Isaiah 7:12
in Isaiah 7But Ahaz replied, “I will not ask; I will not test the LORD.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt Jehovah.
KJV
But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord.
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This verse in Isaiah 7
Commentary
9 notes on this verse(Verse 12.) And Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord. This is not humility, but pride, that he does not want to ask for a sign from the Lord. Although it is written in Deuteronomy: You shall not test the Lord your God (Deut. 6:16), and the Savior used this against the devil as a testimony (Matt. 4): nevertheless, being commanded to ask, he should have fulfilled the command in obedience, especially since both Gideon and Manoah asked for and received a sign (Judges 6 and 13).
This site's exposition
But Ahaz replied
on Isaiah 7:12-13
Ahaz refuses in pious language, "I will not test the LORD," echoing Deuteronomy's ban, though God had offered the sign. Isaiah's reply turns to the house of David, the address moving from singular to plural, as Gill and Clarke note. The sign is given to that wider house.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
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.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, the refusal of the offer: and Achaz said: I will not ask, either because he was trusting in idols or in the king of the Assyrians, or because he was jealous of the glory of God, or because, being placed in distress, he feared …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Note, A secret disaffection to God is often disguised with the specious colours of respect to him; and those who are resolved that they will not trust God yet pretend that they will not tempt him. The prophet reproves him and his court, him and the house of David, the whole royal family, for their contempt of prophecy, and the little value they had for divine revelation (
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But Ahaz said, I will not ask,....
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,
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Men often excuse their distrust in God, and trust in their own devices, by professed reverence for God. Ahaz may have fancied that though Jehovah was the God of Judea and could work a sign there, that was no proof that the local god of Syria might not be more powerful. Such was the common heathen notion (Isa 10:10, 11;
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A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
I will not ask - In this case Ahaz assumed the appearance of piety, or respect for the command of God. In Deu 6:16, it is written, ‘Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God;’ and Ahaz perhaps had this command in his eye. It was a professed reverence for God.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
and I will not test I do not wish that His Name be hallowed through Me.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
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.
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
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֖אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אָחָ֑ז | ʾachaz | Ahaz | H271 → | 42 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֶשְׁאַ֥ל | ʾeshal | I will ask | H7592 → | 171 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֲנַסֶּ֖ה | ʾanaseh | I will put to [the] test | H5254 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וַיֹּ֖אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אָחָ֑זAhaz
ʾachazH271 →42 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
אֶשְׁאַ֥לI will ask
ʾeshalH7592 →171 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
אֲנַסֶּ֖הI will put to [the] test
ʾanasehH5254 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
Deuteronomy 6:16Do not test the LORD your God as you tested Him at Massah.
it leads to
- Exodus 17:7
He named the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled, and because they tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”
- Luke 4:12
But Jesus answered, “It also says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
- Matthew 4:7
Jesus replied, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
- Psalms 95:8–9
do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, in the day at Massah in the wilderness,
- Hebrews 3:8–9
do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness,
- Exodus 17:7
Through
Ezekiel 33:31So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest…
it leads to
- Matthew 13:22
The seed sown among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
- Psalms 78:36–37
But they deceived Him with their mouths, and lied to Him with their tongues.
- James 1:22–24
Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves.
- Matthew 13:22
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies13
About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.