Ezekiel 15

1 And the word of Yahweh came unto me saying:

A message from the Lord came to me, saying,

2 Son of man, What can the vine-tree be more than any other tree, —any branch which hath been found among the trees of the forest?

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

3 Shall there be taken from it wood, to be made into any work? Or will men take therefrom a peg, to hang thereon any vessel?

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 Lo! into the fire, it is given up for fuel, — The two ends thereof, doth the fire devour, And the middle thereof is charred, Is it fit for any work?

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 Lo! while it was yet whole, it could not be made into any work, — how much less when! the fire hath devoured it. and it is charred, can it still be made into any work?

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, Thus, saith My Lord Yahweh, As a vine-tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given up to the fire for fuel, so have I given up the inhabitants 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 Therefore will I set my face against them, Out of one fire, have they come forth But another fire, shall devour them, —So shall ye know that, I, am Yahweh, by my setting my face against them;

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 I will therefore give up the land as a desolation, —because they have committed treachery, Declareth My Lord., Yahweh.

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