Isaiah 45:9
7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
8 Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.
Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?
10 Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?
11 Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.
Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker— one clay pot among many. Does the clay ask the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘He has no hands’?
- KJV
- Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?
- WEB
- Woe to him who strives with his Maker— a clay pot among the clay pots of the earth! Shall the clay ask him who fashions it, ‘What are you making?’ or your work, ‘He has no hands’?
- ASV
- Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! a potsherd among the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?
- DARBY
- Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let a potsherd [strive] with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that formeth it, What makest thou? Or thy work, He hath no hands?
- BLB
- Woe [to] the one striving with the One having formed him—a potsherd among the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to the one fashioning it, ‘What are you doing? Or ‘Your work [has] no hands unto it!’?
- ÅB
- Ve den som tretter med sin skaper, et skår blant andre skår av jord! Kan leiren si til ham som former det: Hva gjør du? Og kan ditt verk si om deg: Han har ingen hender?
- OTB
- Ve dem som kives med sin Skaper, de som bare er leirskår blant leirskår på bakken. Sier leiren til pottemakeren: ‘Hva lager du?’ Sier ditt verk: ‘Han har ingen hender’?
- B1930
- Ve den som tretter med sin skaper, et skår blandt andre skår av jord! Kan leret si til ham som former det: Hvad gjør du? Og kan ditt verk si om dig: Han har ingen hender?
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Romans 9:20–21
Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Read in contextIsaiah 64:8
But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
Read in contextIsaiah 10:15
Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.
Read in contextJeremiah 18:6
O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.
Read in contextIsaiah 29:16
Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?
Read in contextProverbs 21:30
There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD.
Read in contextJob 40:8–9
Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?
Read in contextPsalms 2:2–9
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
Read in context