Isaiah 45:9-10

The Lord Gives a Warning

45:9 One who argues with his creator is in grave danger, ¹ 

one who is like a mere ²  shard among the other shards on the ground!

The clay should not say to the potter, ³ 

“What in the world ⁴  are you doing?

Your work lacks skill!” ⁵ 

45:10 Danger awaits one who says ⁶  to his father,

“What in the world ⁷  are you fathering?”

and to his mother,

“What in the world are you bringing forth?” ⁸ 

[45:9]  ¹ tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who argues with the one who formed him.”

[45:9]  ² tn The words “one who is like a mere” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and clarification.

[45:9]  ³ tn Heb “Should the clay say to the one who forms it?” The rhetorical question anticipates a reply, “Of course not!”

[45:9]  ⁴ tn The words “in the world” are supplied in the translation to approximate in English idiom the force of the sarcastic question.

[45:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “your work, there are no hands for it,” i.e., “your work looks like something made by a person who has no hands.”

[45:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “Woe [to] one who says” (NASB and NIV both similar); NCV “How terrible it will be.”

[45:10]  ⁷ tn See the note at v. 9. This phrase occurs a second time later in this verse.

[45:10]  ⁸ sn Verses 9-10 may allude to the exiles’ criticism that the Lord does not appear to know what he is doing.