How many times is thankful mentioned in the Bible?
The word thankful appears 3 times in the King James Version, in 3 verses. Counting every form (thankful, thanks, thank, thanked, thanksgiving, thankfulness), it appears 135 times in 130 verses across 30 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses thankful 1 time (167 with every form).
Thankful in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of thankful counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| thankful | 3 | 1 |
| thanks | 73 | 107 |
| thank | 27 | 23 |
| thanked | 3 | 1 |
| thanksgiving | 28 | 33 |
| thankfulness | 1 | 2 |
| Total | 135 | 167 |
Which books mention thankful most
Thankful appears in 30 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Psalms has the most (32), then Luke (10) and 1 Chronicles (9).
Also in: Ephesians (3), Revelation (3), 2 Samuel (2), Daniel (2), Mark (2), Philippians (2), 2 Thessalonians (2), Ezra (1), Isaiah (1), Jeremiah (1), Amos (1), Jonah (1), 2 Timothy (1), Philemon (1), Hebrews (1).
First and last mention of thankful
If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried.
Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
The verse that uses it most is Leviticus 7:12, 2 times (tied with 2 Chronicles 29:31, Psalm 75:1, Psalm 100:4, Romans 14:6):
If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried.
Where the two translations differ
5 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 35 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
2 Samuel 14:22: counted in the KJV only
And Joab fell to the ground on his face, and bowed himself, and thanked the king: and Joab said, Today thy servant knoweth that I have found grace in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king hath fulfilled the request of his servant.
Joab fell to the ground on his face, showed respect, and blessed the king. Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord, king, in that the king has performed the request of his servant.”
Luke 6:32: counted in the KJV only
For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.
If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
2 Chronicles 7:3: counted in the World English Bible only
And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.
All the children of Israel looked on, when the fire came down, and Yahweh’s glory was on the house. They bowed themselves with their faces to the ground on the pavement, worshiped, and gave thanks to Yahweh, saying, “For he is good; for his loving kindness endures for ever.”
2 Chronicles 7:6: counted in the World English Bible only
And the priests waited on their offices: the Levites also with instruments of musick of the LORD, which David the king had made to praise the LORD, because his mercy endureth for ever, when David praised by their ministry; and the priests sounded trumpets before them, and all Israel stood.
The priests stood, according to their positions; the Levites also with instruments of music of Yahweh, which David the king had made to give thanks to Yahweh, when David praised by their ministry, saying “For his loving kindness endures for ever.” The priests sounded trumpets before them; and all Israel stood.
Verses with thankful on our topic pages
46 verses that use thankful in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father, through him.
On: Gratitude, Thanksgiving, Work, Tattoos
Now thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift!
On: Gratitude, Provision, Thanksgiving, Christmas
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
On: Peace, Anxiety, Gratitude, Thanksgiving
In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you.
On: Gratitude, Prayer, Joy, Thanksgiving
Continue steadfastly in prayer, watching therein with thanksgiving;
On: Gratitude, Prayer, Thanksgiving
I will give thanks to Yahweh with my whole heart. I will tell of all your marvelous works.
On: Gratitude, Thanksgiving
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, and bless his name.
On: Gratitude, Thanksgiving
Praise Yahweh! Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
On: Gratitude, Thanksgiving
Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
On: Gratitude, Thanksgiving
For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with thanksgiving.
On: Gratitude, Thanksgiving
Common questions
How many times is thankful in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 66 of the 135 uses are in the Old Testament and 69 in the New Testament. Thankful appears in 30 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Psalms has the most (32), then Luke (10) and 1 Chronicles (9).
Where is thankful first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Leviticus 7:12: "If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried." The last is Revelation 11:17.
Read the full collection: Bible Verses About Gratitude (44 Verses).
More word counts: rejoice, blessed, Jerusalem, Egypt, church, fasting, remember, dream, or all 107 words.
Counted by Bible Says About from the full public-domain text of the King James Version (1769 edition) and the World English Bible. Verse text only: headings and psalm titles are left out. A word is a run of letters: a hyphenated name like Beer-sheba counts as two, and an apostrophe stays inside its word (LORD'S is one). Matching ignores capital letters. Data compiled 2026-10-02.