Ezekiel 31:1-3
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 31
Allegory of the Cedar. 1 On the first day of the third month in the eleventh year,[a] the word of the Lord came to me: 2 Son of man, say to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to his hordes: In your greatness, whom do you resemble?
3 Assyria! It is Assyria![b]
A cedar of Lebanon—
Beautiful branches,
thick shade,
Towering heights,
its crown in the clouds!(A)
Footnotes
- 31:1 The first day of the third month in the eleventh year: June 21, 587 B.C.
- 31:3 Assyria: this translates te’ashshur, which some interpret as “cypress tree.” The oracle, however, compares the fate of Pharaoh to the terrible demise of Assyria because of its arrogant pride (cf. Na 1–3). Ezekiel may have drawn on an ancient myth of a cosmic tree of life to emphasize the greatness of Egypt’s fall.
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