Deuteronomy 5:29

5:29 If only it would really be their desire to fear me and obey ¹  all my commandments in the future, so that it may go well with them and their descendants forever.

Psalms 105:3-4

105:3 Boast about his holy name!

Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!

105:4 Seek the Lord and the strength he gives!

Seek his presence continually!

Isaiah 45:19

45:19 I have not spoken in secret,

in some hidden place. ² 

I did not tell Jacob’s descendants,

‘Seek me in vain!’ ³ 

I am the Lord,

the one who speaks honestly,

who makes reliable announcements. ⁴ 

Isaiah 55:6-7

55:6 Seek the Lord while he makes himself available; ⁵ 

call to him while he is nearby!

55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle ⁶ 

and sinful people their plans. ⁷ 

They should return ⁸  to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, ⁹ 

and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. ¹⁰ 

Ezekiel 33:31

33:31 They come to you in crowds, ¹¹  and they sit in front of you as ¹²  my people. They hear your words, but do not obey ¹³  them. For they talk lustfully, ¹⁴  and their heart is set on ¹⁵  their own advantage. ¹⁶ 

Matthew 7:7

Ask, Seek, Knock

7:7 “Ask ¹⁷  and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door ¹⁸  will be opened for you.

[5:29]  ¹ tn Heb “keep” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[45:19]  ² tn Heb “in a place of a land of darkness” (ASV similar); NASB “in some dark land.”

[45:19]  ³ tn “In vain” translates תֹהוּ (tohu), used here as an adverbial accusative: “for nothing.”

[45:19]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “while he allows himself to be found.” The Niphal form has a tolerative force here.

[55:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “Let the wicked one abandon his way.” The singular is collective.

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

[55:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “let him return.” The singular is collective, meaning “let them.”

[55:7]  ⁹ tn The imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive after the jussive indicates purpose/result.

[55:7]  ¹⁰ 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.

[33:31]  ¹¹ tn Heb “as people come.” Apparently this is an idiom indicating that they come in crowds. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:264.

[33:31]  ¹² tn The word “as” is supplied in the translation.

[33:31]  ¹³ tn Heb “do.”

[33:31]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “They do lust with their mouths.”

[33:31]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “goes after.”

[33:31]  ¹⁶ tn The present translation understands the term often used for “unjust gain” in a wider sense, following M. Greenberg, who also notes that the LXX uses a term which can describe either sexual or ritual pollution. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:687.

[7:7]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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.