Ezekiel 15:6

Application of the figure to Jerusalem

6. which I have given The reference is to the supposition in Ezekiel 15:4. It is nowhere said in the passage that the vinewood is fit only fur fuel, nor that it has been appointed (when created by God) to be burnt; Ezekiel 15:4 is a supposition that in a particular case it has been flung into the fire for fuel, and its ends burnt, and the inference is drawn that, good for little when whole, much less will it be good for anything in that condition. The use of the first person "I have given" is peculiar. Cornill suggests "it has been given," considering "I have given" which follows immediately to have been the source of the error.

so will I give Lit., so have I given. The comparison is not between Jerusalem and a vine when whole, but between Jerusalem and a vine with its two ends burnt. Naturally the supposition is made that the vinewood flung into the fire has been plucked out after having been burnt and charred, and the question is asked, Is it good for anything now? This is the condition of Jerusalem: it has been given into the fire for fuel, plucked out of it, as it were, half-burnt; is it good for anything?