To seek
ζητέωStrong’s G2212zēteō
Appears in 116 verses of the New Testament
In short
Zēteō is the Greek word usually translated “seeking”, “were seeking” and “do seek”. It appears in 116 verses of the New Testament.
“And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.”
Meaning
Usually translated “seeking”, “were seeking” and “do seek”. Open the dictionary entry below for the full range of meaning, with the verses it cites.
How it's translated
- seeking 24
- were seeking 13
- do seek 10
- you seek 9
- seeks 7
- they were seeking 7
- he was seeking 5
- seek you 5
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- John 33
- Luke 26
- Matthew 14
- Mark 10
- Acts 10
- 1 Corinthians 7
16 books in all.
Explore in Scripture
- Matthew 2:20Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life.
- Matthew 6:33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
- Matthew 7:7Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
- Matthew 7:8For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
- Matthew 12:43When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
- Matthew 12:46While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.
All 116 verses, by book
- Luke 26
- 2:482:495:186:199:911:911:1011:1611:2411:2911:5412:2912:3112:4813:613:713:2415:817:3319:319:1019:4720:1922:222:624:5
- John 33
- 1:384:234:275:165:185:305:446:246:267:17:47:117:187:197:207:257:307:347:368:218:378:408:5010:3911:811:5613:3316:1918:418:718:819:1220:15
- Philippians 1
- 2:21
- Colossians 1
- 3:1
- 1 Thessalonians 1
- 2:6
- 2 Timothy 1
- 1:17
- Hebrews 1
- 8:7
- Revelation 1
- 9:6
Greek dictionary
ζητέω zēteō · to seek
ζητέω, -ῶ, [in LXX chiefly for בּקשׁ pi., also for דּרשׁ, etc. ;] 1. to seek, seek for: Mat.7:7, 8 Luk.11:9, 10; with accusative of person(s), Mrk.1:37, Luk.2:48, Jhn.6:24, al.; id. before ἐν, Act.9:11; with accusative of thing(s), Mat.13:45, Luk.19:10; before ἐν, Luk.13:6, 7; ψυχήν, of plotting against one's life ( Exo.4:19, al.), Mat.2:20, Rom.11:3" (LXX) . Metaphorical, to seek by thinking, search after, inquire into: Mrk.11:18, Luk.12:28, Jhn.16:19; τ. θεόν, Act.17:27. …
From STEPBible’s Greek lexicon (based on Abbott-Smith).
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
How the English word “seek” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.
SEEK, verb transitive
pret and participle passive sought, pronounced sawt. [L. sequor, to follow; for to seek is to go after, and the primary sense is to advance, to press, to drive forward, as in the L. peto.]
- To go in searh or quest of; to look for; to search for by going from place to place.
- To inquire for; to ask for; to solicit; to endeavor to find or gain by any means.“The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God” Psalms 104:21“He found no place for repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears” Hebrews 12:17“Others tempting him, sought of him a sign” Luke 11:16
- Seek is followed sometimes by out or after.
- To make search or inquiry; to endeavor to make discovery.“Seek ye out of the book of the Lord” Isaiah 34:16
All definitions
- To endeavor.
Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.
Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Greek, not from any one translation.