Ezekiel 31:12

Pride

¹⁰ Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Since it became great in height and set its top among the clouds, and it grew proud on account of its height,

¹¹ I delivered it into the hand of the ruler of the nations, for him to deal with it according to its wickedness. I have banished it.

Foreigners, the most ruthless of the nations, cut it down and left it. Its branches have fallen on the mountains and in every valley; its boughs lay broken in all the earth’s ravines. And all the peoples of the earth left its shade and abandoned it.

¹³ All the birds of the air nested on its fallen trunk, and all the beasts of the field lived among its boughs.

¹⁴ This happened so that no other trees by the waters would become great in height and set their tops among the clouds, and no other well-watered trees would reach them in height. For they have all been consigned to death, to the depths of the earth, among the mortals who descend to the Pit.’

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: Foreigners, the most ruthless of the nations, cut it down and left it. Its branches have fallen on the mountains and in every valley; its boughs lay broken in all the earth’s ravines. And all the peoples of the earth left its shade and abandoned it.
KJV: 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.
WEB: Foreigners, the tyrants of the nations, have cut him off and have left him. His branches have fallen on the mountains and in all the valleys, and his boughs are broken by all the watercourses of the land. All the peoples of the earth have gone down from his shadow and have left him.
ASV: 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.
DARBY: 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 in all the watercourses of the land; and all the peoples of the earth are gone down from his shadow, and have left him.
BLB: and foreigners have cut it down, the most ruthless of the nations. And they have left it on the mountains, and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs lie broken by all the rivers of the land. And all the peoples of the earth have gone out from its shade, and they have left it.

ÅB: og fremmede, de grusomste blant folkene, hugg ham ned og lot ham ligge; på fjellene og i alle daler falt hans kvister, og hans greiner ble sønderbrutt ved alle landets bekker, og alle jordens folk steg ned fra hans skygge og lot ham ligge,
OTB: Utenlandske tyranner fra nasjonene hogg den ned og lot den ligge; dens grener falt på fjellene og i alle dalene, dens greiner lå brutt i alle landets kløfter. Alle jordens folk forlot dens skygge og forlot den.
B1930: og fremmede, de grusomste blandt folkene, hugg ham ned og lot ham ligge; på fjellene og i alle daler falt hans kvister, og hans grener blev sønderbrutt ved alle landets bekker, og alle jordens folk steg ned fra hans skygge og lot ham ligge,

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Ezekiel 28:7
behold, I will bring foreigners against you, the most ruthless of nations. They will draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and will defile your splendor.
Read in context
Ezekiel 35:8
I will fill its mountains with the slain; those killed by the sword will fall on your hills, in your valleys, and in all your ravines.
Read in context
Ezekiel 30:11
He and his people with him, the most ruthless of the nations, will be brought in to destroy the land. They will draw their swords against Egypt and fill the land with the slain.
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Nahum 3:17–18
Your guards are like the swarming locust, and your scribes like clouds of locusts that settle on the walls on a cold day. When the sun rises, they fly away, and no one knows where.
Read in context
Habakkuk 1:6
For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans — that ruthless and impetuous nation which marches through the breadth of the earth to seize dwellings not their own.
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Isaiah 34:5–7
When My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens, then it will come down upon Edom, upon the people I have devoted to destruction.
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Ezekiel 32:4–5
I will abandon you on the land and hurl you into the open field. I will cause all the birds of the air to settle upon you, and all the beasts of the earth to eat their fill of you.
Read in context
Ezekiel 39:4
On the mountains of Israel you will fall—you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to every kind of ravenous bird and wild beast.
Read in context