But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!”
Parallel translations
- WEB But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, neither will I tempt Yahweh.”
- KJV But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.
- BSB But Ahaz replied, “I will not ask; I will not test the LORD.”
- NASB But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I put the Lord to the test!”
- NLT But the king refused. “No,” he said, “I will not test the Lord like that.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Ahaz refuses to ask for a sign, claiming he will not put the Lord to the test. It is a false piety that masks his unbelief and reliance on Assyria instead.
Overview
Ahaz cloaks his rejection of God's offer in a seemingly reverent refusal to 'tempt' the Lord, but he has already resolved to trust Assyria rather than God. His refusal of grace prompts God to give the Immanuel sign anyway (7:14), a promise that points beyond Ahaz to the virgin-born Christ. The verse warns that disguising unbelief as devotion does not escape God's notice, yet His saving purpose advances regardless.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- 2 Chr 28:22In the time of his distress, he trespassed yet more against Yahweh, this same king Ahaz.
- Deut 6:16You shall not tempt Yahweh your God, as you tempted him in Massah.
- 1 Cor 10:9Let us not test Christ, as some of them tested, and perished by the serpents.
- 2 Kgs 16:15King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, “On the great altar burn the morning burnt offering, the evening meal offering, the king’s burnt offering, his meal offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their meal offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice; but the bronze altar will be for me to inquire by.”
- Mal 3:15Now we call the proud happy; yes, those who work wickedness are built up; yes, they tempt God, and escape.’
- Acts 5:9But Peter asked her, “How is it that you have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”
- Ezek 33:31They come to you as the people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear your words, but don’t do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goes after their gain.
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 7:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.