Ezekiel 31 — The great tree brought down — Hebrew and Greek compared
Each card keeps the independently rendered source readings above their shared comparison and reception notes. The badge records the source’s governing classification; disparate readings are marked in red. Each reading retains its original reference.
Ezekiel 31 — The great tree brought down
31:1–31:9 — The towering tree and its shelter
Verse 31:1 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[31:1] In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first of the month, YHWH’s word came to me, saying,
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[31:1] In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first of the month, the Lord’s word came to me, saying,
Classification & Notes
Same. Text: The full ancient date agrees.
Verse 31:2 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[31:2] “Son of man, say to Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, and to his multitude, ‘Whom do you resemble in your greatness?
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[31:2] “Son of man, say to Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, and to his multitude, ‘To whom have you likened yourself in your height?
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: Hebrew asks resemblance in greatness; Greek explicitly says likened yourself and height.
Verse 31:3 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[31:3] Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon, beautiful in branches, a shady forest, tall in stature; its top was among the clouds.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[31:3] Behold, Assyria was a cypress in Lebanon, beautiful in offshoots and tall in size; its crown reached into the midst of clouds.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Hebrew cedar becomes Greek cypress. Greek lacks Hebrew’s shady forest phrase.
Verse 31:4 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[31:4] Waters made it grow; the deep raised it high, sending its rivers around its planting and sending its channels to all the field’s trees.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[31:4] Water nourished it; the abyss raised it high, led its rivers around its plantings and sent out its gatherings of water to all the plain’s trees.
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: Hebrew deep/channels becomes Greek abyss/gatherings; Hebrew planting is singular, Greek plantings plural.
Verse 31:5 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[31:5] Therefore its stature rose above all the field’s trees; its boughs multiplied and its branches lengthened because of abundant waters as it spread out.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[31:5] Therefore its size rose above all the plain’s trees, and its branches spread wide because of abundant water.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Greek has one widening-branches clause instead of Hebrew’s multiplying boughs and lengthening branches, and lacks the final spreading phrase.
Verse 31:6 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[31:6] All the sky’s birds nested in its boughs; all the field’s animals gave birth beneath its branches, and all the many nations lived in its shade.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[31:6] All the sky’s birds nested in its offshoots; all the plain’s beasts gave birth beneath its branches, and every multitude of nations lived in its shade.
Classification & Notes
Same. Text: Birds, animals and nations share the tree’s protection in both.
Verse 31:7 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[31:7] It was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches, for its root reached abundant waters.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[31:7] It was beautiful in its height because of the multitude of its branches, for its roots reached abundant water.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Hebrew branch length and a singular root becomes Greek branch multitude and plural roots.
Verse 31:8 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[31:8] Cedars in God’s garden could not overshadow it; cypresses did not resemble its boughs, and plane trees were not like its branches. No tree in God’s garden resembled it in beauty.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[31:8] Such cypresses did not exist in God’s paradise; pines were not like its offshoots, and firs were not like its branches. No tree in God’s paradise resembled it in its beauty
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: The tree lists differ: cedar/cypress/plane tree versus cypress/pine/fir. Greek’s sentence continues into 31:9. Ancient tree identifications remain approximate.
Verse 31:9 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[31:9] I made it beautiful with its many branches, and all Eden’s trees in God’s garden envied it.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[31:9] because of the multitude of its branches, and the trees of God’s paradise of delight envied it.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Greek lacks the explicit I made it beautiful and completes 31:8 with because of its branches. Hebrew Eden is rendered as Greek delight.
31:10–31:14 — Pride and the fall
Verse 31:10 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[31:10] Therefore thus says Lord YHWH: Because you grew tall in stature, and it set its top among the clouds and its heart rose high in its height,
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[31:10] Therefore thus says the Lord: Because you became great in size and set your crown amid clouds, and I saw it being lifted high,
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Hebrew changes from you to its top and proud heart; Greek continues your crown and then says I saw it being lifted.
Verse 31:11 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[31:11] I will give it into the hand of a mighty one of the nations; he will surely deal with it. For its wickedness I have cast it out.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[31:11] I handed it into the hands of a ruler of nations, and he brought about its destruction.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Hebrew announces handing over, an emphatic future dealing and God’s expulsion for wickedness; Greek reports handing over and the ruler’s completed destruction.
Verse 31:12 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[31:12] Foreigners, ruthless men of nations, cut it down and abandoned it. Its branches fell upon the mountains and in all the valleys; its boughs broke in all the land’s ravines. All the land’s peoples went down from its shade and abandoned it.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[31:12] Foreigners, scourges from nations, utterly destroyed it and cast it upon the mountains. Its branches fell in all the ravines; its trunks were shattered in every plain of the land. All the nations’ peoples went down from their shelter and dashed it to the ground.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Hebrew abandoning becomes Greek casting down and dashing to earth; boughs/ravines becomes trunks/plains. Greek explicitly has their shelter.
Verse 31:13 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[31:13] All the sky’s birds will settle upon its fallen trunk, and all the field’s animals were upon its branches,
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[31:13] All the sky’s birds rested upon its fallen trunk, and all the field’s beasts were upon its trunks,
Classification & Notes
Similar. Text: Hebrew predicts the birds’ settling; Greek reports it. Branches becomes Greek trunks.
Verse 31:14 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[31:14] so that none of the water-fed trees will rise high in stature or set their tops among the clouds, and none of those drinking water will stand toward them in their height. For all of them are given to death, to the lower land, among human beings, with those descending to the pit.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[31:14] so that none of the trees in the water may rise high in their size. They did not set their crowns amid clouds, and none of those drinking water stood toward them in their height. All were given to death, to the depth of the earth, among human beings, with those descending to a pit.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Hebrew’s coordinated prohibitive purposes become a Greek purpose followed by past negatives. The difficult stand toward them expression is retained without assigning a new referent.
31:15–31:18 — The descent to the realm of the dead
Verse 31:15 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[31:15] Thus says Lord YHWH: On the day it descended to Sheol, I caused mourning; I covered the deep over it, restrained its rivers, and the abundant waters were held back. I darkened Lebanon over it, and all the field’s trees fainted over it.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[31:15] Thus says the Lord, the Lord: On the day it descended to Hades, the abyss mourned it. I stopped its rivers and restrained the multitude of water. Lebanon grew dark over it, and all the plain’s trees collapsed over it.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Hebrew makes God cause mourning, cover the deep and darken Lebanon; Greek makes the abyss mourn and Lebanon darken, retaining God’s stopping the rivers.
Verse 31:16 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[31:16] At the sound of its fall I shook nations when I brought it down to Sheol with those descending to the pit. In the lower land all Eden’s trees, the choice and best of Lebanon, all drinking water, were comforted.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[31:16] At the sound of its fall the nations shook when I brought it down to Hades with those descending to a pit. In the earth all the trees of delight and the choice trees of Lebanon, all drinking water, comforted it.
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Hebrew trees are comforted in the lower land; Greek trees comfort it in the earth. Greek lacks the separate best of Lebanon and the explicit God shook nations.
Verse 31:17 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[31:17] They too went down with it to Sheol, to those slain by the sword; those who were its arm lived in its shade among nations.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[31:17] For they too went down with it to Hades among those wounded by the sword; its offspring, those living under its shelter, perished in the midst of their life.
Classification & Notes
Divergent. Text: Hebrew’s difficult its arm and residence among nations becomes Greek offspring who perish in the midst of life.
Verse 31:18 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
[31:18] Whom do you thus resemble in glory and greatness among Eden’s trees? You will be brought down with Eden’s trees to the lower land. Among the uncircumcised you will lie with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares Lord YHWH.’”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
[31:18] Whom did you resemble? Descend and be brought down with the trees of delight into the earth’s depth. Among the uncircumcised you will lie with those wounded by the sword. So it is with Pharaoh and the multitude of his strength, says the Lord, the Lord.’”
Classification & Notes
Different. Text: Greek lacks the opening glory/greatness and Eden comparison, commands descending, and adds his strength to Pharaoh’s multitude.