6 Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: As the vine-tree among trees of the forest, That I have given to the fire for fuel, So I have given the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Let me sing, I pray you, for my beloved, A song of my beloved as to his vineyard: My beloved hath a vineyard in a fruitful hill, And he fenceth it, and casteth out its stones, And planteth it `with' a choice vine, And buildeth a tower in its midst, And also a wine press hath hewn out in it, And he waiteth for the yielding of grapes, And it yieldeth bad ones! And now, O inhabitant of Jerusalem, and man of Judah, Judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard. What -- to do still to my vineyard, That I have not done in it! Wherefore, I waited to the yielding of grapes, And it yieldeth bad ones! And now, pray, let me cause you to know, That which I am doing to my vineyard, To turn aside its hedge, And it hath been for consumption, To break down its wall, And it hath been for a treading-place. And I make it a waste, It is not pruned, nor arranged, And gone up have brier and thorn, And on the thick clouds I lay a charge, From raining upon it rain.
Therefore, as a tongue of fire devoureth stubble, And flaming hay falleth, Their root is as muck, And their flower as dust goeth up. Because they have rejected the law of Jehovah of Hosts, And the saying of the Holy One of Israel despised. Therefore hath the anger of Jehovah burned among His people, And He stretcheth out His hand against it, And smiteth it, and the mountains tremble, And their carcase is as filth in the midst of the out-places. With all this His anger did not turn back, And still His hand is stretched out!
And like the bad figs, that are not eaten for badness, Surely thus said Jehovah: So do I make Zedekiah king of Judah, And his heads, and the remnant of Jerusalem, Who are left in this land, And who are dwelling in the land of Egypt, And I have given them for a trembling, For evil -- to all kingdoms of the earth, For a reproach, and for a simile, For a byword, and for a reviling, In all the places whither I drive them. And I have sent against them the sword, The famine and the pestilence, Till their consumption from off the ground, That I gave to them and to their fathers!
Lo, I am sending, and have taken all the families of the north -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- even unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and have brought them in against this land, and against its inhabitants, and against all these nations round about, and have devoted them, and appointed them for an astonishment, and for a hissing, and for wastes age-during. And I have destroyed from them the voice of rejoicing, and the voice of joy, voice of bridegroom and voice of bride, noise of millstones, and the light of lamps. And all this land hath been for a waste, for an astonishment, and these nations have served the king of Babylon seventy years.
`The perfume that ye made in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye, and your fathers, your kings, and your heads, and the people of the land, hath not Jehovah remembered it? yea, it cometh up on His heart. And Jehovah is not able any more to accept `you', because of the evil of your doings, because of the abominations that ye have done, and your land is for a waste, and for an astonishment, and for a reviling, without inhabitant, as `at' this day. `Because that ye have made perfume, and because ye have sinned against Jehovah, and have not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah, and in His law, and in His statutes, and in His testimonies ye have not walked, therefore hath this evil met you as `at' this day.' And Jeremiah saith unto all the people, and unto all the women, `Hear ye a word of Jehovah, all Judah who `are' in the land of Egypt, Thus spake Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, saying: Ye and your wives both speak with your mouth, and with your hands have fulfilled, saying: We certainly execute our vows that we have vowed, to make perfume to the queen of the heavens, and to pour out to her libations, ye do certainly establish your vows, and certainly execute your vows. `Therefore, hear ye a word of Jehovah, all Judah who are dwelling in the land of Egypt: Lo, I -- I have sworn by My great name, said Jehovah, My name is no more proclaimed by the mouth of any man of Judah, saying, Live doth the Lord Jehovah -- in all the land of Egypt. Lo, I am watching over them for evil, and not for good, and consumed have been all the men of Judah who `are' in the land of Egypt, by sword and by famine, till their consumption.
and thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: The great eagle, great-winged, long-pinioned, Full of feathers, that hath diverse colours, Hath come in unto Lebanon, And it taketh the foliage of the cedar, The top of its tender twigs it hath cropped, And it bringeth it in to the land of Canaan. In a city of merchants it hath placed it. And it taketh of the seed of the land, And doth put it in a field of seed, To take by many waters, In a conspicuous place it hath set it. And it springeth up, and becometh a spreading vine, humble of stature, To turn its thin shoots toward itself, And its roots are under it, And it becometh a vine, and maketh boughs, And sendeth forth beauteous branches. And there is another great eagle, Great-winged, and abounding with feathers, And lo, this vine hath bent its roots toward him, And its thin shoots it hath sent out toward him, To water it from the furrows of its planting, On a good field, by many waters, it is planted, To make branches, and to bear fruit, To be for an goodly vine. Say: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: It prospereth -- its roots doth he not draw out, And its fruit cut off, and it is withered? `In' all the leaves of its springing it withereth, And not by great strength, and by a numerous people, To lift it up by its roots. And lo, the planted thing -- doth it prosper? When come against it doth the east wind, Doth it not utterly wither? On the furrows of its springing it withereth.'
and thou hast said to the forest of the south: Hear a word of Jehovah: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am kindling in thee a fire, And it hath devoured in thee every moist tree, and every dry tree, Not quenched is the glowing flames, And burnt by it have been all faces from south to north. And seen have all flesh, that I, Jehovah, have kindled it -- it is not quenched.'
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Commentary on Ezekiel 15 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 15
Ezekiel has again and again, in God's name, foretold the utter ruin of Jerusalem; but, it should seem, he finds it hard to reconcile himself to it, and to acquiesce in the will of God in this severe dispensation; and therefore God takes various methods to satisfy him not only that it shall be so, but that there is no remedy: it must be so; it is fit that it should be so. Here, in this short chapter, he shows him (probably with design that he should tell the people) that it was as requisite Jerusalem should be destroyed as that the dead and withered branches of a vine should be cut off and thrown into the fire.
Eze 15:1-8
The prophet, we may suppose, was thinking what a glorious city Jerusalem was, above any city in the world; it was the crown and joy of the whole earth; and therefore what a pity it was that it should be destroyed; it was a noble structure, the city of God, and the city of Israel's solemnities. But, if these were the thoughts of his heart, God here returns an answer to them by comparing Jerusalem to a vine.