Here is what the Lord and King says.“ Instead of the wood of any tree in the forest, I have given the vine to burn in the fire. I will treat the people who live in Jerusalem the same way.

所以，主耶和华如此说：“众树以内的葡萄树，我怎样使它在火中当柴，也必照样待耶路撒冷的居民。

所以，主耶和华如此说：我怎样使林中树里的葡萄树在火中当柴烧，我也必照样对待耶路撒冷的居民。

所以，主耶和华如此说：我怎样使林中树里的葡萄树在火中当柴烧，我也必照样对待耶路撒冷的居民。

所以，主耶和华说，我怎样把林中的葡萄树丢在火中当柴烧，也必照样丢弃耶路撒冷的居民。

因此，主耶和华这样说：“我怎样把树林中的葡萄树抛在火里当作燃料，也必照样对待耶路撒冷的居民。

所以，主耶和華如此說：「眾樹以內的葡萄樹，我怎樣使它在火中當柴，也必照樣待耶路撒冷的居民。

所以，主耶和華如此說：我怎樣使林中樹裏的葡萄樹在火中當柴燒，我也必照樣對待耶路撒冷的居民。

所以，主耶和華如此說：我怎樣使林中樹裏的葡萄樹在火中當柴燒，我也必照樣對待耶路撒冷的居民。

所以，主耶和華說，我怎樣把林中的葡萄樹丟在火中當柴燒，也必照樣丟棄耶路撒冷的居民。

因此，主耶和華這樣說：“我怎樣把樹林中的葡萄樹拋在火裡當作燃料，也必照樣對待耶路撒冷的居民。

故此主永恆主這麼說；正像森林樹木中的葡萄樹；我怎樣將它拋給火燒燬，我也必怎樣將耶路撒冷的居民丟給火燒。

主耶和華曰、叢林中之葡萄樹、我以之為薪、投之於火、我待耶路撒冷居民、亦若是、

主耶和華曰、若林木中、有葡萄樹、投之於火、別無所用、我視耶路撒冷居民亦若是。

主天主如是云、葡萄樹在林之諸樹中、我使之見投於火為薪、我使耶路撒冷居民亦若是、

“ 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.

Therefore thus says the Lord God: Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

“ And this is what the Sovereign Lord says: The people of Jerusalem are like grapevines growing among the trees of the forest. Since they are useless, I have thrown them on the fire to be burned.

Therefore, 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 as fuel, so I will give up the residents of Jerusalem.

Therefore, this is what the Lord God says:‘ As the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem;

“ Therefore thus says the Lord GOD:‘ 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 inhabitants of Jerusalem;

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.

“ Therefore, 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 as fuel, so I will give up the residents of Jerusalem.

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.

“ Therefore, this is what the sovereign LORD says: Like the wood of the vine is among the trees of the forest which I have provided as fuel for the fire– so I will provide the residents of Jerusalem as fuel.

Therefore the Lord Yahweh says:“ As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Lions have come out of their dens. Those who destroy nations have begun to march out. They have left their place to destroy your land completely. Your towns will be broken to pieces. No one will live in them.

Flames of fire burn up straw. Dry grass sinks down into those flames. Evil people will be like plants whose roots rot away. They will be like flowers that are blown away like dust. That’s because they have said no to the law of the Lord who rules over all. They have turned against the message of the Holy One of Israel.So the Lord is angry with his people. He raises his hand against them and strikes them down. The mountains shake. The bodies of dead people lie in the streets like trash. Even then, the Lord is still angry. His hand is still raised against them.

So the Lord and King says,“ I will pour out my burning anger on this place. It will strike people and animals alike. It will destroy the trees in the fields and the crops in your land. It will burn, and no one will be able to put it out.”

“ Son of man, how is the wood of a vine different from the wood of any tree in the forest?

So I will send for all the nations in the north. And I will send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon,’ announces the Lord.‘ I will bring all of them against this land and against you who live here. They will march out against all the nations that are around this land. I will set apart Judah and the nations around it in a special way to be destroyed. People will be shocked because of them. And they will make fun of them. Those nations will be destroyed forever.I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness. I will put an end to the voices of brides and grooms. The sound of grinding millstones will not be heard anymore. And lamps will not be lit anymore.This whole country will become dry and empty. And these nations will serve the king of Babylon for 70 years.

I commanded my servants the prophets what to say. I told them what I planned to do. But your people refused to obey me. So I had to punish them.“ Then they had a change of heart. They said,‘ The Lord who rules over all has punished us because of how we have lived. He was fair and right to do that. He has done to us just what he decided to do.’ ”

I will sing a song for the Lord. He is the one I love. It’s a song about his vineyard Israel. The one I love had a vineyard. It was on a hillside that had rich soil.He dug up the soil and removed its stones. He planted the very best vines in it. He built a lookout tower there. He also cut out a winepress for it. Then he kept looking for a crop of good grapes. But the vineyard produced only bad fruit.So the Lord said,“ People of Jerusalem and Judah, you be the judge between me and my vineyard.What more could I have done for my vineyard? I did everything I could. I kept looking for a crop of good grapes. So why did it produce only bad ones?Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard. I will take away its fence. And the vineyard will be destroyed. I will break down its wall. And people will walk all over my vineyard.I will turn my vineyard into a dry and empty desert. It will not be pruned or taken care of. Thorns and bushes will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it.”

“‘ But there are also bad figs. In fact, they are so bad they can’t be eaten,’ says the Lord.‘ Zedekiah, the king of Judah, is like these bad figs. So are his officials and the people of Jerusalem who are still left alive. I will punish them whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt.I will make all the kingdoms on earth displeased with them. In fact, they will hate them a great deal. They will shake their heads at them. They will curse them and make fun of them. All this will happen no matter where I force them to go.I will send war, hunger and plague against them. They will be destroyed from the land I gave them and their people of long ago.’ ”

“ Didn’t the Lord know you were burning incense in the towns of Judah? Didn’t he care that you were also doing it in the streets of Jerusalem? You and your people of long ago were doing it. Your kings and officials were doing it too. So were the rest of the people in the land.The Lord couldn’t put up any longer with the evil things you were doing. He hated the things you did. So your land became a curse. It became a dry and empty desert. No one lived there. And that’s the way it still is today.You have burned incense to other gods. You have sinned against the Lord. You haven’t obeyed him or his law. You haven’t followed his rules. You haven’t lived up to the terms of the covenant he made with you. That’s why all this trouble has come on you. You have seen it with your own eyes.”Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people. That included the women. He said,“ All you people of Judah in Egypt, listen to the Lord’ s message.The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says,‘ You and your wives have done what you promised you would do. You said,“ We will certainly keep the promises we made to the Queen of Heaven. We’ll burn incense to her. We’ll pour out drink offerings to her.” ’“ Go ahead then. Do what you said you would! Keep your promises!But listen to the Lord’ s message. Listen, all you Jews living in Egypt.‘ I make a promise by my own great name,’ says the Lord.‘ Here is what I promise.“ No one from Judah who lives anywhere in Egypt will ever again pray in my name. None of them will ever make this promise. They will never say,‘ You can be sure that the Lord and King is alive.’ ”I am watching over them to do them harm and not good. The Jews in Egypt will die of war and hunger until all of them are destroyed.

He sent me to Judah’s kings and officials. He told me to go to Jerusalem and the towns of Judah. He wanted me to tell them they would be destroyed. Then people would be shocked because of them. They would make fun of them. They would use their name in a curse. And that’s how things still are today.

After that, I will hand you over to your enemies. They want to kill you,” announces the Lord.“ I will hand over Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and his officials. I will also hand over the people in this city who live through the plague, war and hunger. All of them will be handed over to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. He will kill them with swords. He will show them no mercy. He will not feel sorry for them. In fact, he will not have any concern for them at all.” ’

Tell them,‘ Listen to the Lord’ s message. The Lord and King says,“ I am about to set you on fire. The fire will destroy all your trees. It will burn down green trees and dry trees alike. The blazing flame will not be put out. The faces of everyone from south to north will be burned by it.Everyone will see that I started the fire. It will not be put out. I am the Lord.” ’ ”

Tell them,‘ The Lord and King says,“ A great eagle came to the city of‘ Lebanon.’ It had powerful wings and a lot of long feathers. The feathers were colorful and beautiful. The eagle landed in the top of a cedar tree.It broke off the highest twig. The eagle carried it away to the land of Babylon. There are many traders in that land. The eagle planted the twig in the city of Babylon.“‘ “Then it took from the land a seed that had just sprouted. It put it in rich soil near plenty of water. It planted the seed like a willow tree.The seed grew into a low, spreading vine. Its branches turned toward the eagle. And its roots remained under the eagle. So the seed became a vine. It produced branches and put out leaves.“‘ “But there was another great eagle. It also had powerful wings and a lot of feathers. The vine now sent out its roots toward that eagle. It sent them out from the place where it was planted. And it reached out its branches to the eagle for water.The seed had been planted in good soil near plenty of water. Then it could produce branches and bear fruit. It could become a beautiful vine.” ’“ Ezekiel, tell the Israelites,‘ The Lord and King asks,“ Will the vine grow? Won’t it be pulled up by its roots? Won’t all its fruit be stripped off? Won’t it dry up? All its new growth will dry up. It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it up.It has been planted, but will it grow? No. It will dry up completely when the east wind strikes it. It will dry up in the place where it grew.” ’ ”