¶When He killed them, then they sought Him, And they returned and searched diligently for God;
Parallel translations
- WEB When he killed them, then they inquired after him. They returned and sought God earnestly.
- KJV When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and enquired early after God.
- BSB When He slew them, they would seek Him; they repented and searched for God.
- NKJV When He slew them, then they sought Him; And they returned and sought earnestly for God.
- NLT When God began killing them, they finally sought him. They repented and took God seriously.
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
When death struck, the people sought God earnestly. Calamity drove them to belated, anxious seeking.
Overview
God's judgments prompted the people to 'seek God earnestly.' Yet, as the next verses reveal, this seeking was often shallow and short-lived, driven by fear rather than love. It illustrates how affliction can awaken religious interest that, without genuine faith, does not last.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Hos 5:15I will go and return to my place, until they acknowledge their offense, and seek my face. In their affliction they will seek me earnestly.”
- Num 21:7The people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against Yahweh, and against you. Pray to Yahweh, that he take away the serpents from us.” Moses prayed for the people.
- Judg 3:12–15The children of Israel again did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and Yahweh strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight.
- Judg 4:3The children of Israel cried to Yahweh, for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and he mightily oppressed the children of Israel for twenty years.
- Jer 22:23Inhabitant of Lebanon, who makes your nest in the cedars, how greatly to be pitied you will be when pangs come on you, the pain as of a woman in travail!
- Judg 10:7–10Yahweh’s anger burned against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the children of Ammon.
- Judg 3:8–9Therefore Yahweh’s anger burned against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia; and the children of Israel served Cushan Rishathaim eight years.
- Hos 7:14They haven’t cried to me with their heart, but they howl on their beds. They assemble themselves for grain and new wine. They turn away from me.
- Isa 26:6The foot shall tread it down; Even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 78:34 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
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