"Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes:
'Who can be compared with you in majesty?
Consider Assyria, once a cedar in Lebanon,
with beautiful branches overshadowing the forest;
it towered on high,
its top above the thick foliage.

The waters nourished it,
deep springs made it grow tall;
their streams flowed
all around its base
and sent their channels
to all the trees of the field.

So it towered higher
than all the trees of the field;
its boughs increased
and its branches grew long,
spreading because of abundant waters...

Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because the great cedar towered high, lifting its top above the thick foliage, and because it was proud of its height, I gave it into the hands of the ruler of the nations, for him to deal with according to its wickedness. I cast it aside...'"

— Ezekiel 31:2-5, 10-11 (NIV)

Ezekiel delivered this parable as a warning to Egypt, using Assyria's fall as an object lesson. It was given two months before Jerusalem's fall, warning Egypt about the dangers of pride and the certainty of divine judgment.

power

Parable of the Cedar Tree