5
I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I gird you, though you do not know me,
6
that men may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.
7
I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe, I am the LORD, who do all these things.
8
"Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the skies rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation may sprout forth, and let it cause righteousness to spring up also; I the LORD have created it.
9
"Woe to him who strives with his Maker, an earthen vessel with the potter! Does the clay say to him who fashions it, 'What are you making'? or 'Your work has no handles'?
10
Woe to him who says to a father, 'What are you begetting?' or to a woman, 'With what are you in travail?'"
11
Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: "Will you question me about my children, or command me concerning the work of my hands?
12
I made the earth, and created man upon it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. (Revised Standard Version)