Ezekiel 31:3–17

³Behold, ^xAssyria was a ^ycedar in ^zLebanon,

with beautiful branches and ^aforest shade,

^band of towering height,

its top among the clouds.¹

⁴The waters nourished it;

the deep made it grow tall,

making ^cits rivers flow

around the place of its planting,

sending forth its streams

to all the trees of the field.

⁵So ^dit towered high

above all the trees of the field;

its boughs grew large

and its branches long

from ^eabundant water in its shoots.

^6fAll the birds of the heavens

made their nests in its boughs;

under its branches all the beasts of the field

gave birth to their young,

and under its shadow

lived all great nations.

⁷It was ^gbeautiful in its greatness,

in the length of its branches;

^efor its roots went down

to abundant waters.

^8hThe cedars ⁱin the garden of God could not rival it,

nor the fir trees equal its boughs;

neither were the plane trees

like its branches;

no tree ⁱin the garden of God

was its equal in beauty.

⁹I made it beautiful

in the mass of its branches,

and all the trees of ^jEden envied it,

that were in the garden of God.

¹⁰“Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because ^kit² towered high and set its top among the clouds,³ and ^lits heart was proud of its height, ¹¹I will give it into the hand of a mighty one of the nations. He shall surely deal with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out. ^12mForeigners, ^mthe most ruthless of nations, have cut it down and left it. ⁿOn the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs have been broken in all ^othe ravines of the land, and ^pall the peoples of the earth have gone away from its shadow and left it. ^13qOn its fallen trunk dwell all the birds of the heavens, and on its branches are all the beasts of the field. ^14rAll this is in order that no trees by the waters may grow to towering height or set their tops among the clouds,⁴ and that no trees that drink water may reach up to them in height. For they are all given over to death, ^sto the world ^tbelow, among the children of man,⁵ with those who go down to the pit.

¹⁵“Thus says the Lord God: On the day ^uthe cedar⁶ went down to Sheol I caused mourning; I closed the deep over it, and restrained its rivers, and many waters were stopped. I clothed Lebanon in gloom for it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it. ^16vI made the nations quake at the sound of its fall, ^uwhen I cast it down to Sheol with those who go down to the pit. ^wAnd all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, ^xwere comforted in the world below. ¹⁷They also went down to Sheol with it, ^yto those who are slain by the sword; yes, ^zthose who were its arm, ^awho lived under its shadow among the nations.