But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this?”
Parallel translations
- WEB But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed ask him who formed it, “Why did you make me like this?”
- KJV Nay 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?
- NKJV But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?”
- NASB On the contrary, who are you, you foolish person, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it?
- NLT 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?”
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
Paul reminds the objector that a mere human has no standing to argue against God, any more than a pot can criticize its maker. The creature must not presume to judge the Creator.
Overview
Paul's first response to the objection of v. 19 is to put the creature in its proper place. Echoing Isaiah 29:16 and 45:9, he asks who we are to talk back to God, since the thing formed cannot rightly question the one who formed it. This is not a refusal to give reasons so much as a rebuke of human arrogance that would sit in judgment over the infinitely wise and righteous God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- Isa 29:16You 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”?
- Isa 45:9–11Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker—one clay pot among many. Does the clay ask the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘He has no hands’?
- Isa 64:8But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.
- Job 33:13Why do you complain to Him that He answers nothing a man asks?
- Job 40:2“Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who argues with God give an answer.”
- Job 36:23Who has appointed His way for Him, or told Him, ‘You have done wrong’?
- Matt 20:15Do I not have the right to do as I please with what is mine? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
- Job 16:3Is there no end to your long-winded speeches? What provokes you to continue testifying?
- 1 Tim 6:5and constant friction between men of depraved mind who are devoid of the truth. These men regard godliness as a means of gain.
- Job 40:8Would you really annul My justice? Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?
- Job 38:2–3“Who is this who obscures My counsel by words without knowledge?
- 1 Cor 1:20Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
- Job 42:2–6“I know that You can do all things and that no plan of Yours can be thwarted.
- Mic 6:8He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
- Job 40:5I have spoken once, but I have no answer—twice, but I have nothing to add.”
- Titus 2:9Slaves are to submit to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative,
- Rom 2:1You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
- Jas 2:20O foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is worthless?
- 1 Cor 7:16How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.
How Romans 9:20 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 Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.