1. Then the Word of the Lord came to me saying,
2. "Son of man, how is the wood of the vine better than any wood of a branch among the trees?
3. Can wood be taken from it to make anything? Or can men take a piece of wood from it on which to hang a pot?
4. If it has been put into the fire to burn, and the fire has burned up both of its ends, and the center of it is black from the fire, can it then be used for anything?
5. See, if it is not used for anything while it is whole, how much less can it ever be used for anything when the fire has burned it up and it has turned black!
6. So the Lord God says, 'Like the wood of the vine among the trees, which I have given to be burned in the fire, so will I give up the people of Jerusalem.
7. I will set My face against them. Even if they get away from the fire, the fire will yet destroy them. Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I set My face against them.
8. I will lay waste the land, because they have not been faithful,' " says the Lord God.