Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
Parallel translations
- WEB Seek Yahweh while he may be found. Call on him while he is near.
- BSB Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
- NKJV Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.
- NASB ¶Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near.
- NLT Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God urges people to seek Him while He may be found and to call on Him while He is near. It matters because the offer of grace is urgent and not to be presumed upon.
Overview
This summons stresses the present opportunity to seek God, implying that the season of nearness must not be squandered. It calls for immediate response to the free invitation of the preceding verses. The gospel likewise presses 'now is the acceptable time' (2 Cor. 6:2), warning against delay in turning to God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 30
- Jer 29:12–14Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
- Ps 145:18The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
- Isa 45:19I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
- Ps 32:6For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.
- Ps 14:2The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
- Isa 65:24And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
- Matt 7:7–8Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
- 2 Cor 6:1–2We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.
- Amos 5:6Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel.
- 1 Chr 28:9And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.
- John 12:35–36Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
- Heb 2:3How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
- Ps 27:8When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.
- Job 8:5If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty;
- Deut 4:7For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?
- John 7:33–34Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me.
- Ps 95:7For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,
- Isa 49:8Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;
- Heb 3:13But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
- Matt 25:11–12Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
- Isa 46:13I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.
- Luke 13:25When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:
- John 8:21Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.
- Ps 148:14He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the LORD.
- Ezek 8:6He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations.
- 2 Chr 19:3Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thine heart to seek God.
- Ps 75:1Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks: for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare.
- Eph 3:13Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
- Matt 5:25Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.
- Isa 12:6Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 55:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.