God’s Word Translation
Isaiah 55:6
6Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call on 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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon 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.
Context of Isaiah 55:6
4I made him a witness to people, a leader and a commander for people. 5You will summon a nation that you don’t know, and a nation that doesn’t know you will run to you because of the Lord your God, because of the Holy One of Israel. He has honored you.” Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call on him while he is near. 7Let wicked people abandon their ways. Let evil people abandon their thoughts. Let them return to the Lord, and he will show compassion to them. Let them return to our God, because he will freely forgive them. 8“My thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways are not your 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 haven’t spoken privately or in some dark corner of the world. I didn’t say to Jacob’s descendants, “Search for me in vain!” I, the Lord, speak what is fair and say what is right.
- 1 Chronicles 28:9“And you, my son Solomon, learn to know your father’s God. Serve the Lord wholeheartedly and willingly because he searches every heart and understands every thought ⌞we have⌟. If you dedicate your life to serving him, he will accept you. But if you abandon him, he will reject you from then on.
- 2 Chronicles 19:3However, you’ve done some good things: You’ve burned the Asherah poles in this country, and you’ve wholeheartedly dedicated your life to serving God.”
- Job 8:5If you search for God and plead for mercy from the Almighty,
- Psalms 14:2The Lord looks down from heaven on Adam’s descendants to see if there is anyone who acts wisely, if there is anyone who seeks help from God.
- Psalms 27:8⌞When you said,⌟ “Seek my face,” my heart said to you, “O Lord, I will seek your face.”
- Psalms 32:6For this reason let all godly people pray to you when you may be found. Then raging floodwater will not reach them.
- Psalms 95:7because he is our God and we are the people in his care, the flock that he leads. If only you would listen to him today!
- Jeremiah 29:12Then you will call to me. You will come and pray to me, and I will hear you.
- Amos 5:6Search for the Lord and live! If you don’t, he will spread like a fire through the house of Joseph and burn it down. Bethel will have no one to put it out.
- Matthew 5:25“Make peace quickly with your opponent while you are on the way to court with him. Otherwise, he will hand you over to the judge. Then the judge will hand you over to an officer, who will throw you into prison.
- Matthew 7:7“Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened for you.
- Matthew 25:11“Later the other bridesmaids arrived and said, ‘Sir, sir, open the door for us!’
- Luke 13:25After the homeowner gets up and closes the door, ⌞it’s too late⌟. You can stand outside, knock at the door, and say, ‘Sir, open the door for us!’ But he will answer you, ‘I don’t know who you are.’
- John 7:33Jesus said, “I will still be with you for a little while. Then I’ll go to the one who sent me.
- John 8:21Jesus spoke to the Pharisees again. He said, “I’m going away, and you’ll look for me. But you will die because of your sin. You can’t go where I’m going.”
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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