1 A message came to me from the Lord. He said,
2 "Son of man, is the wood of a vine better than the wood of any of the trees in the forest?
3 Can its wood ever be made into anything useful? Can pegs be made from it to hang things on?
4 "Suppose it is thrown in the fire to be burned. And the fire burns both ends and blackens the middle. Then is it useful for anything?
5 It was not useful when it was whole. So how can it be made into something useful now? The fire has burned it and blackened it."
6 The Lord and King says, "Instead of the wood of any tree in the forest, I have given the vine to burn in the fire. I will treat the people who live in Jerusalem the same way.
7 I will turn against them. They might have come out of the fire. But the fire will destroy them anyway. I will turn against them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.