Bible Verses About Thankfulness and Gratitude

The best-known Bible verse about thankfulness is 1 Thessalonians 5:18: “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Psalm 107:1 runs a close second: “O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.” The 40 verses below are grouped by what is being thanked for, from everyday gratitude to the harvest table to the people in your life.

Every verse is quoted from the King James Version (KJV), checked word for word against the public-domain KJV texts at Project Gutenberg and eBible.org. KJV punctuation is kept, so a verse that runs on into the next one ends in a semicolon or colon. Where the 400-year-old English is hard going, the wording from the World English Bible (WEB), also public domain, is given in the notes. The full verses appear in order after the sections.

Giving thanks in all circumstances

These verses come from Paul’s letters, and they ask for thanks in every situation, hard ones included. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 closes a run of short instructions to the church at Thessalonica: “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing.” Ephesians 5:20 and Colossians 3:15 and 3:17 come from matching passages on how a congregation should live together.

Philippians 4:6 was written while Paul was in prison, and it pairs thanksgiving with asking for help. The KJV’s “be careful for nothing” uses careful in its old sense of full of care; the WEB reads “In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” Psalm 34:1 and Hebrews 13:15 describe praise offered continually.

• 1 Thessalonians 5:18
• Ephesians 5:20
• Philippians 4:6
• Colossians 3:17
• Colossians 3:15
• Psalm 34:1
• Hebrews 13:15

Thanks for God’s goodness and mercy

“O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever,” with small variations, opens Psalms 106, 107, 118 and 136, and appears in 1 Chronicles 16:34 in the song of thanks David appointed when the ark of the covenant was brought to Jerusalem. Psalm 136 repeats “for his mercy endureth for ever” at the end of all 26 of its verses, a refrain that reads like a call and response.

Lamentations 3:22-23 was written in grief after the fall of Jerusalem, and it finds mercies “new every morning” in the middle of that loss, so it fits a note thanking people for their sympathy. James 1:17 credits every good gift to God, and Psalm 116:12 asks what a person can give back for all of it.

• Psalm 107:1
• Psalm 136:1
• 1 Chronicles 16:34
• Lamentations 3:22-23
• James 1:17
• Psalm 103:2
• Psalm 116:12

Thanksgiving psalms

Psalm 100 is the thanksgiving psalm by name. The KJV heads it “A Psalm of praise,” and the WEB, closer to the Hebrew, heads it “A Psalm of thanksgiving.” Its fourth verse, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,” is a natural fit for a Thanksgiving card.

Psalm 9:1 and Psalm 28:7 are David’s thanks for help received; in the WEB, Psalm 9:1 begins “I will give thanks to Yahweh with my whole heart.” Psalm 92 carries the heading “A Psalm or Song for the sabbath day,” and Psalm 50:14 calls thanksgiving an offering in itself.

• Psalm 100:4
• Psalm 9:1
• Psalm 28:7
• Psalm 92:1
• Psalm 50:14

Thanks for provision and the harvest

These are the verses for the Thanksgiving table and for anyone who fed you. Deuteronomy 8:10 is Moses telling Israel to bless God after eating, “for the good land which he hath given thee,” and it is the basis of the Jewish blessing after meals. Psalm 145:15-16 (“Thou openest thine hand”) has long been used as a grace before meals.

Psalm 65 is a harvest psalm. The KJV’s “thy paths drop fatness” reads more plainly in the WEB: “You crown the year with your bounty. Your carts overflow with abundance.” Psalm 67:6 gives thanks for the earth’s “increase,” Genesis 8:22 is God’s promise to Noah after the flood that seedtime and harvest will not cease, and 1 Timothy 4:4 says food is good when it is “received with thanksgiving.”

• Psalm 65:11
• Psalm 67:6
• Psalm 145:15-16
• Deuteronomy 8:10
• Genesis 8:22
• 1 Timothy 4:4

Gratitude for people

Paul opens most of his letters by thanking God for the people he is writing to, and these are the verses to borrow when you are thanking a person. Philippians 1:3-5 went to the church at Philippi, which had sent him gifts while he was in prison. Romans 1:8 went to the church in Rome he had not yet been able to visit.

Romans 16:3-4 thanks Priscilla and Aquila, a married couple who worked alongside Paul and, in the WEB’s wording, “risked their own necks” for his life. Use it for a friend who stood by you through something hard. 1 Thessalonians 1:2 and 1 Corinthians 1:4 work for a church family, a small group or a mentor.

• Philippians 1:3-5
• 1 Thessalonians 1:2
• Romans 1:8
• 1 Corinthians 1:4
• Romans 16:3-4

Thanksgiving in worship and song

Many of the thanksgiving verses were written to be sung. Psalm 95:2 calls people to “come before his presence with thanksgiving,” Psalm 147:7 adds the harp, and Psalm 69:30 promises to “magnify him with thanksgiving” in a song. Colossians 3:16 asks believers to teach one another “in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” Revelation 7:12 is the angels’ worship before the throne, with thanksgiving listed among seven things given to God.

These fit a thank-you to a choir director, worship leader or church musician; our pastor thank-you wording covers the rest of the church staff.

• Psalm 95:2
• Psalm 147:7
• Psalm 69:30
• Colossians 3:16
• Revelation 7:12

Short Bible verses for cards

For a card, a gift tag or the bottom of a note, these fit on a line or two. 2 Corinthians 9:15 closes Paul’s request for a collection for the church in Jerusalem; “unspeakable” here means too great for words. Psalm 126 celebrates the return of Zion’s captives (“When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion”), and Psalm 118:24 suits any happy occasion, from a wedding to a graduation. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 and Psalm 107:1, above, are short enough too.

• Psalm 118:24
• 2 Corinthians 9:15
• Psalm 126:3
• 1 Corinthians 15:57
• Psalm 136:26

Using a Bible verse in a thank-you note or card

Put the verse at the top or the bottom of the note, give the reference after it, and let your own sentences carry the specific thanks. What you write tells them what they did that mattered: the meal, the visit, the prayer, the ride to the hospital.

Quote the verse exactly as your translation has it. If you only want part of a verse, stop at a natural break and keep the reference, but do not change the words to fit. Save scripture for people who share or welcome your faith; for anyone else, a line from our gratitude quotes does the same job. If you want to write a prayer of thanks instead of quoting a verse, see our thank-you prayers.

To a friend who helped during an illness: “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you” (Philippians 1:3). I think of it every Tuesday, when you used to drive me to treatment and wait in that cold room for three hours with a crossword and a thermos.

To a Thanksgiving host: “When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God” (Deuteronomy 8:10). We ate and were full, and the cornbread stuffing alone was worth the four-hour drive. Thank you for setting the table for all eleven of us.

To a church meal team after a new baby: “We give thanks to God always for you all” (1 Thessalonians 1:2). For two weeks we did not cook once, and the notes you taped to the lids got read aloud at dinner.

Acknowledging sympathy after a funeral: “They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:23). Thank you for the soup, the card, and standing with us at the graveside in the rain. Our funeral thank-you wording has more for these notes.

For the season, our Thanksgiving thank-you notes cover hosts, guests and Friendsgiving, and what to write in a thank-you card helps with the personal line under the verse.