Ezekiel 15:1-8 · Bible study
Ezekiel 15:1-8 Commentary: The Worthless Vine and Judgment
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore Ezekiel 15's parable of the vine: Israel's uselessness apart from fruitfulness, and the certainty of judgment. Commentary insights included.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Israel, like vine wood, is valuable only when fruitful; without fruit it is worthless and fit for judgment.
- Key words: vine tree / wood, fire, work (usefulness), face, desolate, unfaithfulness.
- Main debate: Whether the vine represents Israel in general or specifically Jerusalem, and whether the fire refers to the Babylonian exile or eschatological judgment.
- Theological theme: Election brings responsibility; privilege without fruit invites judgment.
- Best use: A sobering call to examine whether our faith produces the fruit God seeks, and a warning against presumption.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, how does the wood of the vine surpass any other branch among the trees in the forest?
3Can wood be taken from it to make something useful? Or can one make from it a peg on which to hang utensils?
4No, it is cast into the fire for fuel. The fire devours both ends, and the middle is charred. Can it be useful for anything?
5Even 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!
6Therefore 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.
7And I will set My face against them. Though they may have escaped the fire, yet another fire will consume them. And when I set My face against them, you will know that I am the LORD.
8Thus I will make the land desolate, because they have acted unfaithfully,’ declares the Lord GOD.”
WEB World English Bible 2000
1Yahweh’s word came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, what is the vine tree more than any tree, the vine branch which is among the trees of the forest?
3Will wood be taken of it to make anything? Will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel on it?
4Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire has devoured both its ends, and the middle of it is burned. Is it profitable for any work?
5Behold, when it was whole, it was suitable for no work. How much less, when the fire has devoured it, and it has been burned, will it yet be suitable for any work?”
6Therefore the Lord Yahweh says: “As the vine wood among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
7I will set my face against them. They will go out from the fire, but the fire will still devour them. Then you will know that I am Yahweh, when I set my face against them.
8I will make the land desolate, because they have acted unfaithfully,” says the Lord Yahweh.
KJV King James Version 1769
1And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest?
3Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?
4Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire devoureth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned. Is it meet for any work?
5Behold, 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?
6Therefore 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.
7And I will set my face against them; they shall go out from one fire, and another fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I set my face against them.
8And I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass, saith the Lord God.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
1And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
2Son of man, what is the vine-tree more than any tree, the vine-branch which is among the trees of the forest?
3Shall wood be taken thereof to make any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?
4Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire hath devoured both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned: is it profitable for any work?
5Behold, 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!
6Therefore 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.
7And I will set my face against them; they shall go forth from the fire, but the fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah, when I set my face against them.
8And I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass, saith the Lord Jehovah.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
1And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying:
2`Son of man, What is the vine-tree more than any tree? The vine-branch that hath been, Among trees of the forest?
3Is wood taken from it to use for work? Do they take of it a pin to hang any vessel on it?
4Lo, to the fire it hath been given for fuel, Its two ends hath the fire eaten, And its midst hath been scorched! Is it profitable for work?
5Lo, in its being perfect it is not used for work, How much less, when fire hath eaten of it, And it is scorched, Hath it been used yet for work?
6Therefore, 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.
7And I have set My face against them, From the fire they have gone forth, And the fire doth consume them, And ye have known that I am Jehovah, In My setting My face against them.
8And I have made the land a desolation, Because they have committed a trespass, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah!'
Darby Darby Bible 1890
1And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
2Son of man, what is the wood of the vine more than any wood, the vine-branch, which is among the trees of the forest?
3Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? or will [men] take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?
4Behold, it is given to the fire for fuel: the fire consumeth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned; is it fit for [any] work?
5Behold, when it was whole, it was used for no work; how much less when the fire hath consumed it, and it is burned, should it yet be used for any work?
6Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: As the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
7And I will set my face against them: they shall go forth from [one] fire, and [another] fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I [am] Jehovah when I set my face against them.
8And I will make the land a desolation, because they have wrought unfaithfulness, saith the Lord Jehovah.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
1And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
2Son 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?
3Shall wood be taken of it, to do any work, or shall a pin be made of it for any vessel to hang thereon?
4Behold 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?
5Even 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?
6Therefore 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.
7And I will set my face against them: they shall go out from fire, and fire shall consume them: and you shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have set my face against them.
8And I shall have made their land a wilderness, and desolate, because they have been transgressors, saith the Lord God.
Verse in Context
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that this passage uses the vine as a metaphor for Israel's calling and failure. Calvin argues the prophet aims to humble the people's false confidence in their privileged status. The vine wood, unlike timber from forest trees, is soft and crooked; its only value lies in bearing fruit. Gill and Barnes note that the vine cannot even yield a peg for hanging utensils. When fruitless, it is fit only for fuel. Keil and Delitzsch add that the vine here is the wild vine, emphasizing degeneracy. The judgment is certain: as a useless vine is thrown into the fire, so Jerusalem will be given to destruction. The consensus holds that Israel's special status was conditional on fruitfulness, and their unfaithfulness (v.8) brought deserved ruin.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: Israel, like vine wood, is valuable only when fruitful; without fruit, judgment is just and certain.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| The vine as Israel | All traditions see the vine as representing Israel or Judah, a common biblical image. | Some (Keil) stress the wild vine to emphasize degeneracy; others (Lange) say the cultivated vine in general is in view, with degeneracy implied. |
| Purpose of the vine | The wood has no usefulness apart from fruit; Israel's only value is bearing fruit for God. | Some commentators (Gill, JFB) emphasize the wood's intrinsic uselessness; others (Calvin) focus on Israel's pride in privilege as the target. |
| The fire judgment | The fire represents divine judgment, specifically the Babylonian conquest. | A few (older allegorists) see eschatological fire; most historical-critical and Reformed interpreters limit it to the 6th century BC judgment. |
| Escape from fire to fire | Escape from one calamity leads to another, showing judgment's completeness. | Some interpret this as literal sequential sieges; others see a theological principle that no human escape can avert God's set purpose. |
| Cause of judgment | Unfaithfulness (trespass, treachery) is the cause. | Whether this refers primarily to idolatry (Gill) or to a broader covenant rebellion (JFB, Jerome) is a difference in emphasis. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Ezekiel prophesied among the exiles in Babylon around 593 BC, during the final years of the kingdom of Judah. Jerusalem still stood, but Babylon had already deported the first wave of captives. The prophet's audience needed to understand why God's chosen city faced destruction. The vine metaphor was well established. Psalm 80:8 describes Israel as a vine brought out of Egypt and planted. Isaiah 5 uses the vineyard to depict God's care and Israel's failure. Here Ezekiel twists the image: the wood of the vine, not its fruit, is examined. In the ancient Near East, vine wood was notoriously useless for carpentry. It grew twisted, was too soft for beams, and often too small for anything beyond fuel. Pliny the Elder (cited by Gill) notes that vine wood was used only for burning. The phrase 'both its ends' (v.4) likely pictures the northern kingdom already destroyed by Assyria and the southern borders pressed by Egypt. The middle, Jerusalem, is charred but still standing. The fire of judgment therefore had two phases: the past exile of Israel and the imminent siege of Judah. The 'going out from one fire, and another fire shall devour them' (v.7) reflects the historical reality that some survived the first siege only to face later calamities, such as the final fall in 586 BC. God 'setting his face against' his people echoes Leviticus 17:10, a covenant curse for disobedience. The land's desolation (v.8) would be total, matching the warnings of Deuteronomy 29. Ezekiel's message cuts through false hope: election does not guarantee immunity from judgment.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note one minor variant: in Ezekiel 15:6, the reading 'among the wood' (בעץ) has a plural variant בעצי (Lange). The meaning is unaffected: 'among the trees of the forest.' No other significant variants are recorded in the consulted commentaries. The Masoretic text is stable.
Reception History
Early Christian interpreters (e.g., Jerome) read this passage allegorically, seeing the vine as the synagogue and its fruitlessness as the rejection of the Messiah. They connected the fire to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. Reformation commentators like Calvin and Bullinger used the passage to challenge any reliance on outward religious status. Matthew Henry and Wesley applied it to personal fruitfulness and warnings against presumption. In modern scholarship, the passage is studied for its rhetorical use of a familiar image to subvert national pride. The verse has been used liturgically in penitential contexts, though it remains less cited than the earlier vineyard song of Isaiah 5.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The vine's unique purpose. Israel was planted to bear fruit (Psalm 80:8). Its value was not intrinsic but given by God.
- The vine's uselessness apart from fruit. The wood was good for nothing, not even a peg. Without the fruit God intended, Israel was worthless.
- The vine's end in fire. Judgment comes not from God's cruelty but from the logical consequence of barrenness.
Five-point outline
- The vine among forest trees: Israel's special calling (v.2).
- The wood's inability to serve any practical purpose (v.3).
- The fire already burning: judgment on the northern and southern kingdoms (v.4).
- The total uselessness after partial burning (v.5).
- The application: God gives Jerusalem to the fire, and escape leads only to more fire (vv.6-8).
Illustration hooks
- Bad timber. A carpenter who finds a crooked, brittle branch knows it will never become a table. He tosses it on the burn pile. Israel's history gave God no material to work with apart from repentance.
- A half-burned log. A fire that chars both ends but leaves the middle intact looks salvageable, but the log is useless for anything but the fire. So Jerusalem, though still standing, was already condemned.
- A tool that can't be fixed. A pocketknife with a broken blade and cracked handle cannot be repaired; it must be replaced. Israel's repeated unfaithfulness left no room for restoration.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does God still value me if I'm not productive or successful?
- Is there a warning here for the church today about losing its purpose?
- How do I know whether my life is bearing the fruit God wants?
Leading a Discussion
In Ezekiel 15, God takes one of Israel's most cherished images, the vine, and uses it to expose their spiritual emptiness. The passage shows that privilege without fruit leads to judgment. As you discuss, consider how this ancient message speaks to communities of faith today.
Discussion questions
- Read Ezekiel 15:1-8 aloud. What immediate reactions do you have to the comparison of Israel to vine wood?
- In what ways did Israel see themselves as special? How does the vine metaphor contradict that pride?
- Why does the prophet emphasize the wood's uselessness for any work? What point is he making about Israel's condition?
- The fire burns both ends and chars the middle (v.4). What historical events might this describe?
- Verse 7 says they will 'go out from the fire, and the fire will still devour them.' How does this show the completeness of judgment?
- What does the phrase 'they have acted unfaithfully' (v.8) tell us about the cause of judgment?
- In what ways might this passage challenge our assumptions about being God's people today?
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Deuteronomy 32:32 | For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, of the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are poison grapes. Their clusters are bitter. |
| Deuteronomy 32:33 | Their wine is the poison of serpents, the cruel venom of asps. |
| Psalms 80:8 | You brought a vine out of Egypt. You drove out the nations, and planted it. |
| Psalms 80:16 | It’s burned with fire. It’s cut down. They perish at your rebuke. |
| Song of Solomon 2:13 | The fig tree ripens her green figs. The vines are in blossom. They give out their fragrance. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away.” |
| Song of Solomon 2:15 | Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that plunder the vineyards; for our vineyards are in blossom. |
| Song of Solomon 6:11 | I went down into the nut tree grove, to see the green plants of the valley, to see whether the vine budded, and the pomegranates were in flower. |
| Song of Solomon 7:12 | Let’s go early up to the vineyards. Let’s see whether the vine has budded, its blossom is open, and the pomegranates are in flower. There I will give you my love. |
Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke homes in on the vine’s utter uselessness apart from its fruit. Even the branch can’t make a peg to hang a pot on. Israel’s sole value was bearing fruit for God; now that they have stopped, they are as worthless as a dried vine branch destined for the fire.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes draws attention to the comparison not between the vine and other trees, but between their respective wood. Vine wood is completely useless on its own, and even if it has been partly burned and snatched from the fire, it remains destined for the same fate. For Barnes this pictures Israel's worthlessness and judgment.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin's key observation is that a vine's wood is worthless compared to other trees, even though its fruit is good. He applies this to Israel: they had no inherent excellence or worthiness of their own, only what God gave them as a special gift. Their arrogance before God is therefore empty.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge commentary focuses on the vine's condition after being cast into the fire and pulled out half-burned. The comparison is not between Jerusalem and a healthy vine, but between Jerusalem and a vine with both ends burnt and the middle charred, which is now utterly useless for any purpose.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill points out that a fruit-bearing vine is valuable, but a fruitless vine is the most useless wood of all, good for nothing, not even a peg. Israel was once fruitful and esteemed, but now, barren and sinful, they are fit only for fire and destruction like worthless wild vines.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB emphasizes that a vine is valuable only for its fruit; its wood is too soft and crooked for any other use. So when God’s people fail to bear the fruit of righteousness, they lose their distinctive purpose and become even more useless than the surrounding nations.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch stress that Israel is compared not to a cultivated vine but to a wild forest vine, whose wood is so useless it cannot even serve as a peg. Even when whole it is worthless, and after partial burning it is fit only for complete destruction. Jerusalem's inhabitants, already scorched by earlier judgments, will now be fully consumed.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange argues that the vine's only purpose is to bear fruit, making its wood useless for any other task. For him the question about the vine's superiority is really a question about its fate: without fruit the vine is worth less than any forest tree and fit only for fire.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry emphasizes that a vine is only valuable when it bears fruit; without fruit it is useless, fit only for burning. Jerusalem was planted as a choice vine but failed to produce, so God gives it to the fire. Its former glory offers no protection from judgment.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley emphasizes that a vine is worthless apart from its fruit, good only for fuel when barren. He applies this directly to Israel: the prophet uses this image to humble them and stir them to fruitfulness, since their persistent trespassing has made them fit only for judgment.