1 Most modern translations take the statement as a comparison (“how is vine wood better than any forest wood?”) based on the preposition מִן (min). But a comparison should have a word as an adjective or stative verb designating a quality, i.e., a word for “good/better” is lacking. The preposition is translated above in its partitive sense. Comparing Israel to the wood of the vine may focus on Israel’s inferiority to the other nations. For the vine imagery in relation to Israel and the people of God, see Ps 80:8–13; John 15:1–7; Rom 11:17–22.

In other versions

“Son of man, how does the wood of the vine surpass any wood, the vine branch that is among the trees of the forest?

“Son of man, how is the wood of a vine different from that of a branch from any of the trees in the forest?

“Son of man, how does the wood of the vine, that branch among the trees of the forest, compare to any other wood?

“Son of man, how does a grapevine compare to a tree? Is a vine’s wood as useful as the wood of a tree?

“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?

Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest?

Public Domain