Ezekiel 15

Jerusalem, a Useless Vine

1 And the word of the Lord came to me:

2 ¹“Son of man, how does ²the 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 take ³a peg from it to hang any vessel on it?

4 ⁴Behold, 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 ⁵Behold, 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: ⁶Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, ⁷which I have given to the fire for fuel, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

7 ⁸And I will set my face against them. Though ⁹they escape from the fire, the fire shall yet consume them, ¹⁰and you will know that I am the Lord, ¹¹when I set my face against them.

8 ¹²And I will make the land desolate, because ¹³they have acted faithlessly, 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. 15:2 See ch. 2:1
• 2. 15:2 See ver. 6
• 3. 15:3 [Isa. 22:23, 24]
• 4. 15:4 [John 15:6]
• 5. 15:5 [ver. 3]
• 6. 15:6 [ch. 17:6; Ps. 80:8; Isa. 5:1]; See ch. 19:10-14
• 7. 15:6 [See ver. 4 above]
• 8. 15:7 See ch. 14:8
• 9. 15:7 [2 Kgs. 25:9]
• 10. 15:7 See ch. 6:7
• 11. 15:7 See ch. 14:8
• 12. 15:8 ch. 6:14
• 13. 15:8 See ch. 14:13

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.