Add parallel Print Page Options

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

Son of man, what shall be made of the wood of the vine, out of all the trees of the woods that are among the trees of the forests?

Shall wood be taken of it, to do any work, or shall a pin be made of it for any vessel to hang thereon?

Behold it is cast into the fire for fuel: the fire hath consumed both ends thereof, and the midst thereof is reduced to ashes: shall it be useful for any work?

Even when it was whole it was not fit for work: how much less, when the fire hath devoured and consumed it, shall any work be made of it?

Therefore thus saith the Lord God: As the vine tree among the trees of the forests which I have given to the fire to be consumed, so will I deliver up the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

And I will set my face against them: they shall go out from fire, and fire shall consume them: and you shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have set my face against them.

And I shall have made their land a wilderness, and desolate, because they have been transgressors, saith the Lord God.

Jerusalem as a Useless Vine

15 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, how is the wood of a vine(A) different from that of a branch from any of the trees in the forest? Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful?(B) Do they make pegs(C) from it to hang things on? And after it is thrown on the fire as fuel and the fire burns both ends and chars the middle, is it then useful for anything?(D) If it was not useful for anything when it was whole, how much less can it be made into something useful when the fire has burned it and it is charred?

“Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: As I have given the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest as fuel for the fire, so will I treat the people living in Jerusalem. I will set my face against(E) them. Although they have come out of the fire(F), the fire will yet consume them. And when I set my face against them, you will know that I am the Lord.(G) I will make the land desolate(H) because they have been unfaithful,(I) declares the Sovereign Lord.”