Ezekiel 15:6
in Ezekiel 15Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the people of Jerusalem.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: As the vine-tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
KJV
Therefore thus saith the Lord God; As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
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This verse in Ezekiel 15
Commentary
6 notes on this verseTherefore thus saith the Lord God,.... Now follows the application of the simile: as the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel; to be burnt, as other trees of the forest are, and along with them: so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem; to be destroyed along with other nations by the Chaldeans; they being no better, but as bad, if not worse, like wild vines among forest trees; and therefore must fare no better: this was the decree and determination of the Lord.
This site's exposition
so I will give up the people of Jerusalem
on Ezekiel 15:6-8
The application is plain. They escape one fire only to meet another, for “another fire will consume them.” Fruitless election brings the fire rather than exemption, and the land is made desolate “because they have acted unfaithfully.”
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 Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Note, Those who are not fruitful to the glory of God's grace will be fuel to the fire of his wrath; and thus, if they give not honour to him, he will get himself honour upon them, honour that will shine brightly in that flaming fire by which impenitent sinners will be for ever consumed.
21 ); and, if it had brought forth fruit suitable to its character as a holy city, it would have been the glory both of God and Israel. It was a vine which God's right hand had planted, a branch out of a dry ground, which, though its original was mean and despicable, God had made strong for himself ( Ps. lxxx.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Therefore thus saith the Lord - As surely as I have allotted such a vine branch, or vine branches, for fuel; so surely have I appointed the inhabitants of Jerusalem to be consumed. The design of this parable is to abate the pride of the Jews; to show them that, in their best estate, they had nothing but what they had received, and therefore deserved nothing; and now, having fallen from all righteousness, they can have no expectation of any thing but judgment unmixed with mercy.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
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
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לָכֵ֗ן | lakhen | <to> therefore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| כֹּ֤ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַר֙ | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֣י | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| יְהוִ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3069 → | 306 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עֵץ־ | ʾetz- | [the] wood of | H6086 → | 328 times |
| הַגֶּ֙פֶן֙ | hagefen | the vine | H1612 → | 55 times |
| בְּעֵ֣ץ | beetz | among [the] tree[s] of | H6086 → | 328 times |
| הַיַּ֔עַר | haiyaar | the forest | H3293 → | 59 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נְתַתִּ֥יו | netativ | I have given it | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לָאֵ֖שׁ | laesh | to the fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| לְאָכְלָ֑ה | leokhlah | for fuel | H402 → | 18 times |
| כֵּ֣ן | ken | so | H3651 → | 771 times |
| נָתַ֔תִּי | natati | I have given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יֹשְׁבֵ֖י | yoshevei | [the] inhabitants of | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃ | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
לָכֵ֗ן<to> therefore
lakhenH3651 →771 times
כֹּ֤הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
אָמַר֙he says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
אֲדֹנָ֣י[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
יְהוִ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3069 →306 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֤רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
עֵץ־[the] wood of
ʾetz-H6086 →328 times
הַגֶּ֙פֶן֙the vine
hagefenH1612 →55 times
בְּעֵ֣ץamong [the] tree[s] of
beetzH6086 →328 times
הַיַּ֔עַרthe forest
haiyaarH3293 →59 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
נְתַתִּ֥יוI have given it
netativH5414 →2011 times
לָאֵ֖שׁto the fire
laeshH784 →378 times
לְאָכְלָ֑הfor fuel
leokhlahH402 →18 times
כֵּ֣ןso
kenH3651 →771 times
נָתַ֔תִּיI have given
natatiH5414 →2011 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יֹשְׁבֵ֖י[the] inhabitants of
yosheveiH3427 →1079 times
יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃Jerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
Ezekiel 15:2“Son of man, how does the wood of the vine surpass any other branch among the trees in the forest?
it leads to
- Hosea 10:1
Israel was a luxuriant vine, yielding fruit for himself. The more his fruit increased, the more he increased the altars. The better his land produced, the better he made the sacred pillars.
- Isaiah 5:1–7
I will sing for my beloved a song of his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.
- Psalms 80:8–16
You uprooted a vine from Egypt; You drove out the nations and transplanted it.
- Song of Solomon 8:11–12
Solomon had a vineyard in Baal-hamon. He leased it to the tenants. For its fruit, each was to bring a thousand shekels of silver.
- Song of Solomon 2:15
Catch for us the foxes—the little foxes that ruin the vineyards—for our vineyards are in bloom.
- Hosea 10:1
Through
Jeremiah 25:18to make them a ruin, an object of horror and contempt and cursing, as they are to this day—Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials;
it leads to
- Jeremiah 24:9
I will make them a horror and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a disgrace and an object of scorn, ridicule, and cursing wherever I have banished them.
- Jeremiah 44:22
So the LORD could no longer endure the evil deeds and detestable acts you committed, and your land became a desolation, a horror, and an object of cursing, without inhabitant, as it is this…
- Psalms 60:3
You have shown Your people hardship; we are staggered from the wine You made us drink.
- Jeremiah 24:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.
