Isaiah 45:9
Context
9“Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker—
         An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth!
         Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’
         Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?

10“Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
         Or to a woman, ‘To what are you giving birth?’”

      11Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker:
         “Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons,
         And you shall commit to Me the work of My hands.

12“It is I who made the earth, and created man upon it.
         I stretched out the heavens with My hands
         And I ordained all their host.

13“I have aroused him in righteousness
         And I will make all his ways smooth;
         He will build My city and will let My exiles go free,
         Without any payment or reward,” says the LORD of hosts.

      14Thus says the LORD,
         “The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush
         And the Sabeans, men of stature,
         Will come over to you and will be yours;
         They will walk behind you, they will come over in chains
         And will bow down to you;
         They will make supplication to you:
         ‘Surely, God is with you, and there is none else,
         No other God.’”

15Truly, You are a God who hides Himself,
         O God of Israel, Savior!

16They will be put to shame and even humiliated, all of them;
         The manufacturers of idols will go away together in humiliation.

17Israel has been saved by the LORD
         With an everlasting salvation;
         You will not be put to shame or humiliated
         To all eternity.

      18For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited),
         “I am the LORD, and there is none else.

19“I have not spoken in secret,
         In some dark land;
         I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,
         ‘Seek Me in a waste place’;
         I, the LORD, speak righteousness,
         Declaring things that are upright.

20“Gather yourselves and come;
         Draw near together, you fugitives of the nations;
         They have no knowledge,
         Who carry about their wooden idol
         And pray to a god who cannot save.

21“Declare and set forth your case;
         Indeed, let them consult together.
         Who has announced this from of old?
         Who has long since declared it?
         Is it not I, the LORD?
         And there is no other God besides Me,
         A righteous God and a Savior;
         There is none except Me.

22“Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;
         For I am God, and there is no other.

23“I have sworn by Myself,
         The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness
         And will not turn back,
         That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.

24“They will say of Me, ‘Only in the LORD are righteousness and strength.’
         Men will come to Him,
         And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame.

25“In the LORD all the offspring of Israel
         Will be justified and will glory.”



NASB ©1995

Parallel Verses
American Standard Version
Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! a potsherd among the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?

Douay-Rheims Bible
Woe to him that gainsayeth his maker, a sherd of the earthen pots: shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it: What art thou making, and thy work is without hands?

Darby Bible Translation
Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let a potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that formeth it, What makest thou? Or thy work, He hath no hands?

English Revised Version
Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! a potsherd among the potsherds of the earth! shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?

Webster's Bible Translation
Woe to him that contendeth with his Maker! Let the potsherd contend with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?

World English Bible
Woe to him who strives with his Maker-- a clay pot among the clay pots of the earth! Shall the clay ask him who fashions it, 'What are you making?' or your work, 'He has no hands?'

Young's Literal Translation
Woe to him who is striving with his Former, (A potsherd with potsherds of the ground!) Doth clay say to its Framer, 'What dost thou?' And thy work, 'He hath no hands?'
Library
Hidden and Revealed
'Verily thou art a God that hidest Thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.... I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth; I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye Me in vain: I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.'--ISAIAH xlv, 15,19. The former of these verses expresses the thoughts of the prophet in contemplating the close of a great work of God's power which issues in the heathen's coming to Israel and acknowledging God. He adores the depth of the divine
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Sovereignty and Salvation
"Ere since by faith I saw the stream His flowing wounds supply, Redeeming love has been my theme, And shall be till I die." I shall never forget that day, while memory holds its place; nor can I help repeating this text whenever I remember that hour when first I knew the Lord. How strangely gracious! How wonderfully and marvelously kind, that he who heard these words so little time ago for his own soul's profit, should now address you this morning as his hearers from the same text, in the full and
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 2: 1856

The Solar Eclipse
I shall note this morning, in addressing you, that since the Lord creates darkness as well as light; first of all, eclipses of every kind are part of God's way of governing the world; in the second place, we shall notice that since God creates the darkness as well as the light, we may conclude beyond a doubt that he has a design in the eclipse--in the darkness as well as the light; and then, thirdly, we shall notice that as all things that God has created, whether they be light or whether they be
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 4: 1858

Ecce Homo
"Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth."--Is. xlv. 22. Mechthild of Hellfde, 1277. tr., Emma Frances Bevan, 1899 Wilt thou, sinner, be converted? Christ the Lord of glory see By His own denied, deserted, Bleeding, bound, and scourged for thee. Look again, O soul, behold Him On the cross uplifted high; See the precious life-blood flowing, See the tears that dim His eye. Love has pierced the heart that brake, Loveless sinner, for thy sake. Hearken till thy heart is broken To His
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen and Others (Second Series)

The Return of the Exiles
The advent of the army of Cyrus before the walls of Babylon was to the Jews a sign that their deliverance from captivity was drawing nigh. More than a century before the birth of Cyrus, Inspiration had mentioned him by name, and had caused a record to be made of the actual work he should do in taking the city of Babylon unawares, and in preparing the way for the release of the children of the captivity. Through Isaiah the word had been spoken: "Thus saith the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose
Ellen Gould White—The Story of Prophets and Kings

The Eve of the Restoration
'Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, 2. Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and He hath charged me to build Him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3. Who is there among you of all His people? his God
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Jehovah-Shammah: a Glorious Name for the New Year
THESE words may be used as a test as well as a text. They may serve for examination as well as consolation, and at the beginning of a year they may fulfill this useful double purpose. In any case they are full of marrow and fatness to those whose spiritual taste is purified. It is esteemed by the prophet to be the highest blessing that could come upon a city that its name should be, "JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH, The Lord is there." Even Jerusalem, in its best estate, would have this for its crowning blessing:
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891

The Eternity and Unchangeableness of God.
Exod. iii. 14.--"I AM THAT I AM."--Psal. xc. 2.--"Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God."--Job xi. 7-9.--"Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea." This is the chief point of saving knowledge,
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Of Four Things which Bring Great Peace
"My Son, now will I teach thee the way of peace and of true liberty." 2. Do, O my Lord, as Thou sayest, for this is pleasing unto me to hear. 3. "Strive, My Son, to do another's will rather than thine own. Choose always to have less rather than more. Seek always after the lowest place, and to be subject to all. Wish always and pray that the will of God be fulfilled in thee. Behold, such a man as this entereth into the inheritance of peace and quietness." 4. O my Lord, this Thy short discourse
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Covenanting According to the Purposes of God.
Since every revealed purpose of God, implying that obedience to his law will be given, is a demand of that obedience, the announcement of his Covenant, as in his sovereignty decreed, claims, not less effectively than an explicit law, the fulfilment of its duties. A representation of a system of things pre-determined in order that the obligations of the Covenant might be discharged; various exhibitions of the Covenant as ordained; and a description of the children of the Covenant as predestinated
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

"What Doest Thou Here?"
[This chapter is based on 1 Kings 19:9-18.] Elijah's retreat on Mount Horeb, though hidden from man, was known to God; and the weary and discouraged prophet was not left to struggle alone with the powers of darkness that were pressing upon him. At the entrance to the cave wherein Elijah had taken refuge, God met with him, through a mighty angel sent to inquire into his needs and to make plain the divine purpose for Israel. Not until Elijah had learned to trust wholly in God could he complete his
Ellen Gould White—The Story of Prophets and Kings

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