1 And the word of the Lord came to me: 2 qSee ch. 2:1 “Son of man, how doesrSee ver. 6 the wood of the vine surpass any wood, the vine branch that is among the trees of the forest? 3 Is wood taken from it to make anything? Do people takes[Isa. 22:23, 24] a peg from it to hang any vessel on it? 4 t[John 15:6] Behold, 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? 5 u[ver. 3] Behold, 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! 6 Therefore thus says the Lord God :v[ch. 17:6; Ps. 80:8; Isa. 5:1]; See ch. 19:10-14 Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest,t[See ver. 4 above] which I have given to the fire for fuel, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 7 wSee ch. 14:8 And I will set my face against them. Thoughx[2 Kgs. 25:9] they escape from the fire, the fire shall yet consume them,ySee ch. 6:7 and you will know that I am the Lord,wSee ch. 14:8 when I set my face against them. 8 zch. 6:14 And I will make the land desolate, becauseaSee ch. 14:13 they have acted faithlessly, declares the Lord God. ”