⁴ 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?^{(A) 5} If 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.