Ezekiel 15:4

4 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?

Ezekiel 15:4 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 15:4

Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel,
That is; a vine tree when cut down, or a branch when cut off, it is good for nothing else; and that is the use it is generally put to; see ( John 15:6 ) ; and this, it is suggested, would be the end of the Jewish nation; who were become by their sins like a wild vine, and were fit fuel for the fire of divine wrath: the fire devoureth both the ends of it;
the branch cast into it, and so is quickly consumed. Kimchi explains this by ( Isaiah 9:12 ) ; "the Syrians before, and the Philistines behind, and they devour Israel with open mouth"; and Abendana of the ten tribes; but it seems only to design how soon the fire takes it; and how inevitable the consumption is when it is fired at both ends: and the midst of it is burnt:
presently; it being dried, and reduced to a brand by the heat of the fire at both ends: this Kimchi interprets of the city of Jerusalem, which was in the midst of the land: is it meet for [any] work?
no; for if it was not fit for any work when cut down, or cut off, much less when burnt in the fire.

Ezekiel 15:4 In-Context

2 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?

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

4 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?

5 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?

6 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.