15 Then Yahweh gave me another message: 2 “Son of humanity, how is a vine better than any tree with branches in a forest? 3 Do people take wood from a vine to make anything? Would anyone use vine wood even to make something to hang a mug on? 4 If it’s used as firewood, and if the fire burns both ends, and even the middle, is it good wood, or indeed good for anything? 5 Originally, the vine wood couldn’t be used to make anything, so surely, when the fire’s burnt it, it still can’t do anything useful.

6 Therefore the master Yahweh says this: ‘Unlike the trees in the forests, I’ve given the vine as fuel for fires. I’ll act in the same way toward Yerushalem’s inhabitants, 7 and I’ll start to take action against them. Even if they get out of the fire, the fire will still consume them, so you people will know that I am Yahweh, when I take action against them. 8 Then I’ll make the land into an abandoned wasteland because they chose to worship other gods. That’s the master Yahweh’s declaration.”