Once again God addresses Ezekiel as Son of man (International Children’s Bible “Human being”). For this phrase

Say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude: For Pharaoh king of Egypt, see 29.2. Some translations omit Pharaoh because it means the same as king of Egypt (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version). This is acceptable if the term is not well known and understood. For the Hebrew word rendered multitude, see the comments on 30.10, where it is translated “wealth.” Here a good rendering is “people” (Good News Translation, New Century Version).

Whom are you like in your greatness?: This is a rhetorical question that simply sets the scene for the following comparison with Assyria. It is not an invitation to the king of Egypt to compare himself with anyone else, as New Living Translation implies by saying “To whom would you compare your greatness?” For most languages it will be best to change this question to a positive statement about the power and political greatness of Egypt; for example, New Century Version says “No one is like you in your greatness.” Translators must be careful not to use a term for greatness that suggests large physical size. Good News Translation uses the interrogative word “What” instead of Whom because it goes on to compare Egypt to a cedar tree, but it is better to retain Whom because Ezekiel compares Egypt, that is, the king and people of Egypt, with Assyria, that is, the king and people of Assyria (see the comments on the next verse). A model for this rhetorical question is “You are so great/powerful. Who is like you?” or “There is no one who is as powerful as you.”

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .