1. Then the word of יהוה came to me, saying,
2. “Son of man, how is the vine tree better than any tree, the vine branch that has been among the trees of the forest?
3. “Is wood taken from it to be made into any work? Do they take a peg from it to hang any vessel on?
4. “See, into the fire it shall be given for fuel. Both ends of it the fire shall burn, and its middle shall be scorched. Is it fit for any work?
5. “See, when it was intact, it was not made for work, how much less when the fire has burned it and it is scorched shall it still be used for work?
6. “Therefore thus said the Master יהוה, ‘As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I shall give up the inhabitants of Yerushalayim.
7. ‘And I shall set My face against them. They shall go out from one fire, but another fire consumes them. And you shall know that I am יהוה, when I set My face against them.
8. ‘And I shall make the land a wasteland, because they committed trespass,’ declares the Master יהוה.”