Ezekiel 15:5
in Ezekiel 15Even when it was whole, it could not be made useful. How much less can it ever be useful when the fire has consumed it and charred it!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work: how much less, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned, shall it yet be meet for any work!
KJV
Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work: how much less shall it be meet yet for any work, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned?
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This verse in Ezekiel 15
Commentary
7 notes on this verseBut the Prophet here uses a simile to show the Jews that they were not intrinsically but only accidentally excellent, since God had treated them as worthy of remarkable benefits. Since it is so, their arrogance is easily refuted, when they oppose their superiority to God, as if it were peculiar to them, and not God's special gift.
This site's exposition
cast into the fire for fuel
on Ezekiel 15:4-5
Verse 5 argues from lesser to greater: “Even when it was whole, it could not be made useful. How much less can it ever be useful when the fire has consumed it and charred it!” The image points to Jerusalem, already burned once and no better for it.
This site's exposition
Even when it was whole
Calvin found Judah's worth in the gift of God alone. The people of Jerusalem had been useful by what the LORD gave them, and apart from that gift they were vine wood like any other. Pride in their own standing had no ground.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 15, verse 1 onwards) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, what will be done with the vine wood among all the trees of the forest which are among the trees of the woods? Will its wood be taken to make something, or will a peg be made from it to hang any vessel on? Behold, it is given to the fire for fuel: both ends of it have been consumed by the fire, and the middle part has turned into ashes. Will it be useful for any work?
The Reformation1 voice
Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work: how much less shall it be meet yet for any work, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned?
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
When religion flourished there, and the pure worship of God was kept up, many a joyful vintage was then gathered in from it; and, while it continued so, God made a hedge about it; it was his pleasant plant ( Isa. v. 7 ); he watered it every moment and kept it night and day ( Isa. xxvii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Behold, when it was whole it was meet for no work,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Behold, [if] it were given to the fire to be consumed Adevorer in Old French, to be devoured, consumed. Behold I asked you about a whole one, which is not fit for anything.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
have I placed Jerusalem. Its two ends were consumed by the fire, [i.e.,] the two exiles: When Jehoiakim was exiled, some of the royal seed and of the nobles were exile with him, as it is said in Daniel (1:3).
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִנֵּה֙ | hineh | there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| בִּֽהְיוֹת֣וֹ | bihyoto | when was it | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| תָמִ֔ים | tamim | complete | H8549 → | 91 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יֵֽעָשֶׂ֖ה | yeaseh | it was made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לִמְלָאכָ֑ה | limlakhah | into a product | H4399 → | 167 times |
| אַ֣ף | ʾaf | indeed? | H637 → | 134 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֵ֤שׁ | ʾesh | a fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| אֲכָלַ֙תְהוּ֙ | ʾakhalathu | it has consumed it | H398 → | 810 times |
| וַיֵּחָ֔ר | vaiyechar | and it has been charred | H2787 → | 10 times |
| וְנַעֲשָׂ֥ה | venaasah | and will it be made? | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| ע֖וֹד | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| לִמְלָאכָֽה׃ ס | limlakhah | into a product | H4399 → | 167 times |
הִנֵּה֙there!
hinehH2009 →843 times
בִּֽהְיוֹת֣וֹwhen was it
bihyotoH1961 →3559 times
תָמִ֔יםcomplete
tamimH8549 →91 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יֵֽעָשֶׂ֖הit was made
yeasehH6213 →2628 times
לִמְלָאכָ֑הinto a product
limlakhahH4399 →167 times
אַ֣ףindeed?
ʾafH637 →134 times
כִּי־if
ki-H3588 →4482 times
אֵ֤שׁa fire
ʾeshH784 →378 times
אֲכָלַ֙תְהוּ֙it has consumed it
ʾakhalathuH398 →810 times
וַיֵּחָ֔רand it has been charred
vaiyecharH2787 →10 times
וְנַעֲשָׂ֥הand will it be made?
venaasahH6213 →2628 times
ע֖וֹדagain
odH5750 →490 times
לִמְלָאכָֽה׃ סinto a product
limlakhahH4399 →167 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 3:16“In those days, when you multiply and increase in the land,” declares the LORD, “they will no longer discuss the ark of the covenant of the LORD. It will never come to mind, and…
it leads to
- Amos 9:14–15
I will restore My people Israel from captivity; they will rebuild and inhabit the ruined cities. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
- Ezekiel 37:26
And I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary among them forever.
- Isaiah 65:17
For behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.
- Hosea 1:10–11
Yet the number of the Israelites will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted. And it will happen that in the very place where it was said to…
- Zechariah 8:4–5
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Old men and old women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of great age.
- Amos 9:14–15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.