7 A potter works the soft clay and carefully shapes each object for our use. Some things he makes are put to good use, and some are not, but he makes them all from the same clay, and shapes them in the same manner. The potter himself decides which objects shall be used for what purposes.
8 He is a human being who was himself formed from earth only a short while earlier, and after a little while, when he must return the soul that was lent to him, he will go back to the same earth. He is a human being, but he wastes his labor shaping a useless god out of the same clay that he uses to make pots.
9 His life will be short, and he will soon have to die, but he is not concerned about that. He wants to compete with those who work in gold, silver, and bronze, and make things like they do. He takes great pride in the things he makes, but they are counterfeit.
10 His heart is made of ashes. His hope is cheaper than dirt. His life is not worth as much as his clay,
11 because he never came to know the God who shaped him, who breathed into him an active soul and a living spirit.
12 He thinks of human life as just a game, a market where he can make a profit. He believes that he must make money however he can, even by evil ways.
13 This man, who makes idols and fragile pots from the same clay, knows better than anyone else that he is sinning.