Ezekiel 15
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 15
Parable of the Vine. 1 [a]The word of the Lord came to me:
2 Son of man,
what makes the wood of the vine
Better than the wood of branches
found on the trees in the forest?(A)
3 Can wood be taken from it
to make something useful?
Can someone make even a peg out of it
on which to hang a vessel?
4 Of course not! If it is fed to the fire for fuel,
and the fire devours both ends of it,
Leaving the middle charred,
is it useful for anything then?
5 Even when it is whole
it cannot be used for anything;
So when fire has devoured and charred it,
how useful can it be?
6 Therefore, thus says the Lord God:
Like vine wood among forest trees,
which I have given as fuel for fire,
So I will give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
7 I will set my face against them:
Although they have escaped the fire,
the fire will still devour them;
You shall know that I am the Lord,
when I set my face against them.(B)
8 Yes, I will make the land desolate,
because they are so unfaithful—
oracle of the Lord God.
Footnotes
- 15:1–8 Verses 2–5 point out that the wood of the vinestock may be burned for fuel, fit only for destruction. In vv. 6–8 Ezekiel asserts that Jerusalem has the same destiny.
Ezekiel 15
New International Version
Jerusalem as a Useless Vine
15 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “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? 3 Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful?(B) Do they make pegs(C) from it to hang things on? 4 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) 5 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?
6 “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. 7 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) 8 I will make the land desolate(H) because they have been unfaithful,(I) declares the Sovereign Lord.”
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