Font Size
Isaiah 45:9-13
New English Translation
Isaiah 45:9-13
New English Translation
The Lord Gives a Warning
9 One who argues with his Creator is in grave danger,[a]
one who is like a mere[b] shard among the other shards on the ground!
The clay should not say to the potter,[c]
“What in the world[d] are you doing?
Your work lacks skill!”[e]
10 Danger awaits one who says[f] to his father,
“What in the world[g] are you fathering?”
and to his mother,
“What in the world are you bringing forth?”[h]
11 This is what the Lord says,
the Holy One of Israel,[i] the one who formed him,
concerning things to come:[j]
“How dare you question me[k] about my children!
How dare you tell me what to do with[l] the work of my own hands!
12 I made the earth;
I created the people who live[m] on it.
It was me—my hands[n] stretched out the sky.[o]
I give orders to all the heavenly lights.[p]
13 It is me—I stir him up and commission him;[q]
I will make all his ways level.
He will rebuild my city;
he will send my exiled people home,
but not for a price or a bribe,”
says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 45:9 tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who argues with the one who formed him.”
- Isaiah 45:9 tn The words “one who is like a mere” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and clarification.
- Isaiah 45:9 tn Heb “Should the clay say to the one who forms it,…?” The rhetorical question anticipates a reply, “Of course not!”
- Isaiah 45:9 tn The words “in the world” are supplied in the translation to approximate in English idiom the force of the sarcastic question.
- Isaiah 45:9 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.”
- Isaiah 45:10 tn Heb “Woe [to] one who says” (NASB and NIV both similar); NCV “How terrible it will be.”
- Isaiah 45:10 tn See the note at v. 9. This phrase occurs a second time later in this verse.
- Isaiah 45:10 sn Verses 9-10 may allude to the exiles’ criticism that the Lord does not appear to know what he is doing.
- Isaiah 45:11 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
- Isaiah 45:11 tc The Hebrew text reads “the one who formed him, the coming things.” Among various suggestions, some have proposed an emendation of יֹצְרוֹ (yotsero, “the one who formed him”) to יֹצֵר (yotser, “the one who forms”; the suffixed form in the Hebrew text may be influenced by vv. 9-10, where the same form appears twice) and takes “coming things” as the object of the participle (either objective genitive or accusative): “the one who brings the future into being.”
- Isaiah 45:11 tn Heb “Ask me.” The rhetorical command sarcastically expresses the Lord’s disgust with those who question his ways.
- Isaiah 45:11 tn Heb “Do you command me about…?” The rhetorical question sarcastically expresses the Lord’s disgust with those who question his ways.
- Isaiah 45:12 tn The words “who live” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Isaiah 45:12 tn Heb “I, even my hands”; NASB “I stretched out…with My hands”; NRSV “it was my hands that stretched out.” The same construction occurs at the beginning of v. 13.
- Isaiah 45:12 tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
- Isaiah 45:12 tn Heb “and to all their host I commanded.” See the notes at 40:26.
- Isaiah 45:13 tn Heb “I stir him up in righteousness”; NASB “I have aroused him.” See the note at 41:2. Cyrus (cf. 44:28) is in view here.
Isaiah 45:9-13
New International Version
Isaiah 45:9-13
New International Version
9 “Woe to those who quarrel(A) with their Maker,(B)
those who are nothing but potsherds(C)
among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,(D)
‘What are you making?’(E)
Does your work say,
‘The potter has no hands’?(F)
10 Woe to the one who says to a father,
‘What have you begotten?’
or to a mother,
‘What have you brought to birth?’
11 “This is what the Lord says—
the Holy One(G) of Israel, and its Maker:(H)
Concerning things to come,
do you question me about my children,
or give me orders about the work of my hands?(I)
12 It is I who made the earth(J)
and created mankind on it.
My own hands stretched out the heavens;(K)
I marshaled their starry hosts.(L)
13 I will raise up Cyrus[a](M) in my righteousness:
I will make all his ways straight.(N)
He will rebuild my city(O)
and set my exiles free,
but not for a price or reward,(P)
says the Lord Almighty.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 45:13 Hebrew him
New English Translation (NET)
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.