A familiar Bible saying, checked in context
Seek and you will find
Word for word
Matthew 7:7 says “seek, and ye shall find.” The familiar line modernizes “ye shall” to “you will.”
By @The..Mustard..Seed · Updated
Read the relevant KJV passage
Matthew 7:7Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
Compare the evidence
This saying uses updated English. The KJV reads “seek, and ye shall find.” The finding counts those limited language updates as word for word.
Jeremiah connects finding the LORD with seeking wholeheartedly; this is distinct from a broad promise to locate anything one wants.
Jeremiah 29:13And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Luke repeats the ask, seek, knock sequence in a teaching on prayer, providing a Gospel comparison to Matthew 7:7.
Luke 11:9And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
What the context adds
The familiar wording updates two pieces of the KJV: “ye” becomes “you,” and “shall” becomes “will.” The words otherwise track “seek, and ye shall find” in Matthew 7:7. Matthew places seeking beside asking and knocking, then speaks of a parent giving good gifts. Jeremiah 29:13 uses seeking in a letter to exiles and names the object as the LORD. Luke 11:9 provides another ask-seek-knock passage in its own prayer setting. Together these passages ask what is being sought, from whom, and within which promise.
A question to carry forward
What is being sought in each passage, and how does that answer differ from an open-ended promise to find anything?
Keep reading
Read Matthew 7:7–11, Jeremiah 29:13, and Luke 11:9; compare whom each passage addresses and what seeking involves.
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