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Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God as well?
Isaiah 7:13 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB He said, “Listen now, house of David. Is it not enough for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God also?
  • KJV And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?
  • NKJV Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also?
  • NASB Then he said, “Listen now, house of David! Is it too trivial a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well?
  • NLT Then Isaiah said, “Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well?

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

Isaiah rebukes the unbelieving house of David for wearying not only people but God himself by refusing to trust his promise.

Overview

King Ahaz had just declined Isaiah's offer of a sign under a false show of piety. Isaiah addresses the whole dynasty ("house of David"), warning that their persistent unbelief tries the patience of God. The rebuke sets the stage for God giving a sign anyway, showing that his covenant faithfulness to David's line does not depend on Ahaz's faith.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 21

  • Isa 43:24You have not bought Me sweet cane with your silver, nor satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened Me with your sins; you have wearied Me with your iniquities.
  • Ezek 16:47And you not only walked in their ways and practiced their abominations, but soon you were more depraved than they were.
  • Amos 3:13Hear and testify against the house of Jacob, declares the Lord GOD, the God of Hosts.
  • Ezek 34:18Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink the clear waters? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?
  • Mal 2:17You have wearied the LORD with your words; yet you ask, “How have we wearied Him?” By saying, “All who do evil are good in the sight of the LORD, and in them He delights,” or, “Where is the God of justice?”
  • Isa 63:10But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He turned and became their enemy, and He Himself fought against them.
  • Isa 7:2When it was reported to the house of David that Aram was in league with Ephraim, the hearts of Ahaz and his people trembled like trees in the forest shaken by the wind.
  • Isa 65:3–5to a people who continually provoke Me to My face, sacrificing in the gardens and burning incense on altars of brick,
  • 2 Chr 21:7Yet the LORD was unwilling to destroy the house of David, because of the covenant He had made with David, and since He had promised to maintain a lamp for David and his descendants forever.
  • Isa 1:24Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, declares: “Ah, I will be relieved of My foes and avenge Myself on My enemies.
  • Jer 6:11But I am full of the LORD’s wrath; I am tired of holding it back. “Pour it out on the children in the street, and on the young men gathered together. For both husband and wife will be captured, the old and the very old alike.
  • Isa 25:1O LORD, You are my God! I will exalt You; I will praise Your name. For You have worked wonders—plans formed long ago—in perfect faithfulness.
  • Num 16:9Is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel and brought you near to Himself to perform the work at the LORD’s tabernacle, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them?
  • Num 16:13Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? Must you also appoint yourself as ruler over us?
  • Gen 30:15But Leah replied, “Is it not enough that you have taken away my husband? Now you want to take my son’s mandrakes as well?” “Very well,” said Rachel, “he may sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”
  • Ezek 16:20You even took the sons and daughters you bore to Me and sacrificed them as food to idols. Was your prostitution not enough?
  • Jer 21:12O house of David, this is what the LORD says: ‘Administer justice every morning, and rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor, or My wrath will go forth like fire and burn with no one to extinguish it because of their evil deeds.
  • 2 Chr 36:15–16Again and again the LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to His people through His messengers because He had compassion on them and on His dwelling place.
  • Heb 3:10Therefore I was angry with that generation, and I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known My ways.’
  • Acts 7:51You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.
  • Luke 1:69He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Isaiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Isaiah 7:13YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on IsaiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 7:13 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.