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. Jer 29:11
The Hebrew word is מַחֲשָׁבוֹת (machashabot), the plural of מַחֲשָׁבָה (machashavah).
This word comes from the root חָשַׁב (chashab), which means "to think, plan, reckon, devise, calculate." The semantic range of machashavah encompasses both:
- Mental activity: thoughts, intentions, purposes
- Deliberate planning: plans, designs, schemes
So the word inherently bridges what we separate in English as "thoughts" and "plans"—it refers to purposeful thinking that includes intention and design.
Why the different translations?
- NKJV ("thoughts") emphasizes the cognitive/mental aspect
- NASB ("plans") emphasizes the intentional/purposeful aspect
Both are legitimate because Hebrew machashavah captures the idea that God's "thoughts" are not idle musings but purposeful intentions that will be carried out. They are thoughts with purpose—thinking that naturally leads to action.
Other uses in Scripture:
You can see this same word used throughout the Old Testament:
- Genesis 6:5 - "every intent [machashevot] of the thoughts of his heart"
- Psalm 33:11 - "the plans [machashevot] of His heart"
- Isaiah 55:8-9 - "My thoughts [machashevot] are not your thoughts"
The beauty of Jeremiah 29:11 is that God's machashavot toward His people are both carefully considered AND purposefully designed for their welfare.
This verse sits in the middle of Jeremiah's letter to the exiles in Babylon (Jeremiah 29:1-23). The context is crucial for understanding its meaning:
Historical Setting:
- 586 BC: Jerusalem has been destroyed, the temple burned, and the people of Judah taken into Babylonian captivity
- The exiles are devastated, feeling abandoned by God
- False prophets were telling them the exile would be short (just 2 years - Jer 29:8-9)
The Message (Jeremiah 29:4-14):
- Settle in for the long haul (vv. 4-7) - Build houses, plant gardens, marry, have children, seek Babylon's welfare
- Don't listen to false prophets (vv. 8-9) - They're lying about a quick return
- The exile will last 70 years (v. 10) - A full lifetime for most
- But God has not abandoned His covenant purposes (vv. 11-14) - Despite judgment, restoration will come
Critical Point:
This is a corporate promise to the nation of Israel, not a personal prosperity guarantee for individuals. God is saying: "Yes, you're in exile as judgment for sin, BUT this isn't the end of My purposes for you as My people. I will bring you back."
Other Bible References on God's Thoughts and Plans
God's Thoughts vs. Human Thoughts
Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV)
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
- Same Hebrew word (machashavot) as Jeremiah 29:11
- Context: God's readiness to pardon and His unfathomable wisdom
Psalm 92:5
"How great are Your works, O LORD! Your thoughts are very deep."
Psalm 139:17-18
"How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand."
God's Sovereign Plans Over History
Psalm 33:10-11
"The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans [machashevot] of His heart to all generations."
Proverbs 19:21
"There are many plans in a man's heart, nevertheless the LORD's counsel—that will stand."
Isaiah 14:24, 27
"The LORD of hosts has sworn, saying, 'Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, and as I have purposed, so it shall stand... For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it?'"
Isaiah 46:9-10
"I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.'"
God's Purposes for Individuals
Psalm 139:16
"Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them."
Ephesians 2:10
"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."
Romans 8:28-29
"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son."
Philippians 1:6
"Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ."
God's Good Intentions Toward His People
Psalm 40:5
"Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done; and Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order."
Lamentations 3:31-33
"For the Lord will not cast off forever. Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies. For He does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men."
Romans 8:31-32
"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"
The Comprehensive Plan of Redemption
Ephesians 1:9-11
"Having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ... In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will."
Acts 2:23
"Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death."
Key Themes:
- God's thoughts are unfathomably deep and numerous
- God's plans are sovereign and cannot be thwarted
- God's purposes are ultimately for good and for His glory
- God's plans include both corporate (national/church) and individual dimensions
- Even suffering and judgment fit within God's redemptive purposes
The beauty of Jeremiah 29:11 in context is that it shows God's faithfulness even in discipline—He doesn't promise to remove consequences of sin immediately, but He does promise His purposes for His people will ultimately prevail.
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