Romans 9:21

Does not the potter have the right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special occasions and another for common use?

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Paul addresses his readers in the middle of a rhetorical dialogue on divine sovereignty, directly answering his own question in Romans 9:20 about whether created matter can question its Creator.

The words — ἐξουσὴν (exousian) denotes the legal right or authority, and κεραμεύς (kerameus) refers to the craftsman who shapes the material.

The thread — This imagery echoes Isaiah 64:8 where God claims the potter identity over human clay, aligns with Proverbs 16:4 on divine purpose for all things, and parallels 2 Timothy 2:20’s distinction between vessels made for common and special use.

Why it lands — The text asserts the Creator’s prerogative to shape the same material into different functional categories, demanding that readers cease demanding accountability from the One who exercises that shaping authority.

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 Greek words

King James Version

Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

Cross-references

Isaiah 64:8 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.
Proverbs 16:4 The LORD has made everything for His purpose—even the wicked for the day of disaster.
2 Timothy 2:20 A large house contains not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay. Some indeed are for honorable use, but others are for common use.
Jeremiah 18:3 So I went down to the potter’s house and saw him working at the wheel.
Acts 9:15 “Go!” said the Lord. “This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings, and before the people of Israel.
Romans 9:22 What if God, intending to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the vessels of His wrath, prepared for destruction?
Romans 9:11 Yet before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad, in order that God’s plan of election might stand,
Romans 9:18 Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.
Jeremiah 22:28 Is this man Coniah a despised and shattered pot, a jar that no one wants? Why are he and his descendants hurled out and cast into a land they do not know?
Hosea 8:8 Israel is swallowed up! Now they are among the nations like a worthless vessel.