Amplified Bible
Isaiah 45:9
9“Woe (judgment is coming) to him who quarrels with his Maker— A [worthless] piece of broken pottery among other broken pieces [equally worthless]! Shall the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’ Or does the thing say, ‘He has no hands’?
Isaiah 45:9 in other versions
- King James Version (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?
- New International Version (NIV)“Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘The potter has no hands’?
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?' or 'Your work has no handles'?
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands’?
Context of Isaiah 45:9
7The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing peace and creating disaster; I am the Lord who does all these things. 8“Rain down, O heavens, from above, Let the clouds pour down righteousness [all the blessings of God]; Let the earth open up, let salvation bear fruit, And righteousness spring up with it; I, the Lord, have created it. “Woe (judgment is coming) to him who quarrels with his Maker— A [worthless] piece of broken pottery among other broken pieces [equally worthless]! Shall the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’ Or does the thing say, ‘He has no hands’? 10Woe (judgment is coming) to him who says to a father, ‘What are you fathering?’ Or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’ ” 11For the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker says this, “Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons, And give Me orders concerning the work of My hands.
Read all of Isaiah 45Isaiah 45:9 word by word
ה֗וֹי רָ֚ב אֶת־יֹ֣צְר֔וֹ חֶ֖רֶשׂ אֶת־חַרְשֵׂ֣י אֲדָמָ֑ה הֲיֹאמַ֨ר חֹ֤מֶר לְיֹֽצְרוֹ֙ מַֽה־תַּעֲשֶׂ֔ה וּפָעָלְךָ֖ אֵין־יָדַ֥יִם לֽוֹ׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Woeהוֹיhôy · woe!H1945
- unto him that strivethרִיבrîyb rûb · to contendH7378
- with his Makerיָצַרyâtsar · to form: formedH3335
- the potsherdחֶ֫רֶשׂchereώ · earthenwareH2789
- of the earthאֲדָמָה'ădâmâh · land: soilH127
- Shall the clayחֹ֫מֶרchômer · clayH2563
- sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- it, What makestעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
- thou? or thy workפֹּ֫עַלpô‛al · workH6467
- He hath no handsיָדyâd · handH3027
Cross-references for Isaiah 45:9
- Isaiah 64:8Yet, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our Potter, And we all are the work of Your hand.
- Exodus 9:16But indeed for this very reason I have allowed you to live, in order to show you My power and in order that My name may be proclaimed throughout all the earth.
- Job 15:24Distress and anxiety terrify him, They overpower him like a king ready for battle.
- Job 40:8Will you really annul My judgment and set it aside as void? Will you condemn Me [your God] that you may [appear to] be righteous and justified?
- Psalms 2:2The kings of the earth take their stand; And the rulers take counsel together Against the Lord and His Anointed (the Davidic King, the Messiah, the Christ), saying,
- Proverbs 21:30There is no [human] wisdom or understanding Or counsel [that can prevail] against the Lord.
- Jeremiah 50:24I set a trap for you and you also were caught, O Babylon, And you did not know it; You have been found and also seized Because you have struggled against the Lord.”
- 1 Corinthians 10:22Do we [really] provoke the Lord to jealousy [when we eat food sacrificed to handmade “gods” at pagan feasts]? Are we [spiritually] stronger than He? [Certainly not! He knows that the idols are nothing. But we deeply offend Him.]
- Isaiah 10:15Is the axe able to lift itself over the one who chops with it? Is the saw able to magnify itself over the one who wields it? That would be like a club moving those who lift it, Or like a staff raising him who is not [made of] wood [like itself]!
- Isaiah 29:16You turn things upside down [with your perversity]! Shall the potter be considered equal with the clay, That the thing that is made would say to its maker, “He did not make me”; Or the thing that is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?
- Jeremiah 18:6“O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?” says the Lord. “Look carefully, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.
- Romans 9:20On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers [arrogantly] back to God and dares to defy Him? Will the thing which is formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?”
Commentaries on Isaiah 45:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9Wo unto him that striveth with his Maker "To unto him that contendeth with the power that formed him" - The prophet answers or prevents the objections and cavils of the unbelieving Jews, disposed to murmur against God, and to arraign the wisdom and justice of his dispensations in regard to them; in permitting them to be oppressed by their enemies, and in promising them deliverance instead of preventing their captivity. St. Paul has borrowed the image, and…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9Wo unto him that striveth with his Maker! - This verse commences a new subject. Its connection with the preceeding is not very obvious. It may be designed to prevent the objections and cavils of the unbelieving Jews who were disposed to complain against God, and to arraign the wisdom of his dispensations in regard to them, in permitting them to be oppressed by their enemies, and in promising them deliver ance instead of preventing their captivity. So…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-10Verses 5-10 There is no God beside Jehovah. There is nothing done without him. He makes peace, put here for all good; and creates evil, not the evil of sin, but the evil of punishment. He is the Author of all that is true, holy, good, or happy; and evil, error, and misery, came into the world by his permission, through the wilful apostacy of his creatures, but are restrained and overruled to his righteous purpose. This doctrine is applied, for the comfort…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9-11pot … the potter … him … his father: It is foolish for a creature to question the wisdom of its creator.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. Anticipating the objections which the Jews might raise as to why God permitted their captivity, and when He did restore them, why He did so by a foreign prince, Cyrus, not a Jew (Is 40:27, &c.), but mainly and ultimately, the objections about to be raised by the Jews against God's sovereign act in adopting the whole Gentile world as His spiritual Israel (Is 45:8, referring to this catholic diffusion of the Gospel), as if it were an infringement of…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 45:9
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 45
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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