2 “Son of man, how is the wood of a vine 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? Do they make pegs 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? 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?

2 Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest? 3 Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon? 4 Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire devoureth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned. Is it meet for any work? 5 Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work: how much less shall it be meet yet for any work, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned?

2 “Son of man, how does a grapevine compare to a tree? Is a vine’s wood as useful as the wood of a tree? 3 Can its wood be used for making things, like pegs to hang up pots and pans? 4 No, it can only be used for fuel, and even as fuel, it burns too quickly. 5 Vines are useless both before and after being put into the fire!

2 “Son of man, how is the wood of the vine better than any other wood, the vine branch which is among the trees of the forest? 3 Is wood taken from it to make any object? Or can men make a peg from it to hang any vessel on? 4 Instead, it is thrown into the fire for fuel; the fire devours both ends of it, and its middle is burned. Is it useful for any work? 5 Indeed, when it was whole, no object could be made from it. How much less will it be useful for any work when the fire has devoured it, and it is burned?

2 “Human, is the wood of the vine better than the wood of any tree in the forest? 3 Can wood be taken from the vine to make anything? Can you use it to make a peg on which to hang something? 4 If the vine is thrown into the fire for fuel, and the fire burns up both ends and starts to burn the middle, is it useful for anything? 5 When the vine was whole, it couldn’t be made into anything. When the fire has burned it completely, it certainly cannot be made into anything.”

2 Son of man, what is the vine-tree more than any tree, the vine-branch which is among the trees of the forest? 3 Shall wood be taken thereof to make any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon? 4 Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire hath devoured both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned: is it profitable for any work? 5 Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work: how much less, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned, shall it yet be meet for any work!

2 Son of man, what is the wood of the vine more than any wood, the vine-branch, which is among the trees of the forest? 3 Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon? 4 Behold, it is given to the fire for fuel: the fire consumeth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned; is it fit for any work? 5 Behold, when it was whole, it was used for no work; how much less when the fire hath consumed it, and it is burned, should it yet be used for any work?

2 “Son of man, what good is the wood from a vine? Is it better than the wood from a tree in the forest? 3 Do people use it to make something? Do they make a peg from it to hang things on? 4 No! It is only thrown into the fire as fuel. The fire burns up both its ends and chars its middle. Then can it be used to make anything? 5 When the vine was in perfect condition, it couldn’t be made into anything. How can it be used to make anything after the fire has burned and charred it? 

2 “Son of man, how does the wood of the vine, that branch among the trees of the forest, compare to any other wood? 3 Can wood be taken from it to make something useful? Or can anyone make a peg from it to hang things on? 4 In fact, it is put into the fire as fuel. The fire devours both of its ends, and the middle is charred. Can it be useful for anything? 5 Even when it was whole it could not be made into a useful object. How much less can it ever be made into anything useful when the fire has devoured it and it is charred!

2 O mortal, how does the wood of the vine surpass all other wood—

the vine branch that is among the trees of the forest?

3 Is wood taken from it to make anything?

Does one take a peg from it on which to hang any object?

4 It is put in the fire for fuel;

when the fire has consumed both ends of it

and the middle of it is charred,

is it useful for anything?

5 When it was whole it was used for nothing;

how much less—when the fire has consumed it,

and it is charred—

can it ever be used for anything!

2 “Son of man, how will the wood of the vine be better than any of the wood of the branch which is among the trees of the forest? 3 Can wood be taken from it to make anything, or can they take a tent peg from it to hang on it any object? 4 Look! It is given to the fire as fuel. The fire will consume two of its ends, and its middle will be charred. Is it useful for anything? 5 Look! When it is in perfect condition, it will not be used for anything, how much less when the fire has consumed it and it is charred; and then can it be used again for anything?

2 “Son of man, is the wood of a vine better than the wood of any of the trees in the forest? 3 Can its wood ever be made into anything useful? Can pegs be made from it to hang things on?

4 “Suppose it is thrown in the fire to be burned. And the fire burns both ends and blackens the middle. Then is it useful for anything? 5 It was not useful when it was whole. So how can it be made into something useful now? The fire has burned it and blackened it.”

2 “Son of man, how is the wood of the vine better than any wood of a branch which is among the trees of the forest?

3 “Can wood be taken from it to make anything, or can men take a peg from it on which to hang any vessel?

4 “If it has been put into the fire for fuel, and the fire has consumed both of its ends and its middle part has been charred, is it then useful for anything?

5 “Behold, while it is intact, it is not made into anything. How much less, when the fire has consumed it and it is charred, can it still be made into anything!