Christian Standard Bible
Isaiah 45:9
9“Woe to the one who argues with his Maker — one clay pot among many. Does clay say to the one forming it, ‘What are you making? ’ Or 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 light and create darkness, I make success and create disaster; I am the Lord, who does all these things. 8“Heavens, sprinkle from above, and let the skies shower righteousness. Let the earth open up so that salvation will sprout and righteousness will spring up with it. I, the Lord, have created it. “Woe to the one who argues with his Maker — one clay pot among many. Does clay say to the one forming it, ‘What are you making? ’ Or does your work say, ‘He has no hands’? 10Woe to the one who says to his father, ‘What are you fathering?’ or to his mother, ‘What are you giving birth to? ’” 11This is what the Lord, the Holy One of Israel and its Maker, says: “Ask me what is to happen to my sons, and instruct me about 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 Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we all are the work of your hands.
- Exodus 9:16However, I have let you live for this purpose: to show you my power and to make my name known on the whole earth.
- Job 15:24Trouble and distress terrify him, overwhelming him like a king prepared for battle.
- Job 40:8Would you really challenge my justice? Would you declare me guilty to justify yourself?
- Psalms 2:2The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers conspire together against the Lord and his Anointed One:
- Proverbs 21:30No wisdom, no understanding, and no counsel will prevail against the Lord.
- Jeremiah 50:24Babylon, I laid a trap for you, and you were caught, but you did not even know it. You were found and captured because you pitted yourself against the Lord.
- 1 Corinthians 10:22Or are we provoking the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
- Isaiah 10:15Does an ax exalt itself above the one who chops with it? Does a saw magnify itself above the one who saws with it? It would be like a rod waving the ones who lift it! It would be like a staff lifting the one who isn’t wood!
- Isaiah 29:16You have turned things around, as if the potter were the same as the clay. How can what is made say about its maker, “He didn’t make me”? How can what is formed say about the one who formed it, “He doesn’t understand what he’s doing”?
- Jeremiah 18:6“House of Israel, can I not treat you as this potter treats his clay?” — this is the Lord’s declaration. “Just like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, house of Israel.
- Romans 9:20On the contrary, who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? Will what is formed say to the one 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
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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