Ezekiel 15

Parable of the Useless Vine

15Then the word of the Lord came to me: ²“Son of man, how does the wood of the vine, ^kthat branch among the trees of the forest, compare to any other wood? ³Can wood be taken from it to make something useful? Or can anyone make a peg from it to hang things on? ⁴In fact, it is put into the fire as fuel. ^lThe fire devours both of its ends, and the middle is charred. Can it be useful for anything? ⁵Even 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!

⁶“Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire as fuel, so I will give up the residents of Jerusalem. ⁷I will turn against them. ^mThey may have escaped from the fire, but it will still consume them. ⁿAnd you will know that I am Yahweh when I turn against them. ⁸I will make the land desolate because they have acted unfaithfully.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.