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”?

⁹ “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?

⁸ And yet, O Lord, you are our Father.
    We are the clay, and you are the potter.
    We all are formed by your hand.

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

² “Do you still want to argue with the Almighty?
    You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?”

³ Won’t you ever stop blowing hot air?
    What makes you keep on talking?