7 " 'But I am the Lord and King. I say, " ' "That will not happen. It will not take place.
8 The capital of Aram is Damascus. And the ruler of Damascus is only Rezin. Do not worry about the people of Ephraim. They will be too crushed to be considered a people. That will happen before 65 years are over.
9 The capital of Ephraim is Samaria. And the ruler of Samaria is only Remaliah's son. If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all." ' "
10 The Lord spoke to Ahaz through me again. He said,
11 "I am the Lord your God. Ask me to give you a miraculous sign. It can be anything in the deepest grave or in the highest heaven."
12 But Ahaz said, "I won't ask. I won't put the Lord to the test."
13 Then I said, "Listen, you members of the royal family of Ahaz! Isn't it enough for you to test the patience of men? Are you also going to test the patience of my God?