Hiezechielis Prophetæ 15

1 Et factus est sermo Domini ad me, dicens:

A message from the Lord came to me, saying,

2 Fili hominis, quid fiet de ligno vitis ex omnibus lignis nemorum, quae sunt inter ligna silvarum?

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

3 Numquid tolletur de ea lignum, ut fiat opus, aut fabricabitur de ea paxillus, ut dependeat in eo quodcumque vas?

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 Ecce igni datum est in escam: utramque partem eius consumpsit ignis, et medietas eius redacta est in favillam: numquid utile erit ad opus?

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 Etiam cum esset integrum, non erat aptum ad opus: quanto magis cum illud ignis devoraverit, et combusserit, nihil ex eo fiet operis?

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 Propterea haec dicit Dominus Deus: Quomodo lignum vitis inter ligna silvarum, quod dedi igni ad devorandum, sic tradam habitatores Ierusalem.

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 Et ponam faciem meam in eos: de igne egredientur, et ignis consumet eos: et scietis quia ego Dominus, cum posuero faciem meam in eos,

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 et dedero terram inviam, et desolatam: eo quod praevaricatores extiterint, dicit Dominus Deus.

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