Mazmur 24:6

24:6 Such purity characterizes the people who seek his favor,

Jacob’s descendants, who pray to him. ¹  (Selah)

Mazmur 105:4

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

Seek his presence continually!

Yesaya 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 

Yesaya 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 

Hosea 5:15

5:15 Then I will return again to my lair

until they have suffered their punishment. ¹¹ 

Then they will seek me; ¹² 

in their distress they will earnestly seek me.

[24:6]  ¹ tn Heb “this [is the] generation of the ones seeking him, the ones seeking your face, Jacob.” To “seek the Lord’s face” means to seek his favor through prayer (see 2 Sam 21:1; Pss 27:8; 105:4).

[24:6]  sn This verse presents a somewhat idealized view of Jacob’s descendants as devoted worshipers of the Lord.

[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.

[5:15]  ¹¹ tn The verb יֶאְשְׁמוּ (ye’shÿmu, Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine plural from אָשַׁם, ’asham, “to be guilty”) means “to bear their punishment” (Ps 34:22-23; Prov 30:10; Isa 24:6; Jer 2:3; Hos 5:15; 10:2; 14:1; Zech 11:5; Ezek 6:6; BDB 79 s.v. אָשַׁם 3). Many English versions translate this as “admit their guilt” (NIV, NLT) or “acknowledge their guilt” (NASB, NRSV), but cf. NAB “pay for their guilt” and TEV “have suffered enough for their sins.”

[5:15]  ¹² tn Heb “seek my face” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “seek my presence.”