Charles Ellicott Commentary Ezekiel 31:10

"Therefore thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because thou art exalted in stature, and he hath set his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height;" — Ezekiel 31:10 (ASV)

Among the thick boughs.— The clouds, as in Ezekiel 31:3, Ezekiel 31:14, and Ezekiel 19:11. As Ezekiel 31:3-9 describe Assyria’s greatness, so Ezekiel 31:10-14 speak of her fall.

This was now a past event, yet it is in part poetically spoken of in the future (Ezekiel 31:11, 13), making the whole more graphic and effective. The future tense may also have been used because the object of this parable is not Assyria, but Egypt, whose fall was still to come.

Initially, Assyria is directly addressed in the second person with vivid description, but the third person is used afterwards. The basis for the judgment upon Assyria is its pride, on which 2 Kings 18:32–35 may be considered a commentary.