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 Living Translation (NLT)“What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’

Context of Isaiah 45:9

7I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things.’ 8“Rain down, you heavens, from above, And let the skies pour down righteousness; Let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation, And let righteousness spring up together. I, the Lord, have created it. “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’? 10Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What are you begetting?’ Or to the woman, ‘What have you brought forth?’ ” 11Thus says the Lord, The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: “Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons; And concerning the work of My hands, you command Me.

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 now, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.
• Exodus 9:16But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.
• Job 15:24Trouble and anguish make him afraid; They overpower him, like a king ready for battle.
• Job 40:8“Would you indeed annul My judgment? Would you condemn Me that you may be justified?
• Psalms 2:2The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
• Proverbs 21:30There is no wisdom or understanding Or counsel against the Lord.
• Jeremiah 50:24I have laid a snare for you; You have indeed been trapped, O Babylon, And you were not aware; You have been found and also caught, Because you have contended against the Lord.
• 1 Corinthians 10:22Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?
• Isaiah 10:15Shall the ax boast itself against him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, Or as if a staff could lift up, as if it were not wood!
• Isaiah 29:16Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; For shall the thing made say of him who made it, “He did not make me”? Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?
• Jeremiah 18:6“O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the Lord. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!
• Romans 9:20But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing 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

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

In the dictionaries

• Maker
• Anointed
• Confusion
• Elect
• Look
• Potsherd
• Pottery
• Fashion
• Isaiah
• Make, Maker

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