Ezekiel 31:10-11 - Exposition

Because thou hast lifted up thyself . The second and third persons are curiously mixed; probably the former was in the nature of a warning addressed to the King of Egypt, while the latter continues the parable of the history of Assyria. For boughs read clouds , as in Ezekiel 31:3 . Ezekiel writes as with the feeling which led Solon to note that the loftiest trees are those which are most exposed to the strokes of the thunderbolts of Zeus (Herod; Ezekiel 7:10 ). The Assyrian's heart was "lifted up with pride" ( Isaiah 10:5 ), and therefore he was delivered to the mighty one of the nations ; sc. to Nebuchadnezzar.