The Meaning of Isaiah 55:6 Explained

Isaiah 55:6

KJV: Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

YLT: Seek ye Jehovah, while He is found, Call ye Him, while He is near,

Darby: Seek ye Jehovah while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.

ASV: Seek ye Jehovah while he may be found; call ye upon him while he is near:

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Seek  ye the LORD  while he may be found,  call  ye upon him while he is near: 

What does Isaiah 55:6 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Lord had reached out to humanity by promising free salvation through His prophet. The listeners needed to respond to Him because those promises would not always be available to them.
"We could translate while he may be found as "while he permits himself to be found" (tolerative niphal), indicating a divinely determined day of grace and salvation." [1]
"God cannot be found at any time but only when He desires to be found. What is implied is that the present, when these commands are given, is the time of salvation. The thought is similar to that expressed in 2 Corinthians 6:2 and John 12:35." [2]
Seeking and calling on the Lord represent reaching out to Him in faith (cf. Acts 2:21; Acts 15:17; Acts 17:27; Acts 22:16; Romans 3:11; Romans 10:14; 2 Timothy 2:22). This is necessary because there is no peace for the wicked ( Isaiah 48:22; Isaiah 57:21).

Context Summary

Isaiah 55:1-13 - The Free Offer Of Pardoning Grace
The Prince of Life, Isaiah 55:4, r.v. Four times in the New Testament this title is applied to our Lord, and always in connection with His Resurrection. See Acts 3:14-15; Acts 5:31; Hebrews 2:9-10; Hebrews 12:2, where the words prince, author, and captain, are various translations of the same Greek word. The meaning of the original word is file leader. He leads out of death into life; out of defeat into victory; out of suffering into perfection; out of the sorrow and pain of discipline into the triumph of the sons of light.
The everlasting covenant, Isaiah 55:3. David's sin could not cancel the sure mercies of God. See 2 Samuel 7:14-16 and 2 Samuel 23:5. God will never go back on that covenant which includes us! See Hebrews 8:1-13. God's mercies in Christ are sure. Listen! Come! Hear! We are not only forever safe, but we are provided against all want.
God's abundant provision is described under several terms: waters, wine, milk, wholesome and satisfying bread, the good, fatness, Isaiah 55:1-2. We are blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ, Ephesians 1:3. And because God's thoughts and ways are not as ours, the result is the transformation of thorns into firs and briars into myrtles. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 55

1  The prophet, with the promises of Christ, calls to faith
6  And to repentance
8  The happy success of those who believe

What do the individual words in Isaiah 55:6 mean?

Seek Yahweh while He may be found Call upon Him while He is near
דִּרְשׁ֥וּ יְהוָ֖ה בְּהִמָּצְא֑וֹ קְרָאֻ֖הוּ בִּֽהְיוֹת֥וֹ קָרֽוֹב

דִּרְשׁ֥וּ  Seek 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: דַּרְיׄושׁ 
Sense: to resort to, seek, seek with care, enquire, require.
יְהוָ֖ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
בְּהִמָּצְא֑וֹ  while  He  may  be  found 
Parse: Preposition-b, Verb, Nifal, Infinitive construct, third person masculine singular
Root: מָצָא  
Sense: to find, attain to.
קְרָאֻ֖הוּ  Call  upon  Him 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural, third person masculine singular
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.
בִּֽהְיוֹת֥וֹ  while  He  is 
Parse: Preposition-b, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
קָרֽוֹב  near 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: קָרֹוב  
Sense: near.