Isaiah 45:9

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

Woe to those who strive with their Maker, like a piece of pottery among the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’?

Additional Resources

Other Translations

  • King James Version 1769 (Standard 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?

  • KJV1611 – Modern English

    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 work say, He has no hands?

  • King James Version 1611 (Original)

    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?

  • American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

    Woe{H1945} unto him that striveth{H7378} with his Maker!{H3335} a potsherd{H2789} among the potsherds{H2789} of the earth!{H127} Shall the clay{H2563} say{H559} to him that fashioneth{H3335} it, What makest{H6213} thou? or thy work,{H6467} He hath no hands?{H3027}

  • King James Version with Strong's Numbers

    Woe{H1945} unto him that striveth{H7378}{(H8801)} with his Maker{H3335}{(H8802)}! Let the potsherd{H2789} strive with the potsherds{H2789} of the earth{H127}. Shall the clay{H2563} say{H559}{(H8799)} to him that fashioneth{H3335}{(H8802)} it, What makest{H6213}{(H8799)} thou? or thy work{H6467}, He hath no hands{H3027}?

  • Coverdale Bible (1535)

    Wo be vnto him that chydeth wt his maker, the potsherde with the potter. Saieth ye claye to the potter: What makest thou? or, yi worke serueth for nothige?

  • Geneva Bible (1560)

    Woe be vnto him that striueth with his maker, the potsherd with the potsherds of the earth: shall the clay say to him that facioneth it, What makest thou? or thy worke, It hath none hands?

  • Bishops' Bible (1568)

    Wo be vnto hym that striueth with his maker, let the potsherde striue with the potsherdes of the earth: Saieth the clay to the potter, What makest thou? or, thy worke is not perfectly done.

  • Authorized King James Version (1611)

    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?

  • Webster's Bible (1833)

    Woe to him who strives with his Maker--a potsherd among the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay ask him who fashions it, "What are you making?" or your work, "He has no hands?"

  • Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

    Wo `to' him who is striving with his Former, (A potsherd with potsherds of the ground!) Doth clay say to its Framer, `What dost thou?' And thy work, `He hath no hands?'

  • American Standard Version (1901)

    Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! a potsherd among the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?

  • American Standard Version (1901)

    Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! a potsherd among the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?

  • Bible in Basic English (1941)

    Cursed is he who has an argument with his Maker, the pot which has an argument with the Potter! Will the wet earth say to him who is working with it, What are you doing, that your work has nothing by which it may be gripped?

  • World English Bible (2000)

    Woe to him who strives with his Maker-- a clay pot among the clay pots of the earth! Shall the clay ask him who fashions it, 'What are you making?' or your work, 'He has no hands?'

  • NET Bible® (New English Translation)

    The Lord Gives a Warning One who argues with his Creator is in grave danger, one who is like a mere shard among the other shards on the ground! The clay should not say to the potter,“What in the world are you doing? Your work lacks skill!”

Referenced Verses

  • Rom 9:20-21 : 20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its maker, 'Why have you made me like this?' 21 Does not the potter have the right over the clay to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?
  • Isa 29:16 : 16 You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, 'You did not make me'? Can the pot say to the potter, 'You know nothing'?
  • Isa 64:8 : 8 Do not be exceedingly angry, LORD, and do not remember our sins forever. Behold us, we are all your people.
  • Jer 18:6 : 6 “Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Behold, like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.
  • Jer 50:24 : 24 I set a trap for you, Babylon, and you were caught before you knew it. You were found and captured because you challenged the LORD.
  • Prov 21:30 : 30 There is no wisdom, no understanding, and no counsel that can stand against the LORD.
  • Isa 10:15 : 15 Does the axe exalt itself above the one who wields it? Or does the saw boast against the one who moves it? It would be like a rod waving the one who lifts it, or a staff acting as though it were not made of wood.
  • Exod 9:16-17 : 16 But I have raised you up for this purpose: that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. 17 You still set yourself against my people and refuse to let them go.
  • Job 15:24-26 : 24 Distress and anguish terrify him; they overpower him like a king prepared for battle. 25 For he has stretched out his hand against God and boasts arrogantly against the Almighty. 26 He rushes against Him defiantly, with a sturdy shield for the thickness of his defense.
  • Job 40:8-9 : 8 Would you indeed annul My justice? Would you condemn Me that you may be justified? 9 Do you have an arm like God's, and can your voice thunder like His?
  • Ps 2:2-9 : 2 The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against His Anointed One. 3 Let us break their chains and throw off their ropes from us. 4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. 5 Then He speaks to them in His anger and terrifies them in His wrath: 6 I have installed My King on Zion, My holy mountain. 7 I will proclaim the decree of the Lord: He said to me, 'You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.' 8 Ask of Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance and the ends of the earth Your possession. 9 You will break them with an iron rod; You will shatter them like a potter's vessel.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Isa 45:10-12
    3 verses
    82%

    10 Woe to those who say to a father, ‘What have you begotten?’ or to a mother, ‘What have you brought forth?’

    11 This is what the LORD, the Holy One of Israel and its Maker, says: ‘Concerning things to come, ask me, and concerning my children and the work of my hands, you command me?’

    12 I made the earth and created mankind upon it. My own hands stretched out the heavens, and I commanded their hosts.

  • Isa 29:15-16
    2 verses
    81%

    15 Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the LORD, who do their work in darkness and think, 'Who sees us? Who knows us?'

    16 You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, 'You did not make me'? Can the pot say to the potter, 'You know nothing'?

  • Rom 9:19-21
    3 verses
    79%

    19 You will say to me then, 'Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?'

    20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its maker, 'Why have you made me like this?'

    21 Does not the potter have the right over the clay to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?

  • Jer 18:2-6
    5 verses
    77%

    2 “Rise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear My words.”

    3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at the wheel.

    4 But the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, so he remade it into another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make.

    5 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

    6 “Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Behold, like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.

  • Isa 64:8
    74%

    8 Do not be exceedingly angry, LORD, and do not remember our sins forever. Behold us, we are all your people.

  • Isa 54:16
    74%

    16 Behold, I have created the smith who blows the coals in the fire and produces a weapon fit for its purpose; and I have also created the destroyer to ruin.

  • Acts 7:50
    73%

    50 Did not my hand make all these things?

  • Isa 10:15
    72%

    15 Does the axe exalt itself above the one who wields it? Or does the saw boast against the one who moves it? It would be like a rod waving the one who lifts it, or a staff acting as though it were not made of wood.

  • Job 10:8-9
    2 verses
    72%

    8 Your hands shaped me and made me, yet now You destroy me completely.

    9 Remember, You fashioned me from clay; will You now return me to dust?

  • Isa 30:14
    72%

    14 'Its collapse will be like that of a jar shattered into pieces so small that no fragment can be used to scoop fire from the hearth or draw water from a cistern.'

  • Isa 44:9-12
    4 verses
    72%

    9 All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Their witnesses see nothing and know nothing, so they will be put to shame.

    10 Who fashions a god or casts an idol that can profit nothing?

    11 Behold, all his companions will be put to shame, and the craftsmen are mere men. Let them all assemble and take their stand; they will be terrified and put to shame together.

    12 The blacksmith works with iron, shaping it in the coals. He hammers it with his tools and works it with the strength of his arms. Yet he grows hungry and loses his strength; he drinks no water and becomes faint.

  • Jer 33:2
    71%

    2 This is what the Lord, the Maker, the Lord who formed it to establish it, whose name is the Lord, says:

  • Jer 16:20
    71%

    20 Can people make their own gods? Such gods are not gods at all!

  • Isa 40:18
    71%

    18 To whom, then, will you compare God? What image can you find to resemble Him?

  • Isa 46:5
    70%

    5 To whom will you compare Me or make Me equal? Who will you liken Me to, that we may be alike?

  • Job 31:15
    70%

    15 Did not the same One who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same God form us both within our mothers?

  • Job 4:17
    70%

    17 Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be purer than his Maker?

  • Jer 25:7
    70%

    7 But you have not listened to me, declares the LORD, and you have provoked me to anger with the works of your hands, to your own harm.

  • Isa 40:25
    70%

    25 To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.

  • Isa 51:13
    69%

    13 You have forgotten the Lord, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth. You live in constant fear every day because of the anger of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy. But where is the fury of the oppressor?

  • Isa 43:13
    69%

    13 Even from eternity I am He; none can deliver out of My hand. When I act, who can reverse it?

  • Isa 41:24
    69%

    24 Look, you are nothing, and your works are less than nothing; anyone who chooses you is an abomination.

  • Hab 2:13
    69%

    13 Is it not from the LORD of Hosts that peoples labor for fire and nations grow weary for nothing?

  • Isa 45:18
    69%

    18 For this is what the LORD says—He who created the heavens, He is God, He who formed the earth and made it, He established it, He did not create it to be empty but formed it to be inhabited—He says: 'I am the LORD, and there is no other.'

  • Amos 4:13
    69%

    13 For behold, He who forms the mountains and creates the wind, who reveals His thoughts to mankind, who turns dawn to darkness and treads on the heights of the earth—the LORD God of Hosts is His name.

  • 2 Kgs 19:25
    69%

    25 Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it; in days of old I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass, that you have turned fortified cities into piles of rubble.

  • Hos 4:4
    68%

    4 But let no one contend, and let no one rebuke, for your people are like those who argue with a priest.

  • Isa 49:4
    68%

    4 But I said, 'I have worked in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and futility. Yet surely my vindication is with the Lord, and my reward is with my God.'

  • Isa 44:24
    68%

    24 This is what the LORD says—your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: 'I am the LORD, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens by myself and spreads out the earth by my own hand.'

  • Isa 45:8
    68%

    8 Rain down, heavens, from above, and let the clouds pour out righteousness; let the earth open up and salvation spring forth, together with righteousness. I, the LORD, have created it.

  • Job 40:2
    68%

    2 Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? Let the one who argues with God answer.

  • Job 33:6
    68%

    6 Look, I am like you before God; I too was formed from clay.

  • Job 36:23
    68%

    23 Who has appointed His path for Him, or who can say, 'You have done wrong'?