Psalms 2:9

2:9 You will break them ¹  with an iron scepter; ² 

you will smash them like a potter’s jar!’” ³ 

Psalms 119:83

119:83 For ⁴  I am like a wineskin ⁵  dried up in smoke. ⁶ 

I do not forget your statutes.

Isaiah 30:14

30:14 It shatters in pieces like a clay jar,

so shattered to bits that none of it can be salvaged. ⁷ 

Among its fragments one cannot find a shard large enough ⁸ 

to scoop a hot coal from a fire ⁹ 

or to skim off water from a cistern.” ¹⁰ 

Romans 9:21-22

9:21 Has the potter no right to make from the same lump of clay ¹¹  one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use? ¹²  9:22 But what if God, willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects ¹³  of wrath ¹⁴  prepared for destruction? ¹⁵ 

Revelation 2:27

2:27 he ¹⁶  will rule ¹⁷  them with an iron rod ¹⁸ 

and like clay jars he will break them to pieces, ¹⁹ 

¹ tc The LXX reads “you will shepherd them.” This reading, quoted in the Greek text of the NT in Rev 2:27; 12:5; 19:15, assumes a different vocalization of the consonantal Hebrew text and understands the verb as רָעָה (ra’ah, “to shepherd”) rather than רָעָע (ra’a’, “to break”). But the presence of נָפַץ (nafats, “to smash”) in the next line strongly favors the MT vocalization.

² tn The Hebrew term שֵׁבֶט (shevet) can refer to a “staff” or “rod,” but here it probably refers to the Davidic king’s royal scepter, symbolizing his sovereignty.

³ sn Like a potter’s jar. Before the Davidic king’s awesome power, the rebellious nations are like fragile pottery.

⁴ tn Or “even though.”

⁵ tn The Hebrew word נֹאד (no’d, “leather container”) refers to a container made from animal skin which is used to hold wine or milk (see Josh 9:4, 13; Judg 4:19; 1 Sam 16:20).

⁶ tn Heb “in the smoke.”

⁷ tn Heb “Its shattering is like the shattering of a jug of [i.e., “made by”] potters, [so] shattered one cannot save [any of it].”

⁸ tn The words “large enough” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

⁹ tn Heb “to remove fire from the place of kindling.”

¹⁰ tn On the meaning of גֶבֶא (geveh, “cistern”) see HALOT 170 s.v.

¹¹ tn Grk “Or does not the potter have authority over the clay to make from the same lump.”

¹² tn Grk “one vessel for honor and another for dishonor.”

¹³ tn Grk “vessels.” This is the same Greek word used in v. 21.

¹⁴ tn Or “vessels destined for wrath.” The genitive ὀργῆς (orghs) could be taken as a genitive of destination.

¹⁵ tn Or possibly “objects of wrath that have fit themselves for destruction.” The form of the participle could be taken either as a passive or middle (reflexive). ExSyn 417-18 argues strongly for the passive sense (which is followed in the translation), stating that “the middle view has little to commend it.” First, καταρτίζω (katartizw) is nowhere else used in the NT as a direct or reflexive middle (a usage which, in any event, is quite rare in the NT). Second, the lexical force of this verb, coupled with the perfect tense, suggests something of a “done deal” (against some commentaries that see these vessels as ready for destruction yet still able to avert disaster). Third, the potter-clay motif seems to have one point: The potter prepares the clay.

¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹⁷ tn Grk “will shepherd.”

¹⁸ tn Or “scepter.” The Greek term ῥάβδος (rJabdo") can mean either “rod” or “scepter.”

¹⁹ sn A quotation from Ps 2:9 (with the line introducing the quotation containing a partial allusion to Ps 2:8). See also Rev 12:5, 19:15.