Bible Strands
Isaiah 45:10
Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What have you begotten?’ or to his mother, ‘What have you brought forth?’”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Isaiah 45:10 addresses those who challenge the Creator, directly extending the clay-pot metaphor from Isaiah 45:9 and responding to the Lord’s rhetorical question in Isaiah 45:11 about humans instructing Him.
The words — The Hebrew אֹמֵר ('o.Mer) means "[one who] says," and תְּחִילִֽין (te.chi.Li/n) translates to "are you in labor with."
The thread — The prohibition against questioning the Maker runs through Isaiah 45:9 and 45:11, the mandate to honor parents echoes Deuteronomy 27:16 and Malachi 1:6, and the call to submit to divine authority parallels Hebrews 12:9.
Why it lands — The text records a direct challenge to parental creation and demands that readers acknowledge the Creator's absolute authority over His own formation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 27:16 ‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
- Malachi 1:6 “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me?” says the LORD of Hosts to you priests who despise My name. “But you ask, ‘How have we despised Your name?’
- Hebrews 12:9 Furthermore, we have all had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Should we not much more submit to the Father of our spirits and live?