1. In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:
2. “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes:Who are you like in your greatness?
3. Think of Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches and shady foliageand of lofty height.Its top was among the clouds.
4. The waters caused it to grow;the underground springs made it tall,directing their rivers all aroundthe place where the tree was plantedand sending their channelsto all the trees of the field.
5. Therefore the cedar became greater in heightthan all the trees of the field. Its branches multiplied,and its boughs grew longas it spread them outbecause of the plentiful water.
6. All the birds of the skynested in its branches, and all the animals of the fieldgave birth beneath its boughs;all the great nations lived in its shade.