Isaiah 7:11
in Isaiah 7“Ask for a sign from the LORD your God, whether from the depths of Sheol or the heights of heaven.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Ask thee a sign of Jehovah thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.
KJV
Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.
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This verse in Isaiah 7
Commentary
13 notes on this verseBut what Isaiah said, "From the height above, or from the depth beneath," was meant to indicate, that "He who descended was the same also who ascended." But in this that he said, "The Lord Himself shall give you a sign," he declared an unlooked-for thing with regard to His generation, which could have been accomplished in no other way than by God the Lord of all, God Himself giving a sign in the house of David.
This site's exposition
Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz
on Isaiah 7:10-11
The Lord speaks to Ahaz a second time and offers a sign anywhere in creation. Ahaz may name his own proof, from the grave to the sky, so the refusal that follows cannot be laid to a stingy offer. Isaiah's rebuke treats that refusal as trying the patience of God.
This site's exposition
whether from the depths of Sheol or the heights of heaven
The sign may come from Sheol below or heaven above. Barnes says the words of the prophet had made no impression on Ahaz, so the LORD offers a sign to him. Irenaeus heard in the depth and the height the Christ who descended and ascended, in Ephesians 4:9 and 10.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
For the one and the same Spirit of God, who proclaimed by the prophets what and of what sort the advent of the Lord should be, did by these elders give a just interpretation of what had been truly prophesied; and He did Himself, by the apostles, announce that the fulness of the times of the adoption had arrived, that the kingdom of heaven had drawn nigh, and that He was dwelling within those that believe on Him who was born Emmanuel of the Virgin.
(Verse 10, 11.) And the Lord added, speaking to Achaz, saying: Ask for yourself a sign from the Lord your God in the depths of hell, or in the highest above. He had previously spoken to Achaz through the prophet, saying: Behold, be silent, do not fear, and so on. Since Achaz did not believe, and therefore did not understand, the Lord himself speaks to Achaz, so that at least, frightened by the authority of the Lord, he may accept what is said. For, he says to him, it seems difficult to you that the most powerful kingdoms are to be ended in a short time, and that you will be delivered from great danger along with your people; ask for yourself a sign, not from idols, by whose error you are held captive, but from the Lord your God who promises you help, and that sign is the basis of your request, whether from the depths or from on high. But while only the Seventy interpreted it as 'from the depth of hell,' the others translated it more significantly according to the Hebrew, 'from the depth of the underworld.' Therefore, just as 'the depths of hell' signifies a profound abyss, so we should understand 'the heights above the heavens' as an exalted state. So when you hear a sign about either the underworld or the exalted, believe in the future things that I have mentioned. Do you want, he says, the earth to be split open and the great chasms of the underworld to be revealed, which are said to exist in the heart of the earth, or for the heavens to be opened? Both pertain to the mystery of the death and ascension of the Lord: For he who descended is the one who also ascended (Ephesians 4:10). And in the Apostle we read: 'Don't say in your heart, "Who will ascend into heaven?" (that is, to bring Christ down)' or 'Who will descend into the abyss?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead)' (Romans 10:6-7). […]
The Medieval Church1 voice
First, the liberty of choosing a sign is conceded: and the Lord said to Achaz—because he disdained the prophets, the Lord himself spoke: because it seems hard that such powerful kings would be destroyed so quickly—ask you a sign, that you might believe, of the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): The Lord thy God; but Isaiah will say, "He is mine." Note, Whatever others do, we must avouch the Lord for ours and abide by him. The prophet, in God's name, gives them a sign: "You will not ask a sign, but the unbelief of man shall not make the promise of God of no effect: The Lord himself shall give you a sign (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+odd-straight-quotes
Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God,....
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He considers our frame, and that, living in a world of sense, we are apt to require sensible proofs, which therefore he has favoured us with in sacramental signs and seals. Ahaz was a bad man, yet God is called the Lord his God, because he was a child of Abraham and David, and of the covenants made with them.
A threatening of the great desolation that God would bring upon Ahaz and his kingdom by the Assyrians, notwithstanding their escape from this present storm, because they went on still in their wickedness,
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Ask thee - Ask for “thyself;” ask a sign that shall be convincing to “thyself,” since thou dost not fully credit the words of the prophet. It is evident that the words of the prophet had made no impression on the mind of Ahaz. God, therefore, proposes to him to ask any “proof or demonstration” which he might select; anything that would be an indication of divine power that should put what the prophet had said beyond doubt. Had Ahaz put confidence in God, he would have believed what the prophet said without miraculous proof.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Ask thee--since thou dost not credit the prophet's words. sign--a miraculous token to assure thee that God will fulfil His promise of saving Jerusalem (Isa 37:30;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
In the depth “Go deep to the grave” - So Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion, and the Vulgate.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Ask for yourself a sign for this thing, for I know that you do not believe the words of the Holy One, blessed be He.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And the Lord continued [Jonathan paraphrases:] And the prophet of the Lord continued.
and I will not test I do not wish that His Name be hallowed through Me.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שְׁאַל־ | sheal- | ask | H7592 → | 171 times |
| לְךָ֣ | lekha | for yourself | ||
| א֔וֹת | ʾot | a sign | H226 → | 80 times |
| מֵעִ֖ם | meim | from with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| הַעְמֵ֣ק | ha'mek | make deep | H6009 → | 9 times |
| שְׁאָ֔לָה | shealah | [as] Sheol | H7585 → | 66 times |
| א֖וֹ | ʾo | or | H176 → | 321 times |
| הַגְבֵּ֥הַּ | hagbeah | make high | H1361 → | 34 times |
| לְמָֽעְלָה׃ | lemaelah | <to> upwards <towards> | H4605 → | 140 times |
שְׁאַל־ask
sheal-H7592 →171 times
לְךָ֣for yourself
lekha
א֔וֹתa sign
ʾotH226 →80 times
מֵעִ֖םfrom with
meimH5973 →1050 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
הַעְמֵ֣קmake deep
ha'mekH6009 →9 times
שְׁאָ֔לָה[as] Sheol
shealahH7585 →66 times
א֖וֹor
ʾoH176 →321 times
הַגְבֵּ֥הַּmake high
hagbeahH1361 →34 times
לְמָֽעְלָה׃<to> upwards <towards>
lemaelahH4605 →140 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 37:30And this will be a sign to you, O Hezekiah: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what springs from the same. But in the third…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 19:29
And this will be a sign to you, O Hezekiah: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what springs from the same. But in the third…
- Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.
- 2 Kings 19:29
Through
2 Kings 19:29And this will be a sign to you, O Hezekiah: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what springs from the same. But in the third…
it leads to
- Leviticus 25:20–22
Now you may wonder, ‘What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not sow or gather our produce?’
- Exodus 3:12
“I will surely be with you,” God said, “and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, all of you will…
- 2 Kings 20:8–9
Now Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the LORD will heal me and that I will go up to the house of the LORD on the third day?”
- Isaiah 37:30
And this will be a sign to you, O Hezekiah: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what springs from the same. But in the third…
- Luke 2:12
And this will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
- Leviticus 25:20–22
Through
Isaiah 38:22And Hezekiah had asked, “What will be the sign that I will go up to the house of the LORD?”
it leads to
- 2 Kings 20:8
Now Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the LORD will heal me and that I will go up to the house of the LORD on the third day?”
- 2 Kings 20:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
About Isaiah
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Irenaeus, Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 21), Section 6; Irenaeus, Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 21), Section 4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.