English Standard Version
Isaiah 55:6
6"Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;
Isaiah 55:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
- New International Version (NIV)Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.
Context of Isaiah 55:6
4Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. 5Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you. "Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; 7let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
Read all of Isaiah 55Isaiah 55:6 word by word
דִּרְשׁ֥וּ יְהוָ֖ה בְּהִמָּצְא֑וֹ קְרָאֻ֖הוּ בִּֽהְיוֹת֥וֹ קָרֽוֹב׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Isaiah 55:6
- Isaiah 45:19I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, 'Seek me in vain.' I the Lord speak the truth; I declare what is right.
- 1 Chronicles 28:9"And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.
- 2 Chronicles 19:3Nevertheless, some good is found in you, for you destroyed the Asheroth out of the land, and have set your heart to seek God."
- Job 8:5If you will seek God and plead with the Almighty for mercy,
- Psalms 14:2The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.
- Psalms 27:8You have said, "Seek my face." My heart says to you, "Your face, Lord, do I seek."
- Psalms 32:6Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him.
- Psalms 95:7For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice,
- Jeremiah 29:12Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.
- Amos 5:6Seek the Lord and live, lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour, with none to quench it for Bethel,
- Matthew 5:25Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.
- Matthew 7:7"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
- Matthew 25:11Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open to us.'
- Luke 13:25When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, open to us,' then he will answer you, 'I do not know where you come from.'
- John 7:33Jesus then said, "I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me.
- John 8:21So he said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come."
Commentaries on Isaiah 55:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Seek ye the Lord while he may be found - Rab. David Kimchi gives the true sense of this passage: "Seek ye the Lord, because he may be found: call upon him, because he is near. Repent before ye die, for after death there is no conversion of the soul."Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-13Verses 6-13 Here is a gracious offer of pardon, and peace, and of all happiness. It shall not be in vain to seek God, now his word is calling to us, and his Spirit is striving with us. But there is a day coming when he will not be found. There may come such a time in this life; it is certain that at death and judgment the door will be shut. There must be not only a change of the way, but a change of the mind. We must alter our judgments about persons and…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6while He is near: When God kindly offers an invitation to salvation, people must respond (Isaiah 65:1; Jeremiah 29:13–14; Hosea 5:6; 10:12). Those who do not seek him during these times may never have another chance.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. The condition and limit in the obtaining of the spiritual benefits (Is 55:1-3): (1) Seek the Lord. (2) Seek Him while He is to be found (Is 65:1; Psa 32:6; Mt 25:1-13; Joh 7:34; 8:21; 2Co 6:2; He 2:3; 3:13, 15). call--casting yourselves wholly on His mercy (Ro 10:13). Stronger than "seek"; so "near" is more positive than "while He may be found" (Ro 10:8, 9). near--propitious (Psa 34:18; 145:18).Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 55:6
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 55
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries