'Heart' in the Bible

Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with her whole heart, but rather in [blatant] deception [she merely pretended obedience to King Josiah’s reforms],” declares the Lord.

“Then [in the final time] I will give you [spiritual] shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and [true] understanding.

O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness,That you may be saved.How long will your wicked and immoral thoughtsLodge within you?

“Your ways and your deedsHave brought these things on you.This is your tragedy and doom; how bitter,How it has touched your heart!”

My soul, my soul! I writhe in anguish and pain! Oh, the walls of my heart!My heart is pounding and throbbing within me;I cannot be silent,For you have heard, O my soul,The sound of the trumpet,The alarm of war.

‘Now hear this, O foolish people without heart,Who have eyes but do not see,Who have ears but do not hear.

They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the Valley of Ben-hinnom (son of Hinnom), to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire [to honor Molech, the fire god]—which I did not command, nor did it come into My heart (mind).

Oh, that I (Jeremiah) could find comfort from my sorrow [for my grief is beyond healing],My heart is sick and faint within me!

“Their tongue is a murderous arrow;It speaks deceit;With his mouth one speaks peace to his neighbor,But in his heart he lays traps and waits in ambush for him.

Egypt and Judah, and Edom and the sons of Ammon, and Moab and all those who live in the desert who clip off the hair on their temples; for all these nations are uncircumcised (sinful, impure), and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.”

Yet they did not obey or incline their ear [to listen to Me], but everyone walked in the stubborn way of his [own] evil heart. Therefore I brought on them all [the suffering threatened in] the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.’”

But, O Lord of hosts, who judges righteously,Who tests the feelings and the heart (mind),Let me see Your vengeance on them,For to You I have committed my cause.

But You, O Lord, know me [and understand my devotion to You];You see me;And You examine the attitude of my heart toward You.Drag out the faithless like sheep for the slaughter [O Lord]And set them apart for the day of slaughter.

“They have made it a wasteland,Desolate, it mourns before Me;The whole land has been made a wasteland,Because no man takes it to heart.

“And if you [wonder and] say in your heart,‘Why have these things happened to me?’It is because of the greatness and nature of your sinThat your skirts have been pulled away [subjecting you to public disgrace]And [like a barefoot slave] your heels have been wounded.

Your words were found and I ate them,And Your words became a joy to me and the delight of my heart;For I have been called by Your name,O Lord God of hosts.

Therefore, thus says the Lord [to Jeremiah],“If you repent [and give up this mistaken attitude of despair and self-pity], then I will restore you [to a state of inner peace]So that you may stand before Me [as My obedient representative];And if you separate the precious from the worthless [examining yourself and cleansing your heart from unwarranted doubt concerning My faithfulness],You will become My spokesman.Let the people turn to you [and learn to value My values]—But you, you must not turn to them [with regard for their idolatry and wickedness].

and because you have done worse [things] than your fathers. Just look, every one of you walks in the stubbornness of his own evil heart, so that you do not listen [obediently] to Me.

Thus says the Lord,“Cursed is the man who trusts in and relies on mankind,Making [weak, faulty human] flesh his strength,And whose mind and heart turn away from the Lord.

“The heart is deceitful above all thingsAnd it is extremely sick;Who can understand it fully and know its secret motives?

“I, the Lord, search and examine the mind,I test the heart,To give to each man according to his ways,According to the results of his deeds.

But they will say, ‘That is hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will act in accordance with the stubbornness of his evil heart.’

and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, which I never commanded or spoke of, nor did it ever enter My mind (heart);

If I say, “I will not remember HimOr speak His name anymore,”Then my heart becomes a burning fireShut up in my bones.And I am weary of enduring and holding it in;I cannot endure it [nor contain it any longer].

But, O Lord of hosts, You who examine the righteous,Who see the heart and the mind,Let me see Your vengeance on them;For to You I have committed my cause.

“But your eyes and your heartAre only intent on your own dishonest gain,On shedding innocent blood,On oppression and extortion and violence.”

Concerning the prophets:My heart [says Jeremiah] is broken within me,All my bones shake;I have become like a drunken man,A man whom wine has overcome,Because of the LordAnd because of His holy words [declared against unfaithful leaders].

“They are continually saying to those who despise Me [and My word],‘The Lord has said, “You will have peace”’;And they say to everyone who walks after the stubbornness of his own heart,‘No evil will come on you.’

“The anger of the Lord will not turn backUntil He has set in motion and accomplished the thoughts and intentions of His heart;In the last days you will clearly understand it.

I will give them a heart to know Me, [understanding fully] that I am the Lord; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart.

Then [with a deep longing] you will seek Me and require Me [as a vital necessity] and [you will] find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

The fierce (righteous) anger of the Lord will not turn backUntil He has fulfilled and until He has accomplishedThe intent of His heart (mind);In the latter days you will understand this.

“Is Ephraim My dear son?Is he a darling and beloved child?For as often as I have spoken against him,I certainly still remember him.Therefore My affection is renewed and My heart longs for him;I will surely have mercy on him,” says the Lord.

They built the high places [for worship] of Baal in the Valley of Ben-hinnom (son of Hinnom) to make their sons and their daughters pass through the fire to [worship and honor] Molech—which I had not commanded them nor had it entered My mind that they should do this repulsive thing, to cause Judah to sin.

and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may [reverently] fear Me forever, for their own good and for the good of their children after them.

I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.

“We have heard of the [giddy] pride of Moab, the extremely proud one—His haughtiness, his arrogance, his conceit, and his self-exaltation.

“Therefore My heart moans and sighs for Moab like flutes, and My heart moans and sighs like flutes for the men of Kir-heres (Kir-hareseth); therefore [the remnant of] the abundant riches they gained has perished.

“Kerioth [and the cities] has been takenAnd the strongholds seized;And the hearts of the warriors of Moab in that dayShall be like the heart of a woman in childbirth.

“As for Your terror,The pride and arrogance of your heart have deceived you,O you who live in the clefts of the rock (Sela also called Petra),Who hold and occupy the height of the hill.Though you make your nest as high as the eagle’s,I will bring you down from there,” says the Lord.

Behold, He will mount up and fly swiftly like an eagle and spread His wings against [the city of] Bozrah; and in that day the heart of the mighty warriors of Edom will be like the heart of a woman in childbirth.

“Now beware so that you do not lose heart,And so that you are not afraid at the rumor that will be heard in the land—For the rumor shall come one year,And after that another rumor in another year,And violence shall be in the land,Ruler against ruler—