Psalms 9:10

9:10 Your loyal followers trust in you, ¹ 

for you, Lord, do not abandon those who seek your help. ² 

Proverbs 8:17

8:17 I love ³  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. ⁴ 

I did not tell Jacob’s descendants,

‘Seek me in vain!’ ⁵ 

I am the Lord,

the one who speaks honestly,

who makes reliable announcements. ⁶ 

Isaiah 55:6-7

55:6 Seek the Lord while he makes himself available; ⁷ 

call to him while he is nearby!

55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle ⁸ 

and sinful people their plans. ⁹ 

They should return ¹⁰  to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, ¹¹ 

and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. ¹² 

Lamentations 3:25

ט (Tet)

3:25 The Lord is good to those who trust ¹³  in him,

to the one ¹⁴  who seeks him.

Luke 11:9-10

11:9 “So ¹⁵  I tell you: Ask, ¹⁶  and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door ¹⁷  will be opened for you. 11:10 For everyone who asks ¹⁸  receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door ¹⁹  will be opened.

[9:10]  ¹ tn Heb “and the ones who know your name trust in you.” The construction vav (ו) conjunctive + imperfect at the beginning of the verse expresses another consequence of the statement made in v. 8. “To know” the Lord’s “name” means to be his follower, recognizing his authority and maintaining loyalty to him. See Ps 91:14, where “knowing” the Lord’s “name” is associated with loving him.

[9:10]  ² tn Heb “the ones who seek you.”

[8:17]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “in a place of a land of darkness” (ASV similar); NASB “in some dark land.”

[45:19]  ⁵ tn “In vain” translates תֹהוּ (tohu), used here as an adverbial accusative: “for nothing.”

[45:19]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “while he allows himself to be found.” The Niphal form has a tolerative force here.

[55:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “Let the wicked one abandon his way.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “and the man of evil his thoughts.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “let him return.” The singular is collective, meaning “let them.”

[55:7]  ¹¹ tn The imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive after the jussive indicates purpose/result.

[55:7]  ¹² 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.

[3:25]  ¹³ tn Heb “wait for him”

[3:25]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “to the soul…” The term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”) is a synecdoche of part (= “the soul who seeks him”) for the whole person (= “the person who seeks him”).

[11:9]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai, from καγώ [kagw]) has been translated as “so” to indicate the conclusion drawn from the preceding parable.

[11:9]  ¹⁶ sn The three present imperatives in this verse (Ask…seek…knock) are probably intended to call for a repeated or continual approach before God.

[11:9]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “it”; the referent (a door) is implied by the context and has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:10]  ¹⁸ sn The actions of asking, seeking, and knocking are repeated here from v. 9 with the encouragement that God does respond.

[11:10]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “it”; the referent (a door) is implied by the context and has been specified in the translation for clarity.