Ehekiera 15

1 I puta mai ano te kupu a Ihowa ki ahau, i mea,

A message from the Lord came to me, saying,

2 E te tama a te tangata, he aha te nuinga ake o te waina i nga rakau katoa, o te manga waina i roto i nga rakau o te ngahere?

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

3 E tangohia mai ranei tetahi wahi o reira, hei mahinga i tetahi mahi? e tangohia ranei tetahi titi i reira hei whakairi mo tetahi mea?

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 Nana, e maka ana ki te ahi hei wahie; pau ake i te ahi ona pito e rua, wera iho a waenganui; he pai ranei mo tetahi mahi?

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 Nana, i tona toitutanga, kihai i pai mo tetahi mahi; katahi ka he rawa mo tetahi mahi a muri ake nei, i te mea ka kaia nei e te ahi, a ka wera?

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 Mo reira ko te kupu tenei a te Ariki, a Ihowa, Ka rite ki taua rakau, ki te waina i roto i nga rakau o te ngahere, i tukua ra e ahau ki te ahi hei wahie, ka pera taku tukunga atu i nga tangata o Hiruharama.

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 Ka u atu ano toku mata hei he mo ratou. Ka puta mai ratou i te ahi, otiia ma te ahi ano ratou e kai: a ka mohio koutou ko Ihowa ahau, ina u atu toku mata ki te he mo ratou.

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 Ka meinga ano e ahau te whenua hei ururua mo te he i he ai ratou, e ai ta te Ariki, ta Ihowa.

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