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”?
Parallel translations
- WEB You turn things upside down! Should the potter be thought to be like clay; that the thing made should say about him who made it, “He didn’t make me”; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding?”
- KJV Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?
- BSB You have turned things upside down, as if the potter were regarded as clay. Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, “He did not make me”? Can the pottery say of the potter, “He has no understanding”?
- NKJV Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; For shall the thing made say of him who made it, “He did not make me”? Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?
- NASB You turn things around! Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay, That what is made would say to its maker, “He did not make me”; Or what is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
They invert reality, as if the clay could deny the potter who made it.
Overview
Isaiah rebukes the absurdity of creatures presuming to judge or deny their Creator. The potter-and-clay image affirms God's absolute right over what He has made. Paul develops this same picture in Romans 9 to uphold God's sovereignty, calling us to humble submission before our Maker.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Rom 9:19–21You will say then to me, “Why does he still find fault? For who withstands his will?”
- Isa 64:8But now, Yahweh, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you our potter. We all are the work of your hand.
- Isa 45:9–11Woe 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?’
- Ps 94:8–9Consider, you senseless among the people; you fools, when will you be wise?
- Jer 18:1–10The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying,
- Isa 24:1Behold, Yahweh makes the earth empty, makes it waste, turns it upside down, and scatters its inhabitants.
- Acts 17:6When they didn’t find them, they dragged Jason and certain brothers before the rulers of the city, crying, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here also,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 29:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.