Ezekiel 15

1 HERRENs Ord kom til mig således:

A message from the Lord came to me, saying,

2 Menneskesøn! Hvad har Vinstokken forud for alle andre Træer, Ranken, som står iblandt Skovens Træer?

“Son of man, is wood from a vine better than the wood from any other tree in the forest?

3 Tager man Gavntræ deraf? Eller tager man deraf en Knag til at hænge alskens Redskaber på?

Can you make anything useful from vine wood? Can you use it to make even just a peg to hang up pots and pans?

4 Når den så oven i købet har været givet Ilden til Føde, så at Ilden har fortæret begge dens Ender, og Midten er svedet, duer den så til noget?

No, you just throw it on the fire to keep the fire burning. Even then the fire burns both ends, but only chars the middle part. Can you use it for anything?

5 Se, da den endnu var uskadt, brugtes den ikke til noget, endsige at den skulde kunne bruges til noget nu, da Ilden har fortæret den og den er svedet.

Even before you burned it you couldn't make it into anything useful. It's even less useful once the fire has burned and charred it!

6 Derfor, så siger den Herre HERREN: Som det går Vinstokken blandt Skovens Træer, hvilke jeg giver Ilden til Føde, således giver jeg Jerusalems Indbyggere hen;

So this is what the Lord God says: In the same way that I have taken the wood of a vine from the forest and thrown it on the fire to be burned, so I'm going to throw away the people of Jerusalem.

7 jeg vender mit Åsyn imod dem; af Ilden slap de ud, men Ild skal dog fortære dem; og I skal kende, at jeg er HERREN, når jeg vender mit Åsyn imod dem.

I will turn against them. While they might have escaped this fire, another fire is going to burn them up. When I turn against them, then you will know that I am the Lord.

8 Og jeg gør Landet øde, fordi de var troløse, lyder det fra den Herre HERREN.

I'm going to turn the country into a wasteland, because they were unfaithful to me, declares the Lord God.”