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The Useless Vine

15 The word of the Lord came to me:

O mortal, how does the wood of the vine surpass all other wood,
    the vine branch that is among the trees of the forest?(A)
Is wood taken from it to make anything?
    Does one take a peg from it on which to hang any object?
It is put in the fire for fuel;
    when the fire has consumed both ends of it
    and the middle of it is charred,
    is it useful for anything?(B)
When it was whole it was used for nothing;
    how much less—when the fire has consumed it,
    and it is charred—
    can it ever be used for anything!

Therefore thus says the Lord God: Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the inhabitants of Jerusalem.(C) I will set my face against them; although they escape from the fire, the fire shall still consume them, and you shall know that I am the Lord when I set my face against them.(D) And I will make the land desolate because they have acted faithlessly, says the Lord God.(E)

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Jerusalem Is a Useless Vine

15 The word of the Lord came to me.

Son of man, what can be done with the wood of a grapevine compared to the wood from the branches of all the other trees in the forest? Can its wood be used to make something useful? Can people make a peg from it to hang things on? No, it is fed into the fire for fuel. The fire devours both ends of it, and its middle is burned up. Is it useful for any purpose then? Since it could not be used for any purpose when it was undamaged, how much less can it be used to make anything useful after the fire has devoured it and it has been burned! Therefore, this is what the Lord says. Like the wood of the grapevine from among the trees of the forest, which I have fed into the fire for fuel, in the same way I will feed the inhabitants of Jerusalem into the fire. I will set my face against them. They have come out from the fire, but the fire will still devour them. Then you will know that I am the Lord when I set my face against them. I will make the land desolate because they added one infidelity to another, declares the Lord God.

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