New American Standard Bible 2020
Isaiah 45:9
9“Woe to the one who 1quarrels with 2his Maker-- A piece of pottery 3among the other earthenware pottery pieces! Will the 4clay say to the 5potter, ‘What are you doing?’ Or the thing you are making 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 well-being and creating disaster; I am the Lord who does all these things. 8“Drip down, heavens, from above, And let the clouds pour down righteousness; Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit, And righteousness sprout with it. I, the Lord, have created it. “Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker-- A piece of pottery among the other earthenware pottery pieces! Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’ Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’? 10Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you fathering?’ Or to a woman, ‘To what are you giving birth?’” 11This is what the Lord says, the Holy One of Israel and his Maker: “Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons, And you shall commit to Me 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
- quarrelsרִיבrîyb rûb · to contendH7378
- his Makerיָצַרyâtsar · to form: formedH3335
- A pieceחֶ֫רֶשׂchereώ · earthenwareH2789
- amongאֵת'êth · withH854
- earthenwareאֲדָמָה'ădâmâh · land: soilH127
- clayחֹ֫מֶרchômer · clayH2563
- sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Whatמָהmâh mah mâ ma meh · what?H4100
- are you doingעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
- Or the thingפֹּ֫עַלpô‛al · workH6467
- He hasאַ֫יִן'ayin · nothingH369
- handsיָדyâd · handH3027
Cross-references for Isaiah 45:9
- Isaiah 64:8But now, Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter, And all of us are the work of Your hand.
- Exodus 9:16But indeed, for this reason I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My power and in order to proclaim My name throughout the earth.
- Job 15:24Distress and anguish terrify him, They overpower him like a king ready for the attack,
- Job 40:8Will you really nullify My judgment? Will you condemn Me so that you may be justified?
- Psalms 2:2The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers conspire together Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
- Proverbs 21:30There is no wisdom, no understanding, And no plan against the Lord.
- Jeremiah 50:24I set a trap for you and you were also caught, Babylon, While you yourself were not aware; You have been found and also seized Because you have engaged in conflict with the Lord.”
- 1 Corinthians 10:22Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?
- Isaiah 10:15Is the axe to boast itself over the one who chops with it? Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it? That would be like a club wielding those who lift it, Or like a rod lifting the one who is not wood.
- Isaiah 29:16You turn things around! Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay, That what is made would say to its maker, “He did not make me”; Or what is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?
- Jeremiah 18:6“Am I not able, house of Israel, to deal with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, house of Israel.
- Romans 9:20On the contrary, who are you, you foolish person, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it?
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
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
New American Standard Bible 2020 — © 1960–2020 The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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