1 A message from the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, is wood from a vine better than the wood from any other tree in the forest? 3 Can you make anything useful from vine wood? Can you use it to make even just a peg to hang up pots and pans?

4 No, you just throw it on the fire to keep the fire burning. Even then the fire burns both ends, but only chars the middle part. Can you use it for anything? 5 Even before you burned it you couldn't make it into anything useful. It's even less useful once the fire has burned and charred it!

6 So this is what the Lord God says: In the same way that I have taken the wood of a vine from the forest and thrown it on the fire to be burned, so I'm going to throw away the people of Jerusalem. 7 I will turn against them. While they might have escaped this fire, another fire is going to burn them up. When I turn against them, then you will know that I am the Lord.

8 I'm going to turn the country into a wasteland, because they were unfaithful to me, declares the Lord God.”