediate neighbors, arranged in a clockwise order, followed by a final message against Egypt (Ezekiel 30–32). Through experiencing God's judgment, the nations would recognize God's control over everything. The nations might be used to carry out God's judgment on his people, but they would not avoid judgment themselves.
One of the main purposes of these messages was to show that the negative part of God's promise to Abraham ("I will … curse those who curse you," Genesis 12:3) was still active. No one can harm God's people and avoid consequences, even when God's people are under his judgment.

Theme notes and profiles

Messages Against the Nations

Events

Prophecies of Ezekielc. 593 BC

Related verses

Ezekiel 28:13
You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold, prepared on the day of your creation.
Psalm 80:10
The mountains were covered by its shade, and the mighty cedars with its branches.
Genesis 13:10
And Lot looked out and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan, all the way to Zoar, was well watered like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)
Isaiah 51:3
For the LORD will comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; He will make her wilderness like Eden and her desert like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and melodious song.
Ezekiel 31:16
I made the nations quake at the sound of its downfall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who descend to the Pit. Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, all the well-watered trees, were consoled in the earth below.
Genesis 2:8–9
And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, where He placed the man He had formed.
Ezekiel 31:18
Who 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 will lie among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord GOD.’”
Isaiah 36:4–18
The Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah that this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: What is the basis of this confidence of yours?
Isaiah 10:7–14
But this is not his intention; this is not his plan. For it is in his heart to destroy and cut off many nations.
Psalm 37:35
I have seen a wicked, ruthless man flourishing like a well-rooted native tree,
Isaiah 37:11–13
Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the other countries, devoting them to destruction. Will you then be spared?

Glossary

Book of Jeremiah Cedar Chestnut Ezekiel, Book of Hophra Lord Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadrezzar Pine Tree Plane Tree

Topics

Assyria: The Greatness, Extent, Duration, and Fall, Illustrated Chestnut Tree: General Scriptures Concerning Trees of Kings Trees: Chestnut

Ezekiel 31:8

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