And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

Et factus est sermo Domini ad me, dicens:

Word came to me from the Lord:

Son of man, what shall be made of the wood of the vine, out of all the trees of the woods that are among the trees of the forests?

Fili hominis, quid fiet de ligno vitis, ex omnibus lignis nemorum quæ sunt inter ligna silvarum?

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

Shall wood be taken of it, to do any work, or shall a pin be made of it for any vessel to hang thereon?

numquid tolletur de ea lignum ut fiat opus, aut fabricabitur de ea paxillus ut dependeat in eo quodcumque vas?

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?

Behold it is cast into the fire for fuel: the fire hath consumed both ends thereof, and the midst thereof is reduced to ashes: shall it be useful for any work?

Ecce igni datum est in escam: utramque partem ejus consumpsit ignis, et medietas ejus redacta est in favillam: numquid utile erit ad opus?

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,

Even when it was whole it was not fit for work: how much less, when the fire hath devoured and consumed it, shall any work be made of it?

Etiam cum esset integrum, non erat aptum ad opus: quanto magis cum illud ignis devoraverit et combusserit, nihil ex eo fiet operis?

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

Therefore thus saith the Lord God: As the vine tree among the trees of the forests which I have given to the fire to be consumed, so will I deliver up the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Propterea hæc dicit Dominus Deus: Quomodo lignum vitis inter ligna silvarum, quod dedi igni ad devorandum, sic tradam habitatores Jerusalem.

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

And I will set my face against them: they shall go out from fire, and fire shall consume them: and you shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have set my face against them.

Et ponam faciem meam in eos: de igne egredientur, et ignis consumet eos: et scietis quia ego Dominus, cum posuero faciem meam in eos,

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;

And I shall have made their land a wilderness, and desolate, because they have been transgressors, saith the Lord God.

et dedero terram inviam et desolatam, eo quod prævaricatores extiterint, dicit Dominus Deus.

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