Ezekiel 15

₁And the word of the Lord came to me: ₂“Son of man, how does the wood of the vine surpass any wood, the vine branch that is among the trees of the forest? ₃Is wood taken from it to make anything? Do people take a peg from it to hang any vessel on it? ₄Behold, it is given to 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? ₅Behold, 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! ₆Therefore 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 have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ₇And I will set my face against them. Though they escape from the fire, the fire shall yet consume them, and you will know that I am the Lord, when I set my face against them. ₈And I will make the land desolate, because they have acted faithlessly, declares the Lord God.”