1 Samuel 7:3

7:3 Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you are really turning to the Lord with all your hearts, remove from among you the foreign gods and the images of Ashtoreth. ¹  Give your hearts to the Lord and serve only him. Then he will deliver you ²  from the hand of the Philistines.”

1 Samuel 7:1

7:1 Then the people ³  of Kiriath Jearim came and took the ark of the Lord; they brought it to the house of Abinadab located on the hill. They consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the Lord.

1 Raja-raja 8:48

8:48 When they return to you with all their heart and being ⁴  in the land where they are held prisoner, ⁵  and direct their prayers to you toward the land you gave to their ancestors, your chosen city, and the temple I built for your honor, ⁶ 

Yeremia 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, ⁷ 

[7:3]  ¹ tn Heb “the Ashtarot” (plural; also in the following verse). The words “images of” are supplied for clarity.

[7:3]  sn The Semitic goddess Astarte was associated with love and war in the ancient Near East. The presence of Ashtarot in Israel is a sign of pervasive pagan and idolatrous influences; hence Samuel calls for their removal. See 1 Sam 31:10, where the Philistines deposit the armor of the deceased Saul in the temple of the Ashtarot, and 1 Kgs 11:5, 33; 2 Kgs 23:13, where Solomon is faulted for worshiping the Ashtarot.

[7:3]  ² tn Following imperatives, the jussive verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.

[7:1]  ³ tn Heb “men.”

[8:48]  ⁴ tn Or “soul.”

[8:48]  ⁵ tn Heb “in the land of their enemies.”

[8:48]  ⁶ tn Heb “your name.” See the note on the word “reputation” in v. 41.

[29:13]  ⁷ 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.