Ezekiel 15 – The Parable of the Vine Wood
A short, sharp parable: Jerusalem is vine wood, fit only for the fire.
Ezekiel 15 is one of Ezekiel's shortest chapters, a compact parable following the elders' judgment in Ezekiel 14: vine wood is useless for building, good only for burning.
And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying:
`Son of man, What is the vine-tree more than any tree? The vine-branch that hath been, Among trees of the forest?
Is wood taken from it to use for work? Do they take of it a pin to hang any vessel on it?
Lo, to the fire it hath been given for fuel, Its two ends hath the fire eaten, And its midst hath been scorched! Is it profitable for work?
Lo, in its being perfect it is not used for work, How much less, when fire hath eaten of it, And it is scorched, Hath it been used yet for work?
Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: As the vine-tree among trees of the forest, That I have given to the fire for fuel, So I have given the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And I have set My face against them, From the fire they have gone forth, And the fire doth consume them, And ye have known that I `am' Jehovah, In My setting My face against them.
And I have made the land a desolation, Because they have committed a trespass, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah!'