1 Jehovah continued to speak his word to me:

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

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

4 »After 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 »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?«

6 »Therefore, the Lord Jehovah says: ‘Just like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given as fuel for the fire, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

7 I will set my face against them turn against them. Though they have come out of the fire, yet the fire will consume them. Then you will know that I am Jehovah, when I set my face against them.’«

8 ‘»I will make the land desolate, because they have acted unfaithfully,’ declares the Lord Jehovah.«