Ezekiel 15

¹The word of the Lord came to me:[#Verses 2–5 point out that the wood of the vinestock may be burned for fuel, fit only for destruction. In vv. 6–8 Ezekiel asserts that Jerusalem has the same destiny.]

²Son of man,

what makes the wood of the vine

Better than the wood of branches

found on the trees in the forest?

³Can wood be taken from it

to make something useful?

Can someone make even a peg out of it

on which to hang a vessel?

⁴Of course not! If it is fed to the fire for fuel,

and the fire devours both ends of it,

Leaving the middle charred,

is it useful for anything then?

⁵Even when it is whole

it cannot be used for anything;

So when fire has devoured and charred it,

how useful can it be?

⁶Therefore, thus says the Lord God :

Like vine wood among forest trees,

which I have given as fuel for fire,

So I will give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

⁷I will set my face against them:

Although they have escaped the fire,

the fire will still devour them;

You shall know that I am the Lord ,

when I set my face against them.

⁸Yes, I will make the land desolate,

because they are so unfaithful—

oracle of the Lord God .