1 Chronicles 28:9

28:9 “And you, Solomon my son, obey ¹  the God of your father and serve him with a submissive attitude and a willing spirit, ²  for the Lord examines all minds and understands every motive of one’s thoughts. If you seek him, he will let you find him, ³  but if you abandon him, he will reject you permanently.

Proverbs 8:17

8:17 I love ⁴  those who love me,

and those who seek me find me.

Isaiah 45:19

45:19 I have not spoken in secret,

in some hidden place. ⁵ 

I did not tell Jacob’s descendants,

‘Seek me in vain!’ ⁶ 

I am the Lord,

the one who speaks honestly,

who makes reliable announcements. ⁷ 

Isaiah 55:6-7

55:6 Seek the Lord while he makes himself available; ⁸ 

call to him while he is nearby!

55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle ⁹ 

and sinful people their plans. ¹⁰ 

They should return ¹¹  to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, ¹² 

and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. ¹³ 

Jeremiah 29:13

29:13 When you seek me in prayer and worship, you will find me available to you. If you seek me with all your heart and soul, ¹⁴ 

Matthew 7:7-8

Ask, Seek, Knock

7:7 “Ask ¹⁵  and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door ¹⁶  will be opened for you. 7:8 For everyone who asks ¹⁷  receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

[28:9]  ¹ tn Heb “know.”

[28:9]  ² tn Heb “with a complete heart and a willing being.”

[28:9]  ³ tn Heb “he will allow himself to be found by you.”

[8:17]  ⁴ sn In contrast to the word for “hate” (שָׂנֵא, shaneh) the verb “love” (אָהֵב, ’ahev) includes within it the idea of choosing spontaneously. So in this line loving and seeking point up the means of finding wisdom.

[45:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “in a place of a land of darkness” (ASV similar); NASB “in some dark land.”

[45:19]  ⁶ tn “In vain” translates תֹהוּ (tohu), used here as an adverbial accusative: “for nothing.”

[45:19]  ⁷ tn The translation above assumes that צֶדֶק (tsedeq) and מֵישָׁרִים (mesharim) are adverbial accusatives (see 33:15). If they are taken as direct objects, indicating the content of what is spoken, one might translate, “who proclaims deliverance, who announces justice.”

[55:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “while he allows himself to be found.” The Niphal form has a tolerative force here.

[55:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “Let the wicked one abandon his way.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and the man of evil his thoughts.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “let him return.” The singular is collective, meaning “let them.”

[55:7]  ¹² tn The imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive after the jussive indicates purpose/result.

[55:7]  ¹³ sn The appeal and promise of vv. 6-7 echoes the language of Deut 4:25-31; 30:1-10; and 1 Kgs 8:46-53, all of which anticipate the exile and speak of the prerequisites for restoration.

[29:13]  ¹⁴ tn Or “If you wholeheartedly seek me”; Heb “You will seek me and find [me] because you will seek me with all your heart.” The translation attempts to reflect the theological nuances of “seeking” and “finding” and the psychological significance of “heart” which refers more to intellectual and volitional concerns in the OT than to emotional ones.

[7:7]  ¹⁵ sn The three present imperatives in this verse (Ask…seek…knock) are probably intended to call for a repeated or continual approach before God.

[7:7]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “it”; the referent (a door) is implied by the context and has been specified in the translation here and in v. 8 for clarity.

[7:8]  ¹⁷ sn The actions of asking, seeking, and knocking are repeated here from v. 7 with the encouragement that God does respond.