27 Bible Verses About Thankfulness

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

Psalm 107:1 ESV

O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Psalm 107:1 KJV

The call is simple: give thanks to the LORD, because he is good and his steadfast love endures forever. The KJV says mercy. Elsewhere in the psalm the same call follows a series of rescues: people wandering in desert wastes, prisoners sitting in darkness, people near the gates of death, sailors caught in a storm. Each is urged to thank the LORD for his steadfast love. Thankfulness here is not a vague mood. It answers what God has actually done.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 100:4-5 ESV

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Psalm 100:4-5 KJV

Thanksgiving is pictured as the way in: entering God's gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. The reasons given are about God rather than circumstances. The LORD is good, his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness continues to all generations. That matters on days when a list of personal blessings feels thin. The psalm offers grounds for thanks that do not depend on how this particular week has gone.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.

Psalm 136:1 ESV

O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Psalm 136:1 KJV

This psalm repeats one refrain throughout, that his steadfast love endures forever, and sets it beside creation, the rescue from Egypt, the journey through the wilderness and God remembering his people in their low estate. The repetition can feel strange on a first reading, but it trains the ear. Every part of Israel's story is heard against the same steady background. Reading it aloud is one way to practise thanks when your own words run out.

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,

Psalm 103:1-2 ESV

Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

Psalm 103:1-2 KJV

The psalmist speaks to their own soul, telling it to bless the LORD and not to forget all his benefits. Forgetting seems to be the danger in view more than open ingratitude. The psalm goes on to name benefits: forgiveness, healing, redemption from the pit, steadfast love and mercy. Many readers find it a useful pattern, recalling specific things God has done on purpose, because thankfulness tends to fade once good things become background.

I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.

Psalm 9:1 ESV

I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.

Psalm 9:1 KJV

A resolve to give thanks to the LORD with a whole heart and to recount all of his wonderful deeds. The KJV renders the verb as praise, and the two ideas sit close together in the Psalms. Recounting is the practical part: thanks that tells the story of what God did rather than staying general. Writing down or saying aloud one specific thing each day is a modest way of doing what this verse describes.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

James 1:17 ESV

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

James 1:17 KJV

Every good and perfect gift comes from above, from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James sets this in a passage about trials and temptation, insisting that God tempts no one. The gifts and the giver are tied together, so thanks is directed to a person rather than to luck. And the giver does not change the way light and shadow shift through a day.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV

Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 KJV

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will in Christ Jesus. The wording is worth noticing: in all circumstances, not for all of them. Read this way, the verse does not ask anyone to be grateful for an illness, a loss or an injustice. It asks for thanks that is still possible inside them, because God is still present and still good. That makes it livable on the hardest days.

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

Habakkuk 3:17-18 ESV

Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

Habakkuk 3:17-18 KJV

The prophet imagines everything failing: no blossom on the fig tree, no fruit on the vines, empty fields, no flock in the fold and no herd in the stalls. For people who lived off the land, that is the loss of food and livelihood together. Yet he says he will rejoice in the LORD and take joy in the God of his salvation. The joy is anchored in God himself, and so it does not depend on the list.

And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

Job 1:21 ESV

And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

Job 1:21 KJV

After Job hears of devastating losses, he says the LORD gave and the LORD has taken away, and blesses the name of the LORD. It is a startling response, and the narrator says that in all this Job did not sin. The rest of the book is honest too: Job also curses the day he was born and argues with God at length. Blessing God and lamenting before him both belong to the same faithful life.

When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.

Daniel 6:10 ESV

Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.

Daniel 6:10 KJV

Daniel learns that a decree has been signed making prayer to anyone but the king a punishable offence. He goes home, kneels by his windows open toward Jerusalem three times a day, and prays and gives thanks before his God, as he had done before. Thanksgiving is part of his ordinary pattern, and he keeps it when keeping it is dangerous. The verse describes a habit already in place, held onto when holding on was costly.

But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD!”

Jonah 2:9 ESV

But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.

Jonah 2:9 KJV

The book places this prayer inside the fish. Jonah promises to sacrifice to God with the voice of thanksgiving, to pay what he has vowed, and declares that salvation belongs to the LORD. He has not yet reached dry ground, and his own running from God is what brought him there. Thanks here is offered in the middle of the rescue rather than after it, by someone with no record of his own to point to.

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

Psalm 30:11-12 ESV

Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

Psalm 30:11-12 KJV

God is thanked for turning mourning into dancing and replacing sackcloth with gladness, and the singer vows to give thanks forever. The psalm remembers real distress; it speaks of weeping that lasts for the night and joy that comes with the morning. For anyone still in the weeping part, the psalm does not rush them. It speaks from the far side of grief and wants the turn remembered, so that thanks is not lost once the night is over.

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7 ESV

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7 KJV

Paul tells his readers not to be anxious about anything, but in everything to make their requests known to God by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Thanks travels alongside the request rather than replacing it, and the worries are still named. The promise attached is the peace of God, which surpasses understanding, guarding hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Thankfulness does not make the problem vanish here. It changes where the heart stands while it asks.

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:15-17 ESV

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Colossians 3:15-17 KJV

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, Paul writes, and be thankful. In the same passage thankfulness shows up in singing and then stretches over everything: whatever you do, in word or deed, done in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Thanks becomes the atmosphere of ordinary life rather than an activity saved for special occasions. Work, conversation and chores all fall inside it.

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Colossians 2:6-7 ESV

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

Colossians 2:6-7 KJV

Paul urges believers to walk in Christ just as they received him, rooted and built up in him, established in the faith, and abounding in thanksgiving. The images are of growth and construction, and thanksgiving is described as overflowing from a life that is grounded. In context he is warning against teaching that would draw them away from Christ. Read this way, a thankful heart is one of the signs of roots going deep.

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Ephesians 5:18-20 ESV

And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Ephesians 5:18-20 KJV

Being filled with the Spirit is contrasted with getting drunk on wine, and the passage describes the result: speaking to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, making melody to the Lord, and giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of Jesus. Readers often set for everything beside the in all circumstances of 1 Thessalonians. Many hear it as thanks that trusts God over every part of life, not approval of every evil.

For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.

1 Timothy 4:4-5 ESV

For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

1 Timothy 4:4-5 KJV

Some teachers were forbidding marriage and requiring abstinence from certain foods. The answer given is that everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. Grace before a meal belongs here. Thanks turns ordinary things like bread, rest and company into gifts received from God rather than things simply consumed.

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Romans 1:21 ESV

Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Romans 1:21 KJV

Paul describes people who knew God but did not honour him as God or give thanks to him, and whose thinking became futile and whose hearts were darkened. Ingratitude appears here as more than bad manners. It is part of a turning away from God himself. The verse is sobering, but it also suggests the reverse: giving thanks keeps the mind pointed toward the one every good gift comes from.

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

Philippians 1:3-5 ESV

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;

Philippians 1:3-5 KJV

Paul thanks God in all his remembrance of the believers in Philippi, praying with joy because of their partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. The thanks is specific. It is for these people and for what they have shared together. It is a pattern worth borrowing: bringing a particular person before God and thanking him for them by name. Thanking God for someone tends to change how you see them.

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,

Ephesians 1:15-16 ESV

Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;

Ephesians 1:15-16 KJV

Having heard of the readers' faith in the Lord Jesus and their love toward all the saints, Paul says he does not stop giving thanks for them, remembering them in his prayers. Notice what prompts the thanks: news of faith and love in someone else. Gratitude here is not only for what others do for us. It is also for what God is doing in them, which is a generous way to look at the people around us.

We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 ESV

We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 KJV

Paul, Silvanus and Timothy write that they give thanks to God always for all of the Thessalonian believers, remembering their work of faith, labour of love and steadfastness of hope. Faith, love and hope are each tied to something visible: work, labour, endurance. Thanks for people can be this concrete. It notices effort that might otherwise go unseen, the quiet faithfulness of someone who simply keeps showing up.

You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.

2 Corinthians 9:11-12 ESV

Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God;

2 Corinthians 9:11-12 KJV

Paul is writing about a collection for believers in need, and he traces where generosity leads. Those who give are enriched to be generous, and the gift does more than supply needs; it overflows in many thanksgivings to God. Giving and gratitude feed each other. When someone receives help, the thanks does not stop at the giver but rises to God, and a thankful person often finds it easier to give in turn.

Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan.

Luke 17:15-16 ESV

And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

Luke 17:15-16 KJV

Ten men with leprosy are healed as they go to show themselves to the priests. One of them, seeing he was healed, turns back, praising God loudly, and falls at Jesus' feet to thank him. Luke notes that he was a Samaritan, and Jesus calls him a foreigner. Jesus asks where the others are. All were cleansed, and one came back. Thankfulness here is pictured as returning to the giver.

Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!

2 Corinthians 9:15 ESV

Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

2 Corinthians 9:15 KJV

Paul's writing about generosity turns into thanks to God for his inexpressible gift; the KJV says unspeakable. He does not name the gift in the verse. Many readers take it as Christ himself, others as the grace at work in the giving he describes, and the two are not far apart. Either way, it is thanks that runs out of words, which is sometimes the most honest kind there is.

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:57 ESV

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:57 KJV

In a long chapter on the resurrection, Paul asks where death's sting is and answers with thanks to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. The thanks is in the present tense: God gives. Christians have often turned to this passage at funerals, and it does not deny grief. It sets loss against a victory that Paul treats as already won and still to be completed.

giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 1:12-14 ESV

Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

Colossians 1:12-14 KJV

Paul prays that believers will live giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified them to share in the inheritance of the saints in light; the KJV says made us meet. God has delivered them from the domain of darkness and transferred them to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom there is redemption and the forgiveness of sins. The reasons for thanks here are not things earned but things done for us.

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,

Hebrews 12:28 ESV

Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

Hebrews 12:28 KJV

Receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, the writer says, let us be grateful and so offer acceptable worship with reverence and awe. The KJV reads let us have grace, a reminder that the same Greek phrase can carry both senses. In the same passage the writer speaks of God shaking earth and heaven. Thankfulness rests on what cannot be shaken, and so it can hold up when much else does not.