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Ezekiel 31:12

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Ezekiel 31:12 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “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.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

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.
Ezekiel 31:12 — American Standard Version

Context — Ezekiel 31

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
9I made it fair by the multitude of its branches, so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied it.
10Therefore thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because thou art exalted in stature, and he hath set his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height;
11I will even deliver him into the hand of the mighty one of the nations; he shall surely deal with him; I have driven him out for his wickedness.
12And 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.
13Upon his ruin all the birds of the heavens shall dwell, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches;
14to the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves in their stature, neither set their top among the thick boughs, nor that their mighty ones stand up on their height, [even] all that drink water: for they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit.
15Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: In the day when he went down to Sheol I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the rivers thereof; and the great waters were stayed; and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him.
← Ezekiel 31:11Ezekiel 31:13 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, &c.] Cut off the boughs and branches of this cedar, and cut him down to the ground; that is, utterly destroyed him, his empire and monarchy: these “strangers” were the Medes, who lived in a country distant from Assyria; and “the terrible of the nations”, the cruel and merciless Chaldeans, the soldiers of the king of Babylon’s army; (see <263011>Ezekiel 30:11): and have left him upon the mountains, like a tree cut down there, and its boughs and branches lopped off, which roll down from thence into the valleys, and by the rivers of water signifying his depression from a high and exalted state to a very low one, as follows: and in…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“from his shadow--under which they had formerly dwelt as their covert (Eze 31:6).”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Assyria’s fall. Ezekiel 31:11 More accurately: Therefore I will deliver him, etc ... he shall surely deal with him. I have driven him out, etc. Ezekiel 31:14 Their trees - Rather, as in the margin, “standing unto themselves” meaning “standing in their own strength.” The clause will then run thus: “Neither all that drink water stand up” in their own strength. “All that drink water” means mighty princes to whom wealth and prosperity flow in. The Egyptians owed everything to the waters of the Nile. The substance is, that Assyria’s fall was decreed in order that the mighty ones of the earth might learn not to exalt themselves in pride or to rely on themselves, seeing that they must share the…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Strangers - Foreigners. Ezekiel 31:14”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“31:12-14 Egypt’s fate would teach the other nations that however high they set themselves, eventually they were all doomed to die and go down to the pit.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“strangers: Eze 28:7, Eze 30:11; Hab 1:6, Hab 1:11 upon: Eze 32:4, Eze 32:5, Eze 35:5, Eze 35:8, Eze 39:4; Isa 34:5-7 gone: Dan 4:12-14; Nah 3:17, Nah 3:18; Rev 17:16 Ezekiel 31:13”
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Related study paths

Read Ezekiel 31 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification