Thanksgiving is the one holiday where someone is usually asked to read something before the meal, and the reading is often the first thing that comes up on a phone. These are better. Two are for the table, two are for a card, and one is for the family whose Thanksgiving has an empty chair or a hard conversation waiting in it.
A verse to start with
For Thanksgiving
Psalm 100:4-5
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, and bless his name. For Yahweh is good. His loving kindness endures forever, his faithfulness to all generations.
World English Bible (WEB)
Why this fits
“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise.” The psalm written to be sung on the way in, which makes it the one to read on the way to the table. Short, everyone can follow it, and the last line, his loving kindness endures forever, is a good place to stop and eat.
Which verse for the card?
To read at the tablePsalm 100:4-5 — Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, and bless his name. For Yahweh is good. His loving kindness endures forever, his faithfulness to all generations.
ShortPsalm 107:1 — Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
For a hard Thanksgiving1 Thessalonians 5:18 — In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you.
For mixed beliefs at the tableJames 1:17 — Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow.
What to write with it
One line before the verse is usually enough.
Happy Thanksgiving. Grateful for you this year, and every year.
To a friend with an empty chair: I know the table looks different this year. Thinking of you and of [name].
For a card to a host: Thank you for making room for us. Every good gift.
6 verses to choose from
Psalm 100:4-5
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, and bless his name. For Yahweh is good. His loving kindness endures forever, his faithfulness to all generations.
World English Bible (WEB) · Psalm (poetry)
“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise.” The psalm written to be sung on the way in, which makes it the one to read on the way to the table. Short, everyone can follow it, and the last line, his loving kindness endures forever, is a good place to stop and eat.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you.
World English Bible (WEB) · Letter (epistle)
“In everything give thanks.” In, not for. Paul wrote it to a church that was being persecuted, so he did not mean be grateful for the trouble; he meant thankfulness is possible inside it. For a Thanksgiving with something hard at the table, this is the verse, because it does not pretend.
Psalm 107:1
Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
World English Bible (WEB) · Psalm (poetry)
“Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.” The refrain of Psalm 107, a psalm about people in four kinds of trouble, each rescued, each told to give thanks. One line, and it fits a card, a napkin, or a child reading aloud.
Colossians 3:15-17
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body, and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord. 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.
World English Bible (WEB) · Letter (epistle)
“Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, and be thankful.” Paul’s instruction for a household, with singing, teaching, and thankfulness all in one paragraph. For a family that is a little tense around the table, the peace ruling comes first, on purpose.
James 1:17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow.
World English Bible (WEB) · Letter (epistle)
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.” The verse for the table: everything on it, and everyone around it, came from somewhere. It is also the Thanksgiving verse for people who are not sure what they believe; it asks only that they notice the gifts.
Psalm 136:1
Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good; for his loving kindness endures forever.
World English Bible (WEB) · Psalm (poetry)
“Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.” Psalm 136 says that line twenty-six times, once after every event in Israel’s history, good and terrible. Read the first verse, and if the table is a hard one this year, that is the point: the refrain held through all of it.
The one I’d leave out
Philippians 4:13. It appears on Thanksgiving printables as a general encouragement and it is about being content with nothing. 1 Thessalonians 5:18, in everything give thanks, is the Thanksgiving verse that is honest about the everything.
How to use these verses
Psalm 100:4–5 read aloud before the meal; give it to the youngest reader who can. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 if there is an empty chair, and say the name before you read it. If family conflict is the thing on the table, the difficult-family page has what to say and what not to.
Want more than 6?
These are the ones I’d hand you first. The search covers every verse in the Bible and tells you why each one matched.