'Thoughts' in the Bible
“As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father [have personal knowledge of Him, be acquainted with, and understand Him; appreciate, heed, and cherish Him] and serve Him with a blameless heart and a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and minds, and understands every intent and inclination of the thoughts. If you seek Him [inquiring for and of Him and requiring Him as your first and vital necessity] He will let you find Him; but if you abandon (turn away from) Him, He will reject you forever.
O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the minds of Your people, and direct their hearts toward You;
“Amid disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night,When deep sleep falls on men,
“My days are past, my purposes and plans are frustrated and torn apart;The wishes of my heart [are broken].
“These [thoughts try to] make the night into the day;‘The light is near,’ they say in the presence of darkness [but they pervert the truth].
“Therefore my disquieting thoughts make me answer,Because of the uneasiness that is within me.
“Behold, I know your thoughts,And the plots by which you would wrong me.
The wicked, in the haughtiness of his face, will not seek nor inquire for Him;All his thoughts are, “There is no God [so there is no accountability or punishment].”
The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations;He makes the thoughts and plans of the people ineffective.
The counsel of the Lord stands forever,The thoughts and plans of His heart through all generations.
Many, O Lord my God, are the wonderful works which You have done,And Your thoughts toward us;There is none to compare with You.If I would declare and speak of your wonders,They would be too many to count.
All day long they twist my words and say hurtful things;All their thoughts are against me for evil.
How great are Your works, O Lord!Your thoughts are very deep [beyond man’s understanding].
The Lord knows the thoughts of man,That they are a mere breath (vain, empty, futile).
When my anxious thoughts multiply within me,Your comforts delight me.
Samekh.I hate those who are double-minded,But I love and treasure Your law.
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!How vast is the sum of them!
Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart;Test me and know my anxious thoughts;
When his spirit leaves him, he returns to the earth;In that very day his thoughts and plans perish.
A heart that creates wicked plans,Feet that run swiftly to evil,
The thoughts and purposes of the [consistently] righteous are just (honest, reliable),But the counsels and schemes of the wicked are deceitful.
The backslider in heart will have his fill with his own [rotten] ways,But a good man will be satisfied with his ways [the godly thought and action which his heart pursues and in which he delights].
All the days of the afflicted are bad,But a glad heart has a continual feast [regardless of the circumstances].
Evil plans and thoughts of the wicked are exceedingly vile and offensive to the Lord,But pure words are pleasant words to Him.
All the ways of a man are clean and innocent in his own eyes [and he may see nothing wrong with his actions],But the Lord weighs and examines the motives and intents [of the heart and knows the truth].
Commit your works to the Lord [submit and trust them to Him],And your plans will succeed [if you respond to His will and guidance].
The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance and advantage,But everyone who acts in haste comes surely to poverty.
Moreover, do not curse the king, even in your bedroom, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse the rich, for a bird of the air will carry the sound and a winged creature will make the matter known.
“Until the day breaksAnd the shadows flee away,[In my thoughts] I will go my way to the mountain of myrrhAnd to the hill of frankincense.
So when the Lord has completed all His work [of judgment] on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the fruit [the thoughts, the declarations, and the actions] of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the haughtiness of his pride.”
Let the wicked leave (behind) his wayAnd the unrighteous man his thoughts;And let him return to the Lord,And He will have compassion (mercy) on him,And to our God,For He will abundantly pardon.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,So are My ways higher than your waysAnd My thoughts higher than your thoughts.
Their feet run to evil,And they rush to shed innocent blood.Their thoughts are thoughts of wickedness [of sin, of injustice, of wrongdoing];Devastation and destruction are in their highways.
“I have spread out My hands all the day long to a rebellious and stubborn people,Who walk in the way that is not good, [following] after their own thoughts and intentions,
“Those who [vainly attempt to] sanctify and cleanse themselves to go to the gardens [to sacrifice to idols],Following after one in the center,Who eat swine’s flesh, detestable things and mice,Will come to an end together,” says the Lord.
“For I know their works and their thoughts. The time is coming to gather all nations and languages, and they will come and see My glory.
O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness,That you may be saved.How long will your wicked and immoral thoughtsLodge within you?
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.
“Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people,The fruit of their schemes,Because they have not listened and paid attention to My words,And as for My law, they have rejected it also.
“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.
For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
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.
“Place for yourself road signs [toward Canaan],Make for yourself guideposts;Turn your thought and attention to the highway,To the way by which you went [into exile].Retrace your steps, O virgin of Israel,Return to these your cities.
The lips and whispering of my assailantsAre against me all day long.
in order that I may take hold of the heart (mind) of the house of Israel who are all estranged from Me because of their idols.”’
Therefore thus says the Lord God,‘Because you have imagined your mind [to be]Like the mind of God [having thoughts and plans like God Himself],
‘Thus says the Lord God, “It will come about on that day that thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil plan,
As for you, O king, as you were lying on your bed thoughts came into your mind about what will take place in the future; and He who reveals secrets has shown you what will occur.
But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because my wisdom is greater than that of any other living man, but in order to make the interpretation known to the king, and so that you may understand [fully] the thoughts of your mind.
I saw a dream and it made me afraid; and the fantasies and thoughts and the visions [that appeared] in my mind as I lay on my bed kept alarming me.
“Then Daniel, whose [Babylonian] name was Belteshazzar, was appalled and speechless for a while [because he was deeply concerned about the destiny of the king], and his thoughts alarmed him. The king said, ‘Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation frighten you.’ Belteshazzar answered, ‘My lord, may the dream be [meant] for those who hate you and its message for your enemies!
Then the king’s face grew pale, and his thoughts alarmed him; the joints and muscles of his hips and back weakened and his knees began knocking together.
Now the queen [mother], overhearing the [excited] words of the king and his nobles, came into the banquet area. The queen [mother] spoke and said, “O king, live forever! Do not be alarmed at your thoughts or let your face be changed.
“This is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my [waking] thoughts were extremely troubling and alarming and my face grew pale; but I kept the matter [of the vision and the angel’s explanation] to myself.”
“But they (Gentile nations) do not know the thoughts of the Lord,Nor do they understand His purpose and plan;For He has gathered them (Gentiles) like sheaves to the threshing floor [for destruction].
Gather yourselves together [in repentance], yes, gather [in submission],O nation without shame,