Word came to me from the Lord:

So much timber in the forest, son of man! And what of the vine that grows wild there?

What avails the wood of it for any manner of craftsmanship? Who will use it to make so much as a peg that pot or pan should hang from?

And now it has been thrown away to feed the fire; now either end is burnt up altogether, and the middle of it no better than charcoal; of what use is it now,

that use had none even when it was whole? Half burned away, half scorched, here is right unserviceable timber!

And I, the Lord says, that destined yonder wild vine to feed the oven, have decreed for the citizens of Jerusalem no other destiny.

My frown shall meet them yet; if they have escaped the fire, it is to be consumed by fire anew. Under my frown, they shall learn what manner of God I am;

their land all pathless and desolate, for their guilt’s rewarding, says the Lord God.