Ayub 9:4

9:4 He is wise in heart ¹  and mighty ²  in strength ³  –

who has resisted ⁴  him and remained safe? ⁵ 

Yesaya 14:24

14:24 ⁶ The Lord who commands armies makes this solemn vow:

“Be sure of this:

Just as I have intended, so it will be;

just as I have planned, it will happen.

Yesaya 45:9

The Lord Gives a Warning

45:9 One who argues with his creator is in grave danger, ⁷ 

one who is like a mere ⁸  shard among the other shards on the ground!

The clay should not say to the potter, ⁹ 

“What in the world ¹⁰  are you doing?

Your work lacks skill!” ¹¹ 

Daniel 5:21

5:21 He was driven from human society, his mind ¹²  was changed to that of an animal, he lived ¹³  with the wild donkeys, he was fed grass like oxen, and his body became damp with the dew of the sky, until he came to understand that the most high God rules over human kingdoms, and he appoints over them whomever he wishes.

Roma 9:20

9:20 But who indeed are you – a mere human being ¹⁴  – to talk back to God? ¹⁵  Does what is molded say to the molder, “Why have you made me like this?” ¹⁶ 

[9:4]  ¹ tn The genitive phrase translated “in heart” would be a genitive of specification, specifying that the wisdom of God is in his intelligent decisions.

[9:4]  sn The heart is the seat of intelligence and understanding, the faculty of decision making.

[9:4]  ² sn The words אַמִּיץ (’ammits) and כֹּחַ (koakh) are synonyms, the first meaning “sturdy; mighty; robust,” and the second “strength.” It too can be interpreted as a genitive of specification – God is mighty with respect to his power. But that comes close to expressing a superlative idea (like “song of songs” or “anger of his wrath”).

[9:4]  ³ tn The first half of the verse simply has “wise of heart and mighty of strength.” The entire line is a casus pendens that will refer to the suffix on אֵלָיו (’elayv) in the second colon. So the question is “Who has resisted the one who is wise of heart and mighty of strength?” Again, the rhetorical question is affirming that no one has done this.

[9:4]  ⁴ tn The verb is the Hiphil of the verb קָשָׁה (qashah, “to be hard”). It frequently is found with the word for “neck,” describing people as “stiff-necked,” i.e., stubborn, unbending. So the idea of resisting God fits well. The fact that this word occurs in Exodus with the idea of hardening the heart against God may indicate that there is an allusion to Pharaoh here.

[9:4]  ⁵ tn The use of שָׁלֵם (shalem) in the Qal is rare. It has been translated “remain safe” by E. Dhorme, “survived” by the NEB, “remained unscathed” by the NAB and NIV, or “succeeded” by KJV, G. R. Driver.

[14:24]  ⁶ sn Having announced the downfall of the Chaldean empire, the Lord appends to this prophecy a solemn reminder that the Assyrians, the major Mesopotamian power of Isaiah’s day, would be annihilated, foreshadowing what would subsequently happen to Babylon and the other hostile nations.

[45:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who argues with the one who formed him.”

[45:9]  ⁸ tn The words “one who is like a mere” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and clarification.

[45:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “Should the clay say to the one who forms it?” The rhetorical question anticipates a reply, “Of course not!”

[45:9]  ¹⁰ tn The words “in the world” are supplied in the translation to approximate in English idiom the force of the sarcastic question.

[45:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “your work, there are no hands for it,” i.e., “your work looks like something made by a person who has no hands.”

[5:21]  ¹² tn Aram “heart.”

[5:21]  ¹³ tn Aram “his dwelling.”

[9:20]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “O man.”

[9:20]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “On the contrary, O man, who are you to talk back to God?”

[9:20]  ¹⁶ sn A quotation from Isa 29:16; 45:9.