No speech, letter, diary or book by Patton contains this line. Wikiquote ↗ lists it among his misattributed quotes and describes it as an anonymous spin-off of Psalm 23 that took off in the early 1970s on wall posters, plaques and t-shirts. Wikiquote says only much later versions were pinned on Patton, and that no historical source shows him saying anything like it.
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil, because I am the meanest son-of-a-bitch in the valley” Anonymous parody of Psalm 23:4, popular on early-1970s posters, plaques and t-shirts; misattributed to George S. Patton (per Wikiquote). Via Quotle.info
⚠ The slide-ready mistake: crediting this to George S. Patton. Use the credit shown above instead.
Can you use it?
? We couldn’t verify where this wording comes from, so there’s no rights status to give. Safe to present as an unverified or anonymous line — just don’t assert a specific author or source.
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In context
Evoking the themes of courage and character. Theme: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil, because I am the meanest son-of-a-bitch in the valley". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
Minimalist
Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil, because I am the meanest son-of-a-bitch in the valley". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
Provenance
Where the line actually comes from
Form
Anonymous parody of a Bible verse
Text it parodies
Psalm 23:4, King James Version
Circulation (per Wikiquote)
Early 1970s: wall posters, plaques, t-shirts
Source by Patton
None known
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil, because I am the meanest son-of-a-bitch in the valley.
The first half borrows Psalm 23:4 in the King James Version, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (Bible Gateway ↗). The parody swaps the verse’s comfort, “for thou art with me,” for a boast.
Wikiquote ↗ lists this exact wording in Patton’s Misattributed section. It calls the line a widely published anonymous derivative of Psalm 23 that arose in the early 1970s on wall posters, plaques and t-shirts, with an early version reading “for I am the meanest bastard in the valley.”
Wikiquote adds that cruder versions spread online and only in very recent years began to be credited to Patton. It also says no historical source shows he ever said anything like it (Wikiquote ↗).
A 1970s commercial poster in the eMoviePoster auction archive ↗ prints the parody, ending “the meanest son of a bitch in the valley,” beside a monster holding a spiked club. It names no artist and does not mention Patton.
A similar joke appears on Vietnam-era Zippo lighters. A Lighter Gallery listing ↗ shows a 1966 Marine Corps Zippo from Da Nang reading “For I am the Evilest Son of a Bitch in the Valley.” The same page warns that another lighter’s engravings were probably added after the war, so a lighter’s date may not be when it was engraved.
The exact wording has no known author and no known first publication, so Quotle makes no copyright claim for it. The King James text of Psalm 23 that it borrows is centuries old, but that does not make the anonymous parody itself public domain.
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
Why Patton gets the credit
The line sounds like the swaggering, foul-mouthed general people know from war stories and the movies, so it drifted onto his name. The record does not support it.
✕
Popular attributionGeorge S. Patton No source
No Patton speech, letter, diary or published work contains the line. Wikiquote ↗ files it under Misattributed and says the Patton credit appeared only in very recent years, for cruder internet versions of a joke that was already anonymous. Patton died on 21 December 1945 (Wikipedia ↗), and every dated example of the joke found here is from long after that.
✓The line is an anonymous parody of Psalm 23:4. Wikiquote says it spread on early-1970s posters, plaques and t-shirts and that no historical source shows Patton said it (Wikiquote ↗).
Context
Why it sticks to Patton
Patton really did talk rough. Wikiquote’s sourced section reproduces a transcription of his speech to the Third Army, dated 5 June 1944, and it is full of profanity (Wikiquote ↗). A bold, profane twist on a famous Bible verse fits that image so well that a joke from posters, plaques and lighters ended up under his name.
The joke itself is older than the Patton credit and has no single author. Soldiers’ Zippo engravings used an “evilest son of a bitch in the valley” version (Lighter Gallery ↗). Commercial posters of the 1970s printed the “meanest” version with no name on it (eMoviePoster ↗).
A barracks joke on a Bible verse, not a line from the general.
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The author
About Anonymous
AN
Anonymous
Unknown author · folk parody of Psalm 23:4, popular by the 1970s
Nobody knows who wrote this line. It is a folk parody of Psalm 23:4 in the King James Version, and Wikiquote ↗ says it spread on wall posters, plaques and t-shirts in the early 1970s. It was later attached to General George S. Patton, who died in December 1945, because he was famous for being tough and profane. No document from Patton backs that up.
For writers & researchers
Cite this
Best available record
Wikiquote, “George S. Patton,” Misattributed section, https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_S._Patton. Describes the line as an anonymous derivative of Psalm 23 that arose in the early 1970s on wall posters, plaques and t-shirts; no source by Patton is known.
This verification page
Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil, because I am the meanest son-of-a-bitch in the valley’?” Last verified 2 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/yea-though-i-walk-through-the-valley-of-the-shadow-of-death/