The Hebrew verb yaats means to advise, to counsel, to plan, or to purpose — used of human advisors giving counsel to kings and of God's eternal plans and purposes that cannot be thwarted.
Yaats is the counsel that shapes destiny. Human yaats can fail: Ahithophel's counsel (2 Samuel 17) was famous for its wisdom, yet God turned it aside to preserve David. But God's yaats — His eternal counsel — is unassailable: 'I make known the end from the beginning... My purpose will stand and I will do all that I please' (Isaiah 46:10). Isaiah 9:6 gives the Messiah the title Pele Yoets — Wonderful Counselor — one whose counsel is supernatural and unfailing. The Spirit of God is called a spirit of eytsa (counsel) in Isaiah 11:2. Theologically, yaats asserts divine sovereignty over history: all human counsels must ultimately yield to the counsel of the Lord (Proverbs 19:21).