one object for special use and another for ordinary use

The Greek in Romans 9:21 that is translated as “one object for special use and another for ordinary use” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with the word play Tafelgeschirr oder Nachtgeschirr or “table ware or chamber pot.”

complete verse (Romans 9:21)

Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 9:21:

  • Uma: “The maker has the right [lit., seat] to make the pot according to his own desire. From one lump of clay he can make one pot that he does fancy and one that he makes just-to-get-done [an idiom meaning to do something without much thought or care.]” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “We (dual) know that the person who makes a clay pot has the authority to make whatever he wants to be made. From one clump of earth he makes one container very beautiful and valuable and one also not very beautiful and being used every day.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “It’s like a potter, when He is making two clay pots; He is the one who is in control of which one of the two He will make very beautiful to look at because He will decorate it, and which one of the two He will make not so beautiful because it’s just an ordinary pot.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “It’s not possible, because the one who makes clay pots, it’s up-to-him to shape whatever he wants. If he wants, he has the right to shape two kinds of pot from one lump (lit. round), one for valuable uses and one for whatever, isn’t that right?” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Now concerning the pot maker, according to the form he wants the pot which he makes to be, that is what it will be. Even though it be the same clay, yet he can make one pot which is for special use and he can make one for not special use” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
  • Huehuetla Tepehua: “The one who can work with clay can do what he wants. He can make a vessel for some good work. And he can make another one for some work that isn’t so good. He can make for two works even though it is just one piece of clay.”
  • Isthmus Zapotec: “As though the one who makes pots doesn’t have the right to make one pretty and from the some clay make another which is only used on the fire.” (Source for this and one above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)

Translation commentary on Romans 9:20 – 9:21

The place of these verses in Paul’s argument is to underscore the fact that a man does not have the right to question God’s actions.

My friend (so also An American Translation*, cf. New American Bible) is literally “O man” (cf. 2.1).

But who are you … to talk back to God? may be rendered as “but who do you think you are that you can talk back to God?” or “but how is it that you think you are so big (or important) that you can talk back to God?” or “… that you can object to what God has decided?”

Has the right may be translated as “is permitted to” or “is allowed to.” In some languages this may be equivalent to some form of the auxiliary “can” or “may,” both of which in English express certain aspects of permission and possibility.

The phrases for special occasions and for ordinary use are rendered in a number of ways in different translations, but the contrast is between a pot that is reserved for some special function and one in everyday use.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Romans. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1973. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Romans 9:21

9:21a–c

This verse illustrates that it is right for God to decide as he wants, even regarding people. It uses the example of someone who makes things with clay. He can choose as he wants what he will use each thing for.

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?: This is a rhetorical question. It emphasizes that the potter has the right to make some things for honorable use and some things for dishonorable use from the same lump of clay. Translate this clause with that meaning. Here are some ways:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

Doesn’t a potter have the right to make a fancy bowl and a plain bowl out of the same lump of clay? (Contemporary English Version)

• As a statement. For example:

Surely the potter has the right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special occasions and another for common/regular use.
-or-
He can make something for a special occasion or something for everyday use from the same lump of clay. (God’s Word)

9:21a–b

potter…clay: The word potter refers to someone who makes things with clay. Often he made clay pots, thus the name potter. Some languages will not have a single word for this kind of person. For example:

The one who makes plates and such from clay
-or-
the person who makes cups and things from earth

In some languages people are unfamiliar with clay. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• Explain it in your translation. For example:

the person who makes hard things with sticky/pliable earth/soil ⌊and then bakes them⌋
-or-
the person who makes things with sticky/pliable earth/soil ⌊and then bakes them to make them hard⌋

• Use major language word for clay.

the one who makes things with klei

• Use a familiar substitute. For example:

The man that makes the basket
-or-
the woman who makes a woven-bag

right: Here this word refers to having the authority and power to do as one chooses. Here are other ways to translate this word:

power (King James Version)
-or-
can do what he likes (Revised English Bible)

9:21b

lump of clay: Here this word refers to an amount of something solid, of one piece, and of no particular size or shape. Here are other ways to translate this word:

clump
-or-
hunk

If you used a substitute for clay in 9:21a, you should use an appropriate word for a group of the material used. For example:

(basket)…bundle
-or-
(woven-bag)…bark

9:21c

vessel: Here this word refers to any kind of container or thing that people use to put things in or on, including plates, cups, baskets, pots, jars, and so on. Here is another English word:

container

Some languages must use a more specific word or a more general word here. For example:

jar/pot/bowl
-or-
thing

for special occasions: This clay vessel brings honor, for example, someone may give one to guests for them to use at a feast, or it might be something a priest uses at the temple to honor God. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

for noble purposes (New International Version)
-or-
for valuable uses

for common use: There are two main ways to interpret the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as common use :

(1) It means dishonorable here. For example:

for an ignoble one (New American Bible, Revised Edition)

(King James Version, English Standard Version, New American Bible, Revised Edition, New Living Translation (2004))

(2) It means ordinary here. For example:

for menial use (Revised Standard Version)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Standard Bible, Revised English Bible, NET Bible, God’s Word, New Century Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because it is the much more common meaning of the word.

© 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.