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Who really said it

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you

Written by Paul the Apostle c. 5 – c. 64/67 AD · Apostle & letter-writer of the early church
Verified Free to reuse

This is Ephesians 4:32 in the King James Version (1611), word for word. It belongs to the letter that opens “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ” — though the exact English here is the KJV translators’ rendering of Paul’s Koine Greek, not his own words.

Last verified 10 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you” Ephesians 4:32, King James Version (1611)

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In context

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Provenance

The source

Work
Epistle to the Ephesians, ch. 4, v. 32
Translation
King James Version (1611)
Original language
Koine Greek
Traditional date
c. AD 62 (Paul’s Roman imprisonment)

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Ephesians 4:32, KJV. The Greek word rendered “tenderhearted” is eúsplanchnoi — literally “of good bowels,” the seat of compassion in ancient thought.

Ephesians 4:32, King James Version (BibleHub)

How we know

Public domain

The English wording is from the King James Version, first published in 1611 — long in the public domain in the United States. (In the United Kingdom the KJV remains under a perpetual Crown patent, but that does not affect US status.) Paul’s underlying Greek text has been public domain for nearly two millennia.

This reflects the original work, which is public domain. If your exact English wording comes from a specific modern translation, that translation may itself still be under copyright — check the edition you quote.

Rights status is our research, not legal advice — and copyright varies by country and edition. For commercial or published use, confirm with the rightsholder. See terms.

Fact-check

Two honest footnotes

The attribution is essentially correct — this is a real verse from Paul’s letter — but two things are worth stating plainly.

The King James translators (1611) translation, not original

Paul wrote in Koine Greek. The memorable English — “be ye kind… tenderhearted… hath forgiven you” — is the 1611 KJV rendering. Modern versions phrase it quite differently (“Be kind and compassionate to one another”).

Possibly a follower of Paul scholarly debate

The letter claims Paul, and tradition agrees, but a substantial share of critical scholars judge Ephesians to be “deutero-Pauline” — written in Paul’s name by a later disciple around AD 70–100.

Genuinely Ephesians 4:32, in the King James English — a real line of the Pauline letters, correctly credited to Paul.

Context

Why it endured

Ephesians 4:32 caps a passage urging believers to put away bitterness, anger, and malice. Its triple call — kindness, tenderheartedness, mutual forgiveness — grounds human forgiveness in the forgiveness the writer says God has already extended “for Christ’s sake.”

The King James phrasing gave the verse its lasting cadence in English, which is why it circulates on cards, samplers, and sermons in exactly this archaic form even as newer translations reword it.

Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another.

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Kindness

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

Ephesians 4:32 (KJV)biblehub.com

The verse in the King James Version, with interlinear Greek and parallel translations.
Ephesians 4:32 (KJV)biblegateway.com

Independent KJV text confirming the exact wording.
Epistle to the Ephesiansen.wikipedia.org

Background on the letter, its date, and the scholarly debate over Pauline authorship.
Paul the Apostleen.wikipedia.org

Life and letters of the traditional author.
King James Versionen.wikipedia.org

History of the 1611 translation and its public-domain status in the US.

The author

About Paul the Apostle

Paul the Apostle

c. 5 – c. 64/67 AD · Apostle of Jesus Christ & missionary of the early church

Paul of Tarsus was a first-century Jewish follower of Jesus whose letters to early Christian communities form a large part of the New Testament. The Epistle to the Ephesians, from which this line comes, opens in his name and is traditionally counted among his prison letters, though many modern scholars regard it as written by a later disciple in Paul’s tradition. Whoever held the pen, the exhortation to kindness, tenderheartedness, and mutual forgiveness became one of the most quoted lines of Christian ethics.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Primary source — Chicago

The Holy Bible, King James Version (London, 1611), Ephesians 4:32.

MLA (9th ed.)

The Holy Bible. King James Version, 1611, Ephesians 4:32.

APA (7th ed.)

The Holy Bible, King James Version. (1611). Ephesians 4:32.

This verification page

Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you’?” Last verified 10 Jul 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/and-be-ye-kind-one-to-another-tenderhearted-forgiving-one/

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