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20 No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?”

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20 But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God?(A) “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it,(B) ‘Why did you make me like this?’”[a](C)

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 9:20 Isaiah 29:16; 45:9

16 How foolish can you be?
    He is the Potter, and he is certainly greater than you, the clay!
Should the created thing say of the one who made it,
    “He didn’t make me”?
Does a jar ever say,
    “The potter who made me is stupid”?

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16 You turn things upside down,
    as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!(A)
Shall what is formed say to the one who formed(B) it,
    “You did not make me”?
Can the pot say to the potter,(C)
    “You know nothing”?(D)

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“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?’
10 How terrible it would be if a newborn baby said to its father,
    ‘Why was I born?’
or if it said to its mother,
    ‘Why did you make me this way?’”

11 This is what the Lord says—
    the Holy One of Israel and your Creator:
“Do you question what I do for my children?
    Do you give me orders about the work of my hands?

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“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)

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And yet, O Lord, you are our Father.
    We are the clay, and you are the potter.
    We all are formed by your hand.

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Yet you, Lord, are our Father.(A)
    We are the clay, you are the potter;(B)
    we are all the work of your hand.(C)

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13 So why are you bringing a charge against him?
    Why say he does not respond to people’s complaints?

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13 Why do you complain to him(A)
    that he responds to no one’s words[a]?(B)

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Footnotes

  1. Job 33:13 Or that he does not answer for any of his actions

“Do you still want to argue with the Almighty?
    You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?”

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“Will the one who contends with the Almighty(A) correct him?(B)
    Let him who accuses God answer him!”(C)

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15 Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’

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15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’(A)

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Won’t you ever stop blowing hot air?
    What makes you keep on talking?

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Will your long-winded speeches never end?(A)
    What ails you that you keep on arguing?(B)

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20 How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?

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20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[a]?(A)

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Footnotes

  1. James 2:20 Some early manuscripts dead

These people always cause trouble. Their minds are corrupt, and they have turned their backs on the truth. To them, a show of godliness is just a way to become wealthy.

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and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth(A) and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.

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20 So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish.

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20 Where is the wise person?(A) Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age?(B) Has not God made foolish(C) the wisdom of the world?

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“I know that you can do anything,
    and no one can stop you.
You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’
    It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about,
    things far too wonderful for me.
You said, ‘Listen and I will speak!
    I have some questions for you,
    and you must answer them.’
I had only heard about you before,
    but now I have seen you with my own eyes.
I take back everything I said,
    and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.”

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“I know that you can do all things;(A)
    no purpose of yours can be thwarted.(B)
You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’(C)
    Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
    things too wonderful for me to know.(D)

“You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
    I will question you,
    and you shall answer me.’(E)
My ears had heard of you(F)
    but now my eyes have seen you.(G)
Therefore I despise myself(H)
    and repent(I) in dust and ashes.”(J)

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“Will you discredit my justice
    and condemn me just to prove you are right?

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“Would you discredit my justice?(A)
    Would you condemn me to justify yourself?(B)

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