But Ahaz responded, &#8220;I don&#8217;t want to ask; I don&#8217;t want to put the <sc>Lordsc> to a test.&#8221;<n id="1" />

&#8220;Ask for a confirming sign from the <sc>Lordsc> your God. You can even ask for something miraculous.&#8221;<n id="1" />

<p class="poetry">They travel down to Egyptp> <p class="poetry">without seeking my will,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">seeking Pharaoh&#8217;s protection,p> <p class="poetry">and looking for safety in Egypt&#8217;s protective shade.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">I look, but there is no one,p> <p class="poetry">among them there is no one who serves as an adviser,p> <p class="poetry">that I might ask questions and receive answers.p>

<p class="poetry">This is what the <sc>Lordsc> says,p> <p class="poetry">the Holy One of Israel,<n id="1" /> the one who formed him,p> <p class="poetry">concerning things to come:<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;How dare you question me<n id="3" /> about my children!p> <p class="poetry">How dare you tell me what to do with<n id="4" /> the work of my own hands!p>

<t /><p class="poetry">&#8220;I made myself available to those who did not ask for me;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">I appeared to those who did not look for me.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">I said, &#8216;Here I am! Here I am!&#8217;p> <p class="poetry">to a nation that did not invoke<n id="3" /> my name.p>

<p class="poetry">They seek me day after day;p> <p class="poetry">they want to know my requirements,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">like a nation that does what is rightp> <p class="poetry">and does not reject the law of their God.p> <p class="poetry">They ask me for just decrees;p> <p class="poetry">they want to be near God.p>