1 T hen the Word of the Lord came to me saying,

I puta mai ano te kupu a Ihowa ki ahau, i mea,

2 “ Son of man, how is the wood of the vine better than any wood of a branch among the trees?

E te tama a te tangata, he aha te nuinga ake o te waina i nga rakau katoa, o te manga waina i roto i nga rakau o te ngahere?

3 C an wood be taken from it to make anything? Or can men take a piece of wood from it on which to hang a pot?

E tangohia mai ranei tetahi wahi o reira, hei mahinga i tetahi mahi? e tangohia ranei tetahi titi i reira hei whakairi mo tetahi mea?

4 I f it has been put into the fire to burn, and the fire has burned up both of its ends, and the center of it is black from the fire, can it then be used for anything?

Nana, e maka ana ki te ahi hei wahie; pau ake i te ahi ona pito e rua, wera iho a waenganui; he pai ranei mo tetahi mahi?

5 S ee, if it is not used for anything while it is whole, how much less can it ever be used for anything when the fire has burned it up and it has turned black!

Nana, i tona toitutanga, kihai i pai mo tetahi mahi; katahi ka he rawa mo tetahi mahi a muri ake nei, i te mea ka kaia nei e te ahi, a ka wera?

6 S o the Lord God says, ‘Like the wood of the vine among the trees, which I have given to be burned in the fire, so will I give up the people of Jerusalem.

Mo reira ko te kupu tenei a te Ariki, a Ihowa, Ka rite ki taua rakau, ki te waina i roto i nga rakau o te ngahere, i tukua ra e ahau ki te ahi hei wahie, ka pera taku tukunga atu i nga tangata o Hiruharama.

7 I will set My face against them. Even if they get away from the fire, the fire will yet destroy them. Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I set My face against them.

Ka u atu ano toku mata hei he mo ratou. Ka puta mai ratou i te ahi, otiia ma te ahi ano ratou e kai: a ka mohio koutou ko Ihowa ahau, ina u atu toku mata ki te he mo ratou.

8 I will lay waste the land, because they have not been faithful,’” says the Lord God.

Ka meinga ano e ahau te whenua hei ururua mo te he i he ai ratou, e ai ta te Ariki, ta Ihowa.