'Ask' in the Bible

He said to them, “If you are willing for me to bury my dead, listen to me and ask Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf

So they said, “Let’s call the girl and ask her opinion.”

Then Jacob asked Him, “Please tell me Your name.”But He answered, “Why do you ask My name?” And He blessed him there.

Demand of me a high compensation and gift; I’ll give you whatever you ask me. Just give the girl to be my wife!”

Then Moses asked God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them: The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me, ‘What is His name?’ what should I tell them?”

Each woman will ask her neighbor and any woman staying in her house for silver and gold jewelry, and clothing, and you will put them on your sons and daughters. So you will plunder the Egyptians.”

Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Ask Yahweh to remove the frogs from me and my people. Then I will let the people go and they can sacrifice to Yahweh.”

Moses said to Pharaoh, “You make the choice rather than me. When should I ask on behalf of you, your officials, and your people, that the frogs be taken away from you and your houses, and remain only in the Nile?”

Now announce to the people that both men and women should ask their neighbors for silver and gold jewelry.”

When your children ask you, ‘What does this ritual mean to you?’

for I will greatly honor you and do whatever you ask me. So please come and put a curse on these people for me!’”

“Indeed, ask about the earlier days that preceded you, from the day God created man on the earth and from one end of the heavens to the other: Has anything like this great event ever happened, or has anything like it been heard of?

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you except to fear the Lord your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, and to worship the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul?

You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Ask, and they will give you a verdict in the case.

All the nations will ask, ‘Why has the Lord done this to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?’

It is not in heaven so that you have to ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven, get it for us, and proclaim it to us so that we may follow it?’

And it is not across the sea so that you have to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea, get it for us, and proclaim it to us so that we may follow it?’

Remember the days of old;consider the years long past.Ask your father, and he will tell you,your elders, and they will teach you.

so that this will be a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’

and he said to the Israelites, “In the future, when your children ask their fathers, ‘What is the meaning of these stones?’

When she arrived, she persuaded Othniel to ask her father for a field. As she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you want?”

When she arrived, she persuaded Othniel to ask her father for a field. As she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you want?”

Then the woman went and told her husband, “A man of God came to me. He looked like the awe-inspiring Angel of God. I didn’t ask Him where He came from, and He didn’t tell me His name.

“Why do you ask My name,” the Angel of the Lord asked him, “since it is wonderful.”

They will ask how you are and give you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from them.

Ask your young men, and they will tell you. So let my young men find favor with you, for we have come on a feast day. Please give whatever you can afford to your servants and to your son David.’”

Then the king answered the woman, “I’m going to ask you something; don’t conceal it from me!”“Let my lord the king speak,” the woman replied.

“Look,” Absalom explained to Joab, “I sent for you and said, ‘Come here. I want to send you to the king to ask: Why have I come back from Geshur? I’d be better off if I were still there.’ So now, let me see the king. If I am guilty, let him kill me.”

Then she said, “I have just one small request of you. Don’t turn me down.”“Go ahead and ask, mother,” the king replied, “for I won’t turn you down.”

King Solomon answered his mother, “Why are you requesting Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Since he is my elder brother, you might as well ask the kingship for him, for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab son of Zeruiah.”

At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. God said, “Ask. What should I give you?”

So God said to him, “Because you have requested this and did not ask for long life or riches for yourself, or the death of your enemies, but you asked discernment for yourself to understand justice,

In addition, I will give you what you did not ask for: both riches and honor, so that no man in any kingdom will be your equal during your entire life.

But the Lord had said to Ahijah, “Jeroboam’s wife is coming soon to ask you about her son, for he is sick. You are to say such and such to her. When she arrives, she will be disguised.”

But Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “First, please ask what the Lord’s will is.”

But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn’t there a prophet of Yahweh here anymore? Let’s ask him.”

The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man who can ask Yahweh, but I hate him because he never prophesies good about me, but only disaster. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”“The king shouldn’t say that!” Jehoshaphat replied.

But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’

Run out to meet her and ask, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your son all right?’”And she answered, “Everything’s all right.”

Then she said, “Did I ask my lord for a son? Didn’t I say, ‘Do not deceive me?’”

Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him a gift: 40 camel-loads of all kinds of goods from Damascus. When he came and stood before him, he said, “Your son, Ben-hadad king of Aram, has sent me to ask you, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”

Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel. He saw Jehu’s troops approaching and shouted, “I see troops!”Joram responded, “Choose a rider and send him to meet them and have him ask, ‘Do you come in peace?’”

That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him: “Ask. What should I give you?”

But Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “First, please ask what the Lord’s will is.”

But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn’t there a prophet of Yahweh here anymore? Let’s ask him.”

The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man who can ask Yahweh, but I hate him because he never prophesies good about me, but only disaster. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”“The king shouldn’t say that,” Jehoshaphat replied.

I proclaimed a fast by the Ahava River, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us, our children, and all our possessions.

I did this because I was ashamed to ask the king for infantry and cavalry to protect us from enemies during the journey, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek Him, but His great anger is against all who abandon Him.”

Esther was the daughter of Abihail, the uncle of Mordecai who had adopted her as his own daughter. When her turn came to go to the king, she did not ask for anything except what Hegai, the king’s trusted official in charge of the harem, suggested. Esther won approval in the sight of everyone who saw her.

While drinking the wine, the king asked Esther, “Whatever you ask will be given to you. Whatever you want, even to half the kingdom, will be done.”

His wife Zeresh and all his friends told him, “Have them build a gallows 75 feet high. Ask the king in the morning to hang Mordecai on it. Then go to the banquet with the king and enjoy yourself.” The advice pleased Haman, so he had the gallows constructed.

The king asked, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman was just entering the outer court of the palace to ask the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows he had prepared for him.

Once again, on the second day while drinking wine, the king asked Esther, “Queen Esther, whatever you ask will be given to you. Whatever you seek, even to half the kingdom, will be done.”

The king said to Queen Esther, “In the fortress of Susa the Jews have killed and destroyed 500 men, including Haman’s 10 sons. What have they done in the rest of the royal provinces? Whatever you ask will be given to you. Whatever you seek will also be done.”

But if you earnestly seek Godand ask the Almighty for mercy,

For ask the previous generation,and pay attention to what their fathers discovered,

If He snatches something, who can stop Him?Who can ask Him, “What are You doing?”

But ask the animals, and they will instruct you;ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.

he will vanish forever like his own dung.Those who know him will ask, “Where is he?”

For you ask, “What does it profit You,and what benefit comes to me, if I do not sin?”

Ask of Me,and I will make the nations Your inheritanceand the ends of the earth Your possession.

You do not delight in sacrifice and offering;You open my ears to listen.You do not ask for a whole burnt offering or a sin offering.

Why should the nations ask,“Where is their God?”Before our eyes,let vengeance for the shed blood of Your servantsbe known among the nations.

My eyes grow wearylooking for what You have promised;I ask, “When will You comfort me?”

Two things I ask of You;don’t deny them to me before I die:

Don’t say, “Why were the former days better than these?”since it is not wise of you to ask this.

“Ask for a sign from the Lord your God—from the depths of Sheol to the heights of heaven.”

But Ahaz replied, “I will not ask. I will not test the Lord.”

The watchman said,“Morning has come, and also night.If you want to ask, ask!Come back again.”

When I look, there is no one;there is no counselor among them;when I ask them, they have nothing to say.

This is what the Lord,the Holy One of Israel and its Maker, says:“Ask Me what is to happen to My sons,and instruct Me about the work of My hands.

They seek Me day after dayand delight to know My ways,like a nation that does what is rightand does not abandon the justice of their God.They ask Me for righteous judgments;they delight in the nearness of God.”

“I was sought by those who did not ask;I was found by those who did not seek Me.I said: Here I am, here I am,to a nation that was not called by My name.

When people ask, ‘For what offense has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ You will respond to them: Just as you abandoned Me and served foreign gods in your land, so will you serve strangers in a land that is not yours.

This is what the Lord says:Stand by the roadways and look.Ask about the ancient paths:Which is the way to what is good?Then take itand find rest for yourselves.But they protested, “We won’t!”

And when you ask yourself,“Why have these things happened to me?”It is because of your great guiltthat your skirts have been stripped off,your body exposed.

If they ask you, ‘Where will we go?’ you must tell them: This is what the Lord says:Those destined for death, to death;those destined for the sword, to the sword.Those destined for famine, to famine;those destined for captivity, to captivity.

Who will have pity on you, Jerusalem?Who will show sympathy toward you?Who will turn asideto ask about your welfare?

Therefore, this is what the Lord says:Ask among the nations,Who has heard things like these?Virgin Israel has done a most terrible thing.

“Ask the Lord on our behalf, since Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will perform for us something like all His past wonderful works so that Nebuchadnezzar will withdraw from us.”

“Many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why did the Lord do such a thing to this great city?’

Ask and seewhether a male can give birth.Why then do I see every manwith his hands on his stomach like a woman in laborand every face turned pale?

King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance of the Lord’s temple. The king said to Jeremiah, “I am going to ask you something; don’t hide anything from me.”

Stand by the highway and look,resident of Aroer!Ask him who is fleeing or her who is escaping:What happened?

They will ask about Zion,turning their faces to this road.They will come and join themselves to the Lordin an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.

But you may ask, ‘Why doesn’t the son suffer punishment for the father’s iniquity?’ Since the son has done what is just and right, carefully observing all My statutes, he will certainly live.

And when they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ then say: Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt, and every hand will become weak. Every spirit will be discouraged, and every knee will turn to water. Yes, it is coming and it will happen.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

When your people ask you, ‘Won’t you explain to us what you mean by these things?’—

Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish with all its rulers will ask you, ‘Have you come to seize spoil? Have you assembled your hordes to carry off plunder, to make off with silver and gold, to take cattle and possessions, to seize great spoil?’

urging them to ask the God of heaven for mercy concerning this mystery, so Daniel and his friends would not be killed with the rest of Babylon’s wise men.

“This is what the Lord of Hosts says: Ask the priests for a ruling.

“Ask all the people of the land and the priests: When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and in the seventh months for these 70 years, did you really fast for Me?

Ask the Lord for rainin the season of spring rain.The Lord makes the rain clouds,and He will give them showers of rainand crops in the field for everyone.

“I have loved you,” says the Lord.But you ask: “How have You loved us?”“Wasn’t Esau Jacob’s brother?” This is the Lord’s declaration. “Even so, I loved Jacob,

“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me? says Yahweh of Hosts to you priests, who despise My name.”Yet you ask: “How have we despised Your name?”

“By presenting defiled food on My altar.”You ask: “How have we defiled You?”When you say: “The Lord’s table is contemptible.”

“And now ask for God’s favor. Will He be gracious to us? Since this has come from your hands, will He show any of you favor?” asks the Lord of Hosts.

Yet you ask, “For what reason?” Because the Lord has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have acted treacherously against her, though she was your marriage partner and your wife by covenant.

You have wearied the Lord with your words.Yet you ask, “How have we wearied Him?”When you say, “Everyone who does what is evil is good in the Lord’s sight, and He is pleased with them,” or “Where is the God of justice?”

“Since the days of your fathers, you have turned from My statutes; you have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Hosts.But you ask: “How can we return?”