29 Bible Verses About Giving Thanks to God

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This page presents 29 Bible verses about giving thanks to God from the Old and New Testaments.

Bible verse quotations in this article are taken from the English Standard Version (ESV) unless noted otherwise (Ref. 1).

     The Hebrew word for "giving thanks" is yadah [pronounced, yah-DAH].  Yadah means to hold out or extend the hands to revere or worship (Ref. 2).  The root picture is an open hand that "throws" praise or confession toward its object (Ref. 2).

1 Chronicles 16:8 - "Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!" (Psalm 105:1) 

1 Chronicles 16:34 - "Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!" (Psalm 106:1, Psalm 107:1, Psalm 118:1, Psalm 136:1)

1 Chronicles 29:12-13 - "Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all.  In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.  13 And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name."

2 Chronicles 20:21 - "And when he [Jehoshaphat] had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, 'Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever.'"

Psalm 9:1-2 - "I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.  2 I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High."

Psalm 28:7 - "The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him."

Psalm 30:4-5 - "Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name.  5 For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime.  Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning."

Psalm 30:11-12 - "You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, 12 that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.  O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!"

Psalm 33:2-3 NASB - "Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings.  3 Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy."

Psalm 57:9 - "I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations." (Psalm 108:3)

Psalm 100:4 - "Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!"

Psalm 139:14 NASB - "I will give thanks to You, because I am awesomely and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works And my soul knows it very well."

Isaiah 12:1 - "You will say in that day: 'I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me.'"

Daniel 2:23 - "To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king's matter."

Daniel 6:10 - " 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.

     The Greek word for "giving thanks" is eucharisteó [pronounced yoo-khar-is-TEH-o].  Eucharisteó means to be grateful and specially to say grace at a meal (Ref. 3).  Giving thanks is an intentional act of thanking God for his good grace (Ref. 3).

Matthew 15:36 - "He took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds." (Mark 8:6, John 6:11)

Matthew 26:27-28 - "And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, 'Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.'" (Mark 14:22-23, Luke 22:17-19)

John 11:41-42 - "So they took away the stone.  And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.  42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me."

Acts 27:35-37 - "And when he [Paul] had said these things, he took bread, and giving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat.  36 Then they all were encouraged and ate some food themselves.  37 (We were in all 276 persons in the ship.)"

Acts 28:15 - "And the brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us.  On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage."

Romans 1:8 - "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world."  

Romans 14:5-6 - "One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike.  Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.  6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord.  The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God."

1 Corinthians 11:23-26 - "For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, 'This is my body, which is for you.  Do this in remembrance of me."  25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood.  Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.'  26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.'"

Ephesians 1:15-16 - "For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers."

Ephesians 5:18-20 - "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Philippians 1:3-4 - "I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy."  (Colossians 1:3, 1 Thessalonians 1:2, and Philemon 1:4 are similar.)

Colossians 3:17 - "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."

1 Thessalonians 5:18 - "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus."

Revelation 11:16-17 - "And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying,

'We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,

    who is and who was,

for you have taken your great power

    and begun to reign.'"

References

1.   https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/English-Standard-Version-ESV-Bible/

2.   https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3034.htm

3.   https://biblehub.com/greek/2168.htm