Isaiah 45:9

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 make light and I also make darkness. I make peace as well as trouble. I am the Lord. I do all these things. 8Let justice pour down from the sky like rain! Let the earth be ready to receive it! Then salvation and righteousness will grow together, like strong plants. I am the Lord, and I will cause it to happen.’ It will be very bad for people who quarrel with their Maker. They are like pieces of a pot that are lying on the ground among all the other pieces. The clay does not say to the potter, ‘What do you think you are you making?’ The pot does not say to the potter, ‘Your work is useless!’ 10It will be very bad for people who say to their fathers, ‘What kind of child have you become a father to?’ And it will be bad for people who say to their mothers, ‘What kind of baby are you giving birth to?’ 11The Lord is Israel's Holy God. He is the one who created Israel. He says this about the things that will happen: ‘You should not ask me questions about my children. You should not tell me what to do with the people that I have made

Isaiah 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 64:8But Lord, you are still our Father. We are like clay that you have used. You are like the potter who has made us into pots. You made us all with your own hands.
• Exodus 9:16But I have let you live, to show you my power. Then people all over the world will know how great I am.
• Job 15:24He is afraid and confused. Trouble is ready to attack him, like a king with his army.
• Job 40:8Do you say that I am not a fair judge? Do you want to show that I am guilty, not you? Then you could say that you are right.
• Psalms 2:2Kings and rulers decide to work together, to fight against the Lord and the king that he has chosen.
• Proverbs 21:30There is no wisdom, no knowledge and no advice that can win against the Lord.
• Jeremiah 50:24Babylon, I put a trap to catch you, and you did not know about it. Now I have caught you in my trap, because you fought against me.
• 1 Corinthians 10:22If we do things like that, we will cause the Lord to be angry. We should worship only him. You know that we are not stronger than he is!
• Isaiah 10:15The Lord says this: ‘The axe has no more power than the person who uses it. A saw is not more important than the person who cuts with it. A stick cannot lift up the man who holds it. No, it is the man that lifts up the stick!’
• Isaiah 29:16Your minds are really confused! You think that the clay is more important than the person who uses it to make pots! A bowl cannot say to its maker, ‘You did not make me!’ A pot cannot say to the potter, ‘You do not know what you are doing!’
• Jeremiah 18:6He said, ‘I tell you this: I can do to you, nation of Israel, the same thing that this potter does with his clay. I hold you in my hands, as the potter holds the clay in his hands.
• Romans 9:20But you are only human. You have no authority to speak against God like that. God has made you. A pot cannot speak against the person who made it! It cannot ask him, ‘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

• Blasphemy
• Clay
• Infidelity
• Isaiah
• Potsherd
• Presumption
• Reverence

In the dictionaries

• Maker
• Anointed
• Confusion
• Elect
• Look
• Potsherd
• Pottery
• Choose; Chosen
• Fashion
• Isaiah

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