| | 1 | The word of the LORD came to me: | |
| | 2 | "Son of man, how is the wood of a vine better than that of a branch on 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? | |
| | 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 them. Although they have come out of the fire, the fire will yet consume them. And when I set my face against them, you will know that I am the LORD. | |
| | 8 | I will make the land desolate because they have been unfaithful, declares the Sovereign LORD." | |
