Berean Standard Bible
Isaiah 45:9
9Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker— one clay pot among many. Does the clay ask the potter, ‘What are you making?’1 Does your work 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
7I form the light and create the darkness; I bring prosperity and create calamity. I, the LORD, do all these things. 8Drip down, O heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open up that salvation may sprout and righteousness spring up with it; I, the LORD, have created it. 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’? 10Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What have you begotten?’ or to his mother, ‘What have you brought forth?’” 11Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: “Concerning things to come, do you question Me about My sons, or instruct Me in 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
- Woeהוֹיhôy · woe!H1945
- to him who quarrelsרִיבrîyb rûb · to contendH7378
- ·אֵת'êth · withH854
- with his Makerיָצַרyâtsar · to form: formedH3335
- one clay potחֶ֫רֶשׂchereώ · earthenwareH2789
- among manyאֲדָמָה'ădâmâh · land: soilH127
- Does the clayחֹ֫מֶרchômer · clayH2563
- askאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Whatמָהmâh mah mâ ma meh · what?H4100
- are you makingעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
- Does your work sayפֹּ֫עַלpô‛al · workH6467
- He has noאַ֫יִן'ayin · nothingH369
- handsיָדyâd · handH3027
Cross-references for Isaiah 45:9
- Isaiah 64:8But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.
- Exodus 9:16But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power to you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.
- Job 15:24Distress and anguish terrify him, overwhelming him like a king poised to attack.
- Job 40:8Would you really annul My justice? Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?
- Psalms 2:2The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together, against the LORD and against His Anointed One:
- Proverbs 21:30There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.
- Jeremiah 50:24I laid a snare for you, O Babylon, and you were caught before you knew it. You were found and captured because you challenged the LORD.
- 1 Corinthians 10:22Are we trying to provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?
- Isaiah 10:15Does an axe raise itself above the one who swings it? Does a saw boast over him who saws with it? It would be like a rod waving the one who lifts it, or a staff lifting him who is not wood!
- Isaiah 29:16You have turned things upside down, as if the potter were regarded as clay. Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, “He did not make me”? Can the pottery say of the potter, “He has no understanding”?
- Jeremiah 18:6“O house of Israel, declares the LORD, can I not treat you as this potter treats his clay? Just like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.
- Romans 9:20But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make 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
Notes
- 1. Isaiah 45:9 Cited in Romans 9:20 ↩
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
Berean Standard Bible — © Berean Bible — CC0 / Public Domain
Commentaries