Ezekiel 15

1 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

A message from the Lord came to me, saying,

2 “Son of man, how does the wood of the vine surpass any other branch among the trees in the forest?

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

3 Can wood be taken from it to make something useful? Or can one make from it a peg on which to hang utensils?

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 No, it is cast into the fire for fuel. The fire devours both ends, and the middle is charred. Can it be useful for anything?

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 Even when it was whole, it could not be made useful. How much less can it ever be useful when the fire has consumed it and charred it!

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 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the people of Jerusalem.

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 And I will set My face against them. Though they may have escaped the fire, yet another fire will consume them. And when I set My face against them, you will know that I am the LORD.

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 Thus I will make the land desolate, because they have acted unfaithfully,’ declares the Lord GOD.”

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