But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
Parallel translations
- WEB But now, Yahweh, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you our potter. We all are the work of your hand.
- BSB But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.
- NKJV But now, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.
- NASB ¶But now, Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter, And all of us are the work of Your hand.
- NLT And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand.
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
The people appeal to God as Father and potter, confessing they are the clay, the work of His hands. It matters because it casts hope entirely on God's fatherly, sovereign care.
Overview
Despite their sin, the people return to God as Father and Maker, submitting to Him as clay to the potter. This humble appeal acknowledges both God's sovereignty and His personal relationship with His people. The potter-clay image recurs in Romans 9:20-21 and assures believers that the God who formed them can also remake and restore them in Christ (Ephesians 2:10).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Eph 2:10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
- Ps 119:73Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.
- Jer 18:2–6Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.
- Ps 138:8The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.
- Ps 100:3Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
- Isa 29:16Surely 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?
- Isa 44:24Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;
- Isa 45:9Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive 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?
- Isa 63:16Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting.
- Isa 43:7Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
- Isa 44:21Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.
- Rom 9:20–24Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
- Deut 32:6Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?
- Job 10:8–9Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me.
- Gal 3:26For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
- Gal 3:29And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
- Exod 4:22And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:
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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 64:8 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.