Ezekiel 15

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

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

2 “Son of man, how is a vine better than any tree with branches that is among the trees in a forest?

And you, son of man—of all the wood, of the branches that are amongst the trees of the forest, what shall be made of the wood of the vine?

3 Do people take wood from a vine to make anything? Or do they make a peg from it to hang anything on it?

Will they take wood of it to make [it fit] for work? will they take of it a peg to hang any vessel upon it?

4 See! If it is thrown into a fire as fuel, and if the fire has burned both of its ends and also the middle, is it good for anything?

It is only given to the fire to be consumed; the fire consumes that which is yearly pruned of it, and it is utterly gone. Will it be useful for [any] work?

5 See! When it was complete, it could not make anything; surely then, when the fire has burned, then it still will not make anything useful.

Not even while it is yet whole will it be [useful] for [any] work: if the fire shall have utterly consumed it, will it still be [fit] for work?

6 Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this: Unlike the trees in the forests, I have given the vine as fuel for fires; I will act in the same way toward the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Therefore say, Thus says the Lord, As the vine tree amongst the trees of the forest, which I have given up to the fire to be consumed, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

7 For I will set my face against them. Though they come out from the fire, yet the fire will consume them; so you will know that I am Yahweh, when I set my face against them.

And I will set my face against them; they shall go forth of the fire, and [yet] fire shall devour them; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have set my face against them.

8 Then I will make the land into an abandoned wasteland because they have committed sin—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.”

And I will give up the land to ruin, because they have utterly transgressed, says the Lord.