Ezekiel 15:4

Ezekiel 15:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Behold, 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?
• English Standard Version (ESV)Behold, it is given to the fire for fuel. When the fire has consumed both ends of it, and the middle of it is charred, is it useful for anything?
• New King James Version (NKJV)Instead, it is thrown into the fire for fuel; the fire devours both ends of it, and its middle is burned. Is it useful for any work?
• New Living Translation (NLT)No, it can only be used for fuel, and even as fuel, it burns too quickly.

Context of Ezekiel 15:4

2“Son of man, how is the wood of a vine different from that of a branch from any of the trees in the forest? 3Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful? Do they make pegs from it to hang things on? And after it is thrown on the fire as fuel and the fire burns both ends and chars the middle, is it then useful for anything? 5If it was not useful for anything when it was whole, how much less can it be made into something useful when the fire has burned it and it is charred? 6“Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: As I have given the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest as fuel for the fire, so will I treat the people living in Jerusalem.

Ezekiel 15:4 word by word

הִנֵּ֥ה לָאֵ֖שׁ נִתַּ֣ן לְאָכְלָ֑ה אֵת֩ שְׁנֵ֨י קְצוֹתָ֜יו אָכְלָ֤ה הָאֵשׁ֙ וְתוֹכ֣וֹ נָחָ֔ר הֲיִצְלַ֖ח לִמְלָאכָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Behold, it is castנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• into the fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
• for fuelאׇכְלָה'ôklâh · foodH402
• devourethאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• bothשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
• the endsקָצָהqâtsâh · endH7098
• of it, and the midstתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
• of it is burnedחָרַרchârar · to scorchH2787
• Is it meetצָלֵחַtsâlach tsâlêach · to prosperH6743
• workמְלָאכָהmelâ'kâh · workH4399

Cross-references for Ezekiel 15:4

• Psalms 80:16Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire; at your rebuke your people perish.
• Isaiah 27:11When its twigs are dry, they are broken off and women come and make fires with them. For this is a people without understanding; so their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.
• John 15:6If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
• Hebrews 6:8But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.
• Isaiah 1:31The mighty man will become tinder and his work a spark; both will burn together, with no one to quench the fire.”
• Amos 4:11“I overthrew some of you as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. You were like a burning stick snatched from the fire, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord.
• Malachi 4:1“Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them.
• Matthew 3:12His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
• Hebrews 12:29for our “God is a consuming fire.”

Commentaries on Ezekiel 15:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4The fire devoureth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned - Judea is like a vine branch thrown into the fire, which seizes on both the ends, and scorches the middle: so both the extremities of the land is wasted; and the middle, Jerusalem, is now threatened with a siege, and by and by will be totally destroyed.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Behold, it is cast into the fire - The wood is in itself useless for any purpose; but what if it have been cast into the fire, and half burned, what of it then?Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-5The wood of most trees can be used to make many useful objects. Even small pieces can serve as pegs, which are simple wooden pins used to hang or hold things in place. The wood of a vine is different. It is weak and thin. It is not strong enough to make pegs or other tools. It is not even useful as firewood. It burns too quickly and does not give much heat. In this way, vine wood is completely useless.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. cast into ... fire--(Joh 15:6). both the ends--the north kingdom having been already overturned by Assyria under Tiglath-pileser; the south being pressed on by Egypt (2Ki 23:29-35). midst of it is burned--rather, "is on flame"; namely, Jerusalem, which had now caught the flame by the attack of Nebuchadnezzar. Is it meet for any work--"it," that is, the scorched part still remaining.Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Fuel
• Meet

Commentaries on Ezekiel 15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings