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Romans 9:20

King James Version (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?

Translations

Romans 9:20 - Amplified Bible

But who are you, a mere man, to criticize {and} contradict {and} answer back to God? Will what is formed say to him that formed it, Why have you made me thus?

Romans 9:20 - American Standard Version

Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why didst thou make me thus?

Romans 9:20 - Bible in Basic English

But, O man, who are you, to make answer against God? May the thing which is made say to him who made it, Why did you make me so?

Romans 9:20 - Darby Bible

Aye, but thou, O man, who art *thou* that answerest again to God? Shall the thing formed say to him that has formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?

Romans 9:20 - English Standard Version

But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?"

Romans 9:20 - King James Version

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?

Romans 9:20 - La Biblia de las Americas

Al contrario, ¿quién eres tù, oh hombre, que le contestas a Dios? ¿Dirá acaso el objeto modelado al que lo modela: Por qué me hiciste asì?

Romans 9:20 - The Message

Who in the world do you think you are to second-guess God? Do you for one moment suppose any of us knows enough to call God into question? Clay doesn’t talk back to the fingers that mold it, saying, "Why did you shape me like this?" Isn’t it obvious that a potter has a perfect right to shape one lump of clay into a vase for holding flowers and another into a pot for cooking beans? If God needs one style of pottery especially designed to show his angry displeasure and another style carefully crafted to show his glorious goodness, isn’t that all right? Either or both happens to Jews, but it also happens to the other people. Hosea put it well:

   I’ll call nobodies and make them somebodies;
      I’ll call the unloved and make them beloved.
   In the place where they yelled out, "You’re nobody!"
      they’re calling you "God’s living children."   Isaiah maintained this same emphasis:
   If each grain of sand on the seashore were numbered
      and the sum labeled "chosen of God,"
   They’d be numbers still, not names;
      salvation comes by personal selection.
   God doesn’t count us; he calls us by name.
      Arithmetic is not his focus.
Isaiah had looked ahead and spoken the truth:
   If our powerful God
      had not provided us a legacy of living children,
   We would have ended up like ghost towns,
      like Sodom and Gomorrah.
How can we sum this up? All those people who didn’t seem interested in what God was doing actually embraced what God was doing as he straightened out their lives. And Israel, who seemed so interested in reading and talking about what God was doing, missed it. How could they miss it? Because instead of trusting God, they took over. They were absorbed in what they themselves were doing. They were so absorbed in their "God projects" that they didn’t notice God right in front of them, like a huge rock in the middle of the road. And so they stumbled into him and went sprawling. Isaiah (again!) gives us the metaphor for pulling this together:

   Careful! I’ve put a huge stone on the road to Mount Zion,
      a stone you can’t get around.
   But the stone is me! If you’re looking for me,
      you’ll find me on the way, not in the way.

Romans 9:20 - New American Standard Bible

On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, "Why did you make me like this," will it?

Romans 9:20 - Nueva Biblia Latinoamericana de Hoy

Al contrario, ¿quién eres tù, oh hombre, que le contestas a Dios? ¿Dirá acaso el objeto modelado al que lo modela: "Por qué me hiciste asì?"

Romans 9:20 - World English Bible

But no, man, who are you who replies against God? Will the thing formed ask him who formed it, "Why did you make me like this?"

Romans 9:20 - Young's Living Translation

nay, but, O man, who art thou that art answering again to God? shall the thing formed say to Him who did form [it], Why me didst thou make thus?

Romans 9:20 - Additional Comments

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