This second simile focuses on a total collapse rather than a sudden one.

Its breaking is like that of a potter’s vessel which is smashed so ruthlessly …: This simile compares the collapse of the wall with the violent smashing of pottery. Good News Translation is incorrect by comparing the people of Judah to smashed pottery, because the Hebrew pronoun for its refers to the wall, not Judah. The Hebrew word rendered breaking comes from the same root as the word for “crash” in the previous verse. In Hebrew the word for “crash” is the last word of verse 13, while the word for breaking is the first word of verse 14. This closely links the two verses. Most versions do not reflect this link, but some translators may be able to keep it. Revised English Bible does it by ending verse 13 with “crashing down” and beginning verse 14 with “It crashes.”

For potter see the comments on 29.16. The Hebrew word translated vessel sometimes refers to a clay jar, pitcher or pot, made by a potter. Good News Translation says “clay pot,” and Revised English Bible has “earthen jar.” Smashed means the pot is “crushed into small pieces.” So ruthlessly is literally “he will not have compassion.” The smashing is done deliberately and violently, without pity; it is not accidental. This idea seems to be missing in Good News Translation. Revised English Bible renders it “beyond repair” (similarly New American Bible), but this changes the focus from the manner of destruction to its extent. We suggest “so violently” or “so hard” (see the examples below).

The pot is smashed so thoroughly that only tiny pieces remain. Normally pieces of pottery still had many uses, two of which are noted here. But the present pieces are so small that they are useless.

That among its fragments not a sherd is found with which to take fire from the hearth: The Hebrew word for fragments is found only here in the Old Testament. It comes from the same root as the verb rendered smashed. The noun sherd is a technical term for a piece of broken pottery, sometimes called a “potsherd”. One of the practical uses for larger pieces of broken pottery was to remove a few burning coals from a fireplace. Fire here refers to “hot coals” (Good News Translation). A hearth is really the place upon which a stove or fireplace stands. So to take fire from the hearth may mean to pick up a burning coal that has fallen from the fireplace. In any case, the pot has been smashed so thoroughly that not one piece is big enough for scooping up burning coals.

Or to dip up water out of the cistern: A potsherd can also be used to scoop up water. The Hebrew word for cistern refers to a pool or a container for holding liquids. Translators should choose a word for cistern that is appropriate in this context of a potsherd scooping up water from it. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “Or ladle water from a puddle” (similarly Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

Translation examples for this verse are:

• Its collapse will be like the smashing of a clay pot
that is smashed so violently
that not even one useful piece can be found.
The pieces are so small that they cannot be used
to pick up burning coals from a fireplace
or to scoop up water from a pool.”

• Its collapse will be like an earthenware pot
that is smashed so hard that one cannot find among the [tiny] pieces
a piece big enough to use for picking up hot coals from a fireplace
or drawing water from a container.”

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .