Logos Bible Study

Isaiah 45:9

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The Lord Gives a Warning

45:9One who argues with his creator is in grave danger,21

one who is like a mere22 shard among the other shards on the ground!

The clay should not say to the potter,23

“What in the world24 are you doing?

Your work lacks skill!”25

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Footnotes

  1. 21 Heb “Woe [to] the one who argues with the one who formed him.”
  2. 22 The words “one who is like a mere” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and clarification.
  3. 23 Heb “Should the clay say to the one who forms it?” The rhetorical question anticipates a reply, “Of course not!”
  4. 24 The words “in the world” are supplied in the translation to approximate in English idiom the force of the sarcastic question.
  5. 25 Heb “your work, there are no hands for it,” i.e., “your work looks like something made by a person who has no hands.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“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’?

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“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’?

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“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’?

NLTNew Living Translation

“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?’

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Woe to the one who strives with his maker,

a potsherd among potsherds of earth!

Does the clay say to the one who fashions it,

‘What are you making?’

and ‘Your work has no hands’?

KJV 1900King James Version

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?