Bible Verses About Understanding

“A fool does not delight in understanding, but only in airing his opinions.”

“A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man promotes folly.”

“Wisdom is supreme; so acquire wisdom. And whatever you may acquire, gain understanding.”

“A man of knowledge restrains his words, and a man of understanding maintains a calm spirit.”

“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

“Consider what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all things.”

“Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who acquires understanding, for she is more profitable than silver, and her gain is better than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire compares with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. All her ways are pleasant, and all her paths are peaceful. She is a tree of life to those who embrace her, and those who lay hold of her are blessed.”

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching out.”

“And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

“The intentions of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out.”

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

“Give me understanding that I may obey Your law, and follow it with all my heart.”

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts gain rich understanding. His praise endures forever!”

“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true — in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”

“They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts.”

“We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.”

“Discretion will watch over you, and understanding will guard you, to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perversity, from those who leave the straight paths to walk in the ways of darkness, from those who enjoy doing evil and rejoice in the twistedness of evil, whose paths are crooked and whose ways are devious. It will rescue you from the forbidden woman, from the stranger with seductive words”

“Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceitful speech.”

“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have full endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence. For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross. Once you were alienated from God and were hostile in your minds, engaging in evil deeds. But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence — if indeed you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, which is the church. I became its servant by the commission God gave me to fully proclaim to you the word of God, the mystery that was hidden for ages and generations but is now revealed to His saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I also labor, striving with all His energy working powerfully within me.”

“O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!”

“I gain understanding from Your precepts; therefore I hate every false way.”

“Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn from them.”

“Understanding is a fountain of life to its possessor, but the discipline of fools is folly.”

“Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised; His greatness is unsearchable.”

“Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.”

“Does not wisdom call out, and understanding raise her voice?”

“Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”

“Some time later there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool with five covered colonnades, which in Hebrew is called Bethesda. On these walkways lay a great number of the sick, the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed. One man there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and realized that he had spent a long time in this condition, He asked him, “Do you want to get well?” “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am on my way, someone else goes in before me.” Then Jesus told him, “Get up, pick up your mat, and walk.” Immediately the man was made well, and he picked up his mat and began to walk. Now this happened on the Sabbath day, so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “This is the Sabbath! It is unlawful for you to carry your mat.” But he answered, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ” “Who is this man who told you to pick it up and walk?” they asked. But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while the crowd was there. Afterward, Jesus found the man at the temple and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you.” And the man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. Now because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews began to persecute Him. But Jesus answered them, “To this very day My Father is at His work, and I too am working.” Because of this, the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him. Not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. So Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself, unless He sees the Father doing it. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does. The Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does. And to your amazement, He will show Him even greater works than these. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wishes. Furthermore, the Father judges no one, but has assigned all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life. Truly, truly, I tell you, the hour is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so also He has granted the Son to have life in Himself. And He has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out — those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. I can do nothing by Myself; I judge only as I hear. And My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. If I testify about Myself, My testimony is not valid.”

“Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. For I give you sound teaching; do not abandon my directive. When I was a son to my father, tender and the only child of my mother, he taught me and said, “Let your heart lay hold of my words; keep my commands and you will live. Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn from them. Do not forsake wisdom, and she will preserve you; love her, and she will guard you. Wisdom is supreme; so acquire wisdom. And whatever you may acquire, gain understanding. Prize her, and she will exalt you; if you embrace her, she will honor you. She will set a garland of grace on your head; she will present you with a crown of beauty.” Listen, my son, and receive my words, and the years of your life will be many. I will guide you in the way of wisdom; I will lead you on straight paths. When you walk, your steps will not be impeded; when you run, you will not stumble. Hold on to instruction; do not let go. Guard it, for it is your life. Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers. Avoid it; do not travel on it. Turn from it and pass on by. For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; they are deprived of slumber until they make someone fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday. But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they do not know what makes them stumble. My son, pay attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not lose sight of them; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and health to the whole body. Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.”

“Every wise woman builds her house, but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands. He who walks in uprightness fears the LORD, but the one who is devious in his ways despises Him. The proud speech of a fool brings a rod to his back, but the lips of the wise protect them. Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but an abundant harvest comes through the strength of the ox. An honest witness does not deceive, but a dishonest witness pours forth lies. A mocker seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge comes easily to the discerning. Stay away from a foolish man; you will gain no knowledge from his speech. The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools deceives them. Fools mock the making of amends, but goodwill is found among the upright. The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares in its joy. The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Even in laughter the heart may ache, and joy may end in sorrow. The backslider in heart receives the fill of his own ways, but a good man is rewarded for his ways. The simple man believes every word, but the prudent man watches his steps. A wise man fears and turns from evil, but a fool is careless and reckless. A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, and a devious man is hated. The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge. The evil bow before the good, and the wicked at the gates of the righteous. The poor man is hated even by his neighbor, but many are those who love the rich. He who despises his neighbor sins, but blessed is he who shows kindness to the poor. Do not those who contrive evil go astray? But those who plan goodness find loving devotion and faithfulness. There is profit in all labor, but mere talk leads only to poverty. The crown of the wise is their wealth, but the effort of fools is folly. A truthful witness saves lives, but one who utters lies is deceitful. He who fears the LORD is secure in confidence, and his children shall have a place of refuge. The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.”

“How much better to acquire wisdom than gold! To gain understanding is more desirable than silver.”

“Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the last of all and the servant of all.”

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

“Before I was afflicted, I went astray; but now I keep Your word.”

“All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart.”

“For though we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh.”

“Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.”

“Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker— one clay pot among many. Does the clay ask the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘He has no hands’?”

“For in Your sight a thousand years are but a day that passes, or a watch of the night.”

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.”

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all.”

“Then you will discern righteousness and justice and equity— every good path.”

“For I give you sound teaching; do not abandon my directive.”

“But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.”

“If anyone claims to be in the light but hates his brother, he is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no cause of stumbling in him. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness. He does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”

“A mocker seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge comes easily to the discerning.”

“A discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.”

“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her forced labor has been completed; her iniquity has been pardoned. For she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins.”

“Even before a word is on my tongue, You know all about it, O LORD.”

“The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks it out.”