The Meaning of Ezekiel 31:18 Explained

Ezekiel 31:18

KJV: To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD.

YLT: Unto whom hast thou been thus like, In honour and in greatness among the trees of Eden, And thou hast been brought down with the trees of Eden, Unto the earth -- the lower part, In the midst of the uncircumcised thou liest, With the pierced of the sword? It is Pharaoh, and all his multitude, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah!'

Darby: To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? Yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden, unto the lower parts of the earth; thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with them that are slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord Jehovah.

ASV: To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with them that are slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord Jehovah.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

To whom art thou thus like  in glory  and in greatness  among the trees  of Eden?  yet shalt thou be brought down  with the trees  of Eden  unto the nether parts  of the earth:  thou shalt lie  in the midst  of the uncircumcised  with [them that be] slain  by the sword.  This [is] Pharaoh  and all his multitude,  saith  the Lord  GOD. 

What does Ezekiel 31:18 Mean?

Verse Meaning

For the Lord Ezekiel asked Pharaoh and the Egyptians which of the trees (nations) in God"s garden they resembled. Egypt was obviously like Assyria in its greatness and pride and may have thought of itself as Assyria"s equal. Nevertheless God would cut down Egypt as He had felled Assyria. The people would die among the uncircumcised, like barbarians (cf. Ezekiel 28:10; Ezekiel 29:5; Ezekiel 32:19; Ezekiel 32:21; Jeremiah 9:25-26). This was a terrible fate for people who regarded a proper burial as preparation for life beyond the grave, as the Egyptians did. The Egyptians practiced circumcision, but the Babylonians did not. They also despised foreigners. They would die by the sword in war. This would be the fate of Pharaoh and the Egyptians that Almighty God promised. If Assyria could not escape Yahweh"s judgment, how could Egypt?
"The story of the cedar revisits several familiar themes that occurred in the prophecies against foreign nations. First, God hates pride because it leads people and nations to ruin ( Ezekiel 27:3; Ezekiel 28:2; Proverbs 16:18). Second, the mighty fall as do the weak (cf. Ezekiel 27:27-36). When the mighty fall, it is also a loss for the weak and dependant [1]. Third, the fall of the tree was a reminder of the mortality of human beings and individual accountability to God (cf. Ezekiel 3:16-21; Ezekiel 18:1-21)." [2]
If the Jewish exiles still entertained any hope that Egypt would save them from captivity, this prophecy would have encouraged them to abandon such a dream.

Chapter Summary: Ezekiel 31

1  A relation unto Pharaoh
3  of the glory of Assyria
10  and the fall thereof for pride
18  The like destruction of Egypt

What do the individual words in Ezekiel 31:18 mean?

To whom will you be likened then in glory and greatness of the trees in Eden and yet you shall be brought down with the trees of Eden the earth the depths of in the midst of the uncircumcised you shall lie [those] slain by the sword That [is] Pharaoh and all his multitude says the Lord GOD -
אֶל־ מִ֨י דָמִ֥יתָ כָּ֛כָה בְּכָב֥וֹד וּבְגֹ֖דֶל בַּעֲצֵי־ ؟ עֵ֑דֶן וְהוּרַדְתָּ֨ אֶת־ עֲצֵי־ עֵ֜דֶן אֶ֣רֶץ תַּחְתִּ֗ית בְּת֨וֹךְ עֲרֵלִ֤ים תִּשְׁכַּב֙ חַלְלֵי־ חֶ֔רֶב ה֤וּא פַרְעֹה֙ וְכָל־ הֲמוֹנֹ֔ה‪‬ נְאֻ֖ם אֲדֹנָ֥י יְהוִֽה ס

מִ֨י  whom 
Parse: Interrogative
Root: מִי  
Sense: who?, whose?, whom?, would that, whoever, whosoever.
דָמִ֥יתָ  will  you  be  likened 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: דָּמָה  
Sense: to be like, resemble.
בְּכָב֥וֹד  in  glory 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular
Root: כָּבֹוד  
Sense: glory, honour, glorious, abundance.
וּבְגֹ֖דֶל  and  greatness 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular
Root: גֹּדֶל  
Sense: greatness.
בַּעֲצֵי־  of  the  trees  in 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: עֵץ  
Sense: tree, wood, timber, stock, plank, stalk, stick, gallows.
؟ עֵ֑דֶן  Eden 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: עֵדֶן 
Sense: the first habitat of man after the creation; site unknown.
וְהוּרַדְתָּ֨  and  yet  you  shall  be  brought  down 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hofal, Conjunctive perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: יָרַד  
Sense: to go down, descend, decline, march down, sink down.
עֲצֵי־  the  trees 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: עֵץ  
Sense: tree, wood, timber, stock, plank, stalk, stick, gallows.
עֵ֜דֶן  of  Eden 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: עֵדֶן 
Sense: the first habitat of man after the creation; site unknown.
אֶ֣רֶץ  the  earth 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
תַּחְתִּ֗ית  the  depths 
Parse: Adjective, feminine singular
Root: תַּחְתִּי  
Sense: low, lower, lowest.
בְּת֨וֹךְ  of  in  the  midst 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: תָּוֶךְ  
Sense: midst, middle.
עֲרֵלִ֤ים  of  the  uncircumcised 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: עָרֵל  
Sense: uncircumcised, having foreskin.
תִּשְׁכַּב֙  you  shall  lie 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: שָׁכַב  
Sense: to lie down.
חַלְלֵי־  [those]  slain  by 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: חָלָל 
Sense: slain, fatally wounded, pierced.
חֶ֔רֶב  the  sword 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: חֶרֶב  
Sense: sword, knife.
ה֤וּא  That  [is] 
Parse: Pronoun, third person masculine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.
פַרְעֹה֙  Pharaoh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: פַּרְעֹה  
Sense: the common title of the king of Egypt.
וְכָל־  and  all 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
הֲמוֹנֹ֔ה‪‬  his  multitude 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: הָמֹון 
Sense: (Qal) murmur, roar, crowd, abundance, tumult, sound.
נְאֻ֖ם  says 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נְאֻם  
Sense: (Qal) utterance, declaration (of prophet).
אֲדֹנָ֥י  the  Lord 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֲדֹנָי  
Sense: my lord, lord.
יְהוִֽה  GOD 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: Jehovah—used primarily in the combination ‘Lord Jehovah’.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation