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Who really said it

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you

Written by Paul the Apostle c. 5 – c. 64/65 AD · Apostle & letter-writer of the early Church
Verified Free to reuse

These are the closing instructions of 1 Thessalonians, Paul’s letter to the church at Thessalonica — a letter usually dated to about AD 49–51 and widely regarded as the earliest surviving Christian document of any kind. The wording here is the King James Version of 1611 ↗, where it stands as verse 18 of chapter 5, verbatim.

Last verified 14 Oct 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” Paul the Apostle, 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (King James Version, 1611). Verified by Quotle.info.

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Provenance

The verse and its letter

Source
First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
Translation
King James Version (London, 1611)
Letter written
c. AD 49–51, during Paul’s stay in Corinth
Verdict
Verified — verbatim in the KJV

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, King James Version

The three sentences run together in the letter as a single burst of closing instructions. Note the KJV’s ‘every thing’ as two words — both public-domain texts checked here read it that way. The one-word ‘everything’ is the spelling the quotation usually travels in.

1 Thessalonians 5 — King James Version, full chapter

How we verified this

Public domain

The King James Version was first published in 1611 and its text is long in the public domain in the United States; the Koine Greek original is ancient. This exact English wording may be reproduced freely.

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.

Context

Why ‘in’ is not ‘for’

Paul is writing to a young, anxious congregation, and he ends the letter in staccato — rejoice, pray, give thanks — three imperatives in ten words. The instruction is to give thanks in every circumstance, not for every circumstance: thanksgiving is the posture you hold while things happen to you, not a verdict that everything happening is good.

Give thanks in every thing — not for every thing.

On ‘in every thing’ vs ‘for all things’

The distinction is easy to lose because a different Pauline letter does say ‘for’. Ephesians 5:20 in the same KJV text ↗ reads ‘Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ’. The two are easy to blend, and blending them is how a line about gratitude amid hardship gets repeated as a claim that hardship is itself a gift.

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Filed under

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

Gratitude Hope

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.

Wikisource — 1 Thessalonians (King James Version)en.wikisource.org

Primary text: the full KJV chapter, carrying verse 18 verbatim.
Project Gutenberg — The King James Version of the Biblewww.gutenberg.org

A second independent public-domain transcription of the same verse, and of the Ephesians 5:20 contrast.
Wikipedia — First Epistle to the Thessaloniansen.wikipedia.org

Dating (c. AD 49–51), authorship consensus, and the surviving early manuscripts.
Wikipedia — Paul the Apostleen.wikipedia.org

Life dates (c. 5 – c. 64/65 AD), birth at Tarsus, and his place in the New Testament.
Wikipedia — King James Versionen.wikipedia.org

The 1611 translation this wording comes from, and its publication history.
Wikisource — the King James Bible, completeen.wikisource.org

The whole KJV, for reading the letter in its canonical setting.

The letter’s author

About Paul the Apostle

Paul the Apostle

c. 5 – c. 64/65 AD · Apostle & letter-writer of the early Church

Born Saul of Tarsus in Roman Cilicia around AD 5, Paul began as a persecutor of the first Christians and became the most prolific letter-writer of the early Church. 1 Thessalonians is generally held to be his earliest surviving letter — and therefore the oldest Christian text we have, predating the gospels. He is thought to have been executed at Rome around AD 64–65.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

The primary source (Chicago)

The Bible. 1 Thessalonians 5:18. King James Version (London, 1611). Letter conventionally dated c. AD 49–51.

This verification page

Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you’?” Last verified 14 Oct 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/in-every-thing-give-thanks-for-this-is-the-will-of-god-in/

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