Isaiah 7:10–16, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Isaiah 7:10–16
The Immanuel Sign Addresses Ahaz's Immediate Crisis
Ahaz is offered a sign as deep as sheol or high as heaven, and he refuses
The LORD spoke again unto Ahaz, Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD. Isaiah answers, Hear ye now, O house of David; is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?
The piety of not testing God is here a refusal of the offered help. The sign will be given anyway, because the house of David is wearying God in an eighth-century siege panic, not because a later reader needs a proof-text.
A young woman, a child named Immanuel, and a short childhood clock the danger
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. Before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.
The sign answers Ahaz's immediate crisis: the two feared kings will be gone before a child reaches moral discernment, while curds and honey already hint at a land reduced to simple food. The Hebrew young woman and the Greek-and-church reading virgin must not be used as if the KJV word settled every linguistic question. Later Christian reception, including Matthew, is reception. It does not erase the Syro-Ephraimite horizon, and it does not justify condemning Jewish readers who do not begin there.
How this should shape us
Let God-with-us first mean that the threat Ahaz named will not last a childhood. Do not weaponize Immanuel against Jewish interpretation, and do not skip the two kings in order to win an argument.
Teach it back
Explain Isaiah 7:10–16 in your own words. Name its place in Isaiah, one source-controlled observation, one uncertainty, one enduring truth, and one harmful use the passage does not authorize.
Your explanation stays in this browser. It is not sent or saved.
Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do responsible readings differ?
Best judgment: The sign does not bypass its Syro-Ephraimite horizon, prove the KJV term “virgin” settles every Hebrew question, or justify condemning Jewish readers who do not begin with Matthew.
How certain? strongResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Isaiah 7:10–16, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology at the exact unit, without treating morphology as apparatus, lexicon, composition history, or interpretation.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Isa.xml, OSIS 7:10–16 with Hebrew/KJV versification difference checked
Supports: Verse-level controls for Hebrew, syntax, poetry, older KJV language, chronology, names, textual issues, and material translation alternatives.
Official NET Isaiah PDF, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Isaiah 7:10–16 in the complete 205-page book PDF
Supports: Eighth-century Assyrian setting, Isaiah traditions, later growth, justice, Zion, signs, royal language, nations, and policy, with proposals kept visible.
Yale Bible Study, First Isaiah course, Isaiah's Call Vision and Immanuel guides; applied to Isaiah 7:10–16
Supports: Whole-book historical, literary, theological, ethical, and reception synthesis across Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and postexilic horizons.
Enter the Bible Isaiah course, Summary, Background, Introductory Issues, Outline Book 1A, and Theological Themes; applied to Isaiah 7:10–16
Supports: Controls against caricaturing Judaism, Torah-as-legalism claims, blanket condemnation, Gentile boasting, and supersessionist misuse.
Skinner, 'Anti-Judaism in Christian Teaching and Preaching,' Working Preacher (2008), complete essay categories and guidance; applied to the reception risks in Isaiah 7:10–16
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Isaiah 7:10–16, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Isaiah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology at the exact unit, without treating morphology as apparatus, lexicon, composition history, or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Isa.xml, OSIS 7:10–16 with Hebrew/KJV versification difference checked
Open the fixed Hebrew Isaiah file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Isaiah
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2016; current official PDF
Supports: Verse-level controls for Hebrew, syntax, poetry, older KJV language, chronology, names, textual issues, and material translation alternatives.
Exact location: Official NET Isaiah PDF, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Isaiah 7:10–16 in the complete 205-page book PDF
Open the official NET Isaiah PDF ↗open university study guide series
First Isaiah study-guide course
John J. Collins and Joel S. Baden
Yale Bible Study, 2020; current public course
Supports: Eighth-century Assyrian setting, Isaiah traditions, later growth, justice, Zion, signs, royal language, nations, and policy, with proposals kept visible.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, First Isaiah course, Isaiah's Call Vision and Immanuel guides; applied to Isaiah 7:10–16
Open the Yale First Isaiah course ↗modern scholarly book course
Isaiah course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, themes, and reception
Fred Gaiser; revised by Michael Chan
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised August 2024
Supports: Whole-book historical, literary, theological, ethical, and reception synthesis across Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and postexilic horizons.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Isaiah course, Summary, Background, Introductory Issues, Outline Book 1A, and Theological Themes; applied to Isaiah 7:10–16
Open the Enter the Bible Isaiah course ↗scholarly ethical reception guidance
Anti-Judaism in Christian Teaching and Preaching
Matt Skinner
Working Preacher, Luther Seminary, 2008
Supports: Controls against caricaturing Judaism, Torah-as-legalism claims, blanket condemnation, Gentile boasting, and supersessionist misuse.
Exact location: Skinner, 'Anti-Judaism in Christian Teaching and Preaching,' Working Preacher (2008), complete essay categories and guidance; applied to the reception risks in Isaiah 7:10–16
Open Skinner's anti-Judaism guidance ↗