1 Then the word of the Loʀᴅ came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, how is the wood of the APs 80:8-16; Is 5:1-7; Hos 10:1vine better than any wood of a branch which is among the trees of the forest? 3  “Can wood be taken from it to make 1Lit a workanything, or can men take a peg from it on which to hang any vessel? 4  “1Or BeholdIf it has been put into the AIs 27:11; Ezek 15:6; 19:14fire for fuel, and the fire has consumed both of its ends and its middle part has been charred, is it then useful for 2Lit a workanything? 5  “Behold, while it is intact, it is not made into 1Lit a workanything. How much less, when the fire has consumed it and it is charred, can it still be made into 1Lit a workanything! 6  “Therefore, thus says the Lord 1Heb YHWH, usually rendered Loʀᴅ, and so throughout the chGoᴅ, ‘As 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; 7 and I ALev 26:17; Ps 34:16; Jer 21:10; Ezek 14:8set My face against them. Though they have B1 Kin 19:17; Is 24:18; Amos 9:1-4come out of the fire, yet the fire will consume them. Then you will know that I am the Loʀᴅ, when I set My face against them. 8  ‘Thus I will make the land desolate, because they have AEzek 14:13; 17:20acted unfaithfully,’ ” declares the Lord Goᴅ.