Ezekiel 15

Jerusalem like a Useless Vine

1 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 "Son of man, how is the wood of the 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 anything, or can men take a peg from it on which to hang any vessel?

4 "If it has been put into the ²fire for fuel, and the fire has consumed both of its ends and its middle part has been charred, is it then useful for anything?

5 "Behold, while it is intact, it is not made into anything. How much less, when the fire has consumed it and it is charred, can it still be made into anything!

6 "Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, '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 ³set My face against them. Though they have ⁴come out of the fire, yet the fire will consume them. Then you will know that I am the LORD, when I set My face against them.

8 'Thus I will make the land desolate, because they have ⁵acted unfaithfully,' " declares the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 15 Commentary

Chapter 15

Jerusalem like an unfruitful vine.

- If a vine be fruitful, it is valuable. But if not fruitful, it is worthless and useless, it is cast into the fire. Thus man is capable of yielding a precious fruit, in living to God; this is the sole end of his existence; and if he fails in this, he is of no use but to be destroyed. What blindness then attaches to those who live in the total neglect of God and of true religion! This similitude is applied to Jerusalem. Let us beware of an unfruitful profession. Let us come to Christ, and seek to abide in him, and to have his words abide in us.

Cross References

• 1. Psalms 80:8-16; Isaiah 5:1-7; Hosea 10:1
• 2. Isaiah 27:11; Ezekiel 15:6; Ezekiel 19:14
• 3. Leviticus 26:17; Psalms 34:16; Jeremiah 21:10; Ezekiel 14:8
• 4. 1 Kings 19:17; Isaiah 24:18; Amos 9:1-4
• 5. Ezekiel 14:13; Ezekiel 17:20

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "a work"
• [b]. Or "Behold"
• [c]. Lit "a work"
• [d]. Lit "a work"
• [e]. Lit "a work"
• [f]. Heb "YHWH," usually rendered LORD, and so throughout the ch

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 15

The destruction of Jerusalem is again prophesied of in this chapter, and is set forth under the simile of a vine tree, which, for its uselessness, is committed to the fire. The simile is in Eze 15:1-5; the application of it in Eze 15:6-8.