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Comparison Between Pharaoh's Power and that of Assyria
v. 1. And it came to pass in the eleventh year, after the captivity of Jehoiachin, in the third month, in the first day of the month, just two months later than the prophecy delivered in chapter 30, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
v. 2. Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh, king of Egypt, by sending him the message here transmitted to time Lord's prophet, and to his multitude, the people of Egypt with all their wealth, for the country was then teeming with prosperity, Whom art thou like in thy greatness? The Lord intentionally prepares to make a full and detailed comparison, in order to bring out the lesson which lie wished to convey.
v. 3. Behold, the Assyrian, emperor and people, the entire nation, was a cedar in Lebanon, distinguished for beauty and excellence, with fair branches, that is, beautiful and thick of foliage, and with a shadowing shroud, with a thicket of branches which cast a solid shadow, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs, it reached lip into the very clouds of the sky.
v. 4. The waters, the fact that he grew in a well-watered spot, made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, literally, "concerning the streams of the flood, she was going round about her planting," that is, about the place where the cedar was situated, and sent out her little rivers, the smaller irrigation streams, unto all the trees of the field. The Assyrian cedar thus received the first and full benefit of the stream's fertilizing strength, other trees being obliged to he satisfied with smaller canals. Assyria was blessed far above all nations in material prosperity of every kind.
v. 5. Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, he excelled in luxuriousness of growth, and his boughs were multiplied, so that sturdy branches were sent out in all directions, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters when he shot forth, on account of the abundant moisture which enabled him to send forth new branches in every direction. Assyria, enjoying an almost incomparable prosperity, was able to found colonies as well as to bring smaller kingdoms into subjection, and all these tributary states contributed to the empire's further greatness.
v. 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, that is, all the people of the nation and all the dependent states enjoyed a wonderful prosperity during the era of Assyria's greatness.
v. 7. Thus was he fair in his greatness, on count of the greatness which had been given him, in the length of his branches, because the tributary states contributed so much to his stature and strength; for his root was by great waters.
v. 8. The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him, could not out-top him, that is, all other nations and states of the world were outranked by Assyria in greatness and glory; the fir-trees, or cypresses, were not like his boughs, and the chestnut-trees, the plane-trees, noted for the thickness of their foliage, were not like his branches, nor any tree in the garden of God, in this case all the wide world, was like unto him in his beauty.
v. 9. I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches, as described in detail above, so that all the trees of Eden that were in the garden of God envied him, he was an object of envy throughout the world. Although the description is confined to Assyria, the object of the message directed to Pharaoh of Egypt is apparent at once, namely, to serve as a warning from the Lord, the Giver of all earthly prosperity, who is able both to grant and to withhold what men prize most highly on earth.