What does εὐχαριστέω (eucharistéō) mean in the Bible?
Eucharisteo means to give thanks, to express gratitude, and to acknowledge a gift by turning toward the giver. In the New Testament it is not a thin social courtesy.
Greek · G2168
εὐχαριστέω
To thank
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εὐχαριστέω G2168
Pronunciation eucharistéō
What does εὐχαριστέω (eucharistéō) mean in the Bible?
Eucharisteo means to give thanks, to express gratitude, and to acknowledge a gift by turning toward the giver. In the New Testament it is not a thin social courtesy.
Reader summary
Full entry for εὐχαριστέω (G2168) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2168?
The BSB source-word alignment has 38 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include I thank (6), gave thanks (5), giving thanks (4), give thanks (2), I always thank (2).
Where does εὐχαριστέω (eucharistéō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 15:36. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Corinthians (6), Romans (5), Luke (4), 1 Thessalonians (3).
What This Word Actually Means
Eucharisteo means to give thanks, to express gratitude, and to acknowledge a gift by turning toward the giver. In the New Testament it is not a thin social courtesy. Jesus gives thanks before feeding the crowd, before the cup at the table, and before calling Lazarus from the tomb. Paul gives thanks as a disciplined pastoral response to grace at work in real churches.
The failure to give thanks appears in Romans 1 as part of humanity's refusal to honor God as God. The command to give thanks in every circumstance does not ask believers to pretend evil is good. It trains the church to speak truthfully to God from within every circumstance because Christ is Lord, the Father gives, and grace has already come.
How the Bible Uses It
Eucharisteo names directed thanksgiving. It is gratitude spoken toward God, grounded in received grace, practiced in worship, prayer, table fellowship, and everyday obedience.
- Matt.26.27
Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.
Jesus gives thanks over the cup on the night of His betrayal, placing thanksgiving at the table where His death is interpreted for the disciples.
- John.6.11
Then Jesus took the loaves and the fish, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted.
Jesus gives thanks before distributing the loaves and fish, receiving the provision before multiplying and giving it.
- John.11.41
So they took away the stone. Then Jesus lifted His eyes upward and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.
Jesus thanks the Father before Lazarus comes out, showing thanksgiving joined to public trust in the Father's hearing.
- Rom.1.21
For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.
Paul names failure to give thanks as part of humanity's refusal to glorify God, so ingratitude is theological, not merely impolite.
- Col.3.17
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Paul makes thanksgiving part of whatever believers do in word or deed in the name of the Lord Jesus.
- 1Thess.5.18
Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
The command to give thanks in every circumstance identifies thanksgiving as God's will for the church in Christ Jesus.
- Rev.11.17
Saying: “We give thanks to You, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.
Heavenly thanksgiving celebrates the Lord God's reign, so eucharisteo reaches worship as well as personal gratitude.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It I thank 6× Luke 18:11, John 11:41, Romans 1:8, 1 Corinthians 1:14
gave thanks 5× Matthew 26:27, Mark 8:6, Mark 14:23, Luke 22:19
giving thanks 4× Ephesians 1:16, Ephesians 5:20, Colossians 1:12, Colossians 3:17
give thanks 2× 1 Corinthians 10:30, 1 Thessalonians 5:18
I always thank 2× 1 Corinthians 1:4, Philemon 1:4
thank 2× 1 Thessalonians 2:13, 2 Thessalonians 2:13
We always thank 2× Colossians 1:3, 1 Thessalonians 1:2
[and] gave thanks 1× Acts 27:35
[He] gave thanks 1× Luke 22:17
and gave thanks 1× Acts 28:15
are grateful [to them] 1× Romans 16:4
be giving thanks 1× 1 Corinthians 14:17
gave thanks [to Him] 1× Romans 1:21
gives thanks 1× Romans 14:6
had given thanks 1× John 6:23
He gave thanks 1× Matthew 15:36
he gives thanks 1× Romans 14:6
in thanksgiving 1× Luke 17:16
to thank 1× 2 Thessalonians 1:3
We give thanks 1× Revelation 11:17
when He had given thanks 1× 1 Corinthians 11:24
will give thanks 1× 2 Corinthians 1:11
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 15:36 εὐχαριστήσας to He gave thanks Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Matthew 26:27 εὐχαριστήσας to gave thanks Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Mark 8:6 εὐχαριστήσας to gave thanks Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Mark 14:23 εὐχαριστήσας to gave thanks Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Luke 17:16 εὐχαριστῶν to in thanksgiving Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Luke 18:11 εὐχαριστῶ to I thank Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular Luke 22:17 εὐχαριστήσας to [He] gave thanks Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Luke 22:19 εὐχαριστήσας to gave thanks Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular John 6:11 εὐχαριστήσας to gave thanks Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular John 6:23 εὐχαριστήσαντος to had given thanks Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Genitive Masculine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 15:36
Aligned rows 38
Books represented 15
Matthew 2 Mark 2 Luke 4 John 3 Acts 2 Romans 5 1 Corinthians 6 2 Corinthians 1 Ephesians 2 Philippians 1 Colossians 3 1 Thessalonians 3 2 Thessalonians 2 Philemon 1 Revelation 1
Source forms
εὐχαριστήσας 9x eucharistēsas Matthew 15:36, Matthew 26:27, Mark 8:6, Mark 14:23
εὐχαριστῶ 6x eucharistō Luke 18:11, John 11:41, Romans 1:8, Romans 16:4
Εὐχαριστῶ 4x Eucharistō 1 Corinthians 1:4, 1 Corinthians 14:18, Philippians 1:3, Philemon 1:4
εὐχαριστοῦντες 3x eucharistountes Ephesians 5:20, Colossians 1:12, Colossians 3:17
εὐχαριστεῖ 2x eucharistei Romans 14:6
Εὐχαριστοῦμεν 2x Eucharistoumen Colossians 1:3, 1 Thessalonians 1:2
εὐχαριστῶν 2x eucharistōn Luke 17:16, Ephesians 1:16
εὐχαριστεῖν 1x eucharistein 2 Thessalonians 2:13
Parsing patterns
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular 10x Luke 18:11, John 11:41, Romans 1:8, Romans 16:4
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular 9x Matthew 15:36, Matthew 26:27, Mark 8:6, Mark 14:23
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Plural 4x Colossians 1:3, 1 Thessalonians 1:2, 1 Thessalonians 2:13, Revelation 11:17
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural 3x Ephesians 5:20, Colossians 1:12, Colossians 3:17
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 2x Romans 14:6
Verb - Present Infinitive Active 2x 2 Thessalonians 1:3, 2 Thessalonians 2:13
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular 2x Luke 17:16, Ephesians 1:16
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 1x Romans 1:21
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Teach thanksgiving as a practiced response to grace, not as a demand that wounded people feel grateful on command.
- Use Romans 1 to show the seriousness of thanklessness without shaming tender consciences that are struggling to pray.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that eucharisteo always refers to the Lord's Supper or later eucharistic practice.
- Do not claim that thanksgiving cancels lament or makes grief spiritually suspect.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Grateful acknowledgment of God's gifts and blessings, often preceding or accompanying meals as religious practice.
Strong's G2168
Lexical occurrences 38 verses Greek text appearances 39 times 16 shown below Word forms 5 forms 38 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Acts 27:27-38 Source Gloss
to thank
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 39 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 15:36 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
εὐχαριστήσας eucaristhsav
I thank, give thanks
Read verse Matthew 26:27 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
εὐχαριστήσας, eucaristhsav
I thank, give thanks
Read verse Mark 8:6 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
εὐχαριστήσας eucaristhsav
I thank, give thanks
Read verse Mark 14:23 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
εὐχαριστήσας eucaristhsav
I thank, give thanks
Read verse Luke 17:16 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
εὐχαριστῶν eucaristwn
I thank, give thanks
Read verse Luke 18:11 Verb First Person Singular Present Active Indicative
εὐχαριστῶ eucaristw
I thank, give thanks
Read verse Luke 22:17 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
εὐχαριστήσας eucaristhsav
I thank, give thanks
Read verse Luke 22:19 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
εὐχαριστήσας eucaristhsav
I thank, give thanks
Read verse John 6:11 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
εὐχαριστήσας eucaristhsav
I thank, give thanks
Read verse John 6:23 Verb Aorist Active Participle Genitive Singular Masculine
εὐχαριστήσαντος eucaristhsantov
I thank, give thanks
Read verse John 11:41 Verb First Person Singular Present Active Indicative
εὐχαριστῶ eucaristw
I thank, give thanks
Read verse Acts 27:35 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
εὐχαρίστησε eucaristhsen
I thank, give thanks
Read verse Acts 28:15 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
εὐχαριστήσας eucaristhsav
I thank, give thanks
Read verse Romans 1:8 Verb First Person Singular Present Active Indicative
εὐχαριστῶ eucaristw
I thank, give thanks
Read verse Romans 1:21 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
εὐχαρίστησαν, eucaristhsan
I thank, give thanks
Read verse Romans 7:25 Verb First Person Singular Present Active Indicative
εὐχαριστῶ eucaristw
I thank, give thanks
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 5 Aligned forms 38 Tenses Present, Aorist Voices Active, Passive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 19×
Present Active Luke 18:11 · John 11:41 · Rom 1:8 · Rom 16:4 · 1 Cor 1:4 · 1 Cor 1:14 · 1 Cor 10:30 · 1 Cor 14:18 · Phil 1:3 · Phlm 1:4 · Col 1:3 · 1 Thess 1:2 · 1 Thess 2:13 · Rev 11:17 · Rom 14:6 · 1 Cor 14:17 17×
Aorist Active Acts 27:35 · Rom 1:21 2×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 15×
Aorist Active Matt 15:36 · Matt 26:27 · Mark 8:6 · Mark 14:23 · Luke 22:17 · Luke 22:19 · John 6:11 · Acts 28:15 · 1 Cor 11:24 · John 6:23 10×
Present Active Eph 5:20 · Col 1:12 · Col 3:17 · Luke 17:16 · Eph 1:16 5×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 2×
Present Active 2 Thess 1:3 · 2 Thess 2:13 2×
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 1×
Aorist Passive 2 Cor 1:11 1×
Imperative command or strong request 1×
Present Active 1 Thess 5:18 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 37 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 25 aorist 12
Voice
active 36 passive 1
Mood
indicative 18 participle 15 infinitive 2 imperative 1 subjunctive 1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 15:36 εὐχαριστήσας aorist active participle participle Matthew 26:27 εὐχαριστήσας aorist active participle participle Mark 8:6 εὐχαριστήσας aorist active participle participle Mark 14:23 εὐχαριστήσας aorist active participle participle Luke 17:16 εὐχαριστῶν present active participle participle Luke 18:11 εὐχαριστῶ present active indicative ongoing Luke 22:17 εὐχαριστήσας aorist active participle participle Luke 22:19 εὐχαριστήσας aorist active participle participle John 6:11 εὐχαριστήσας aorist active participle participle John 6:23 εὐχαριστήσαντος aorist active participle participle John 11:41 εὐχαριστῶ present active indicative ongoing Acts 27:35 εὐχαρίστησεν aorist active indicative completed Acts 28:15 εὐχαριστήσας aorist active participle participle Romans 1:8 εὐχαριστῶ present active indicative ongoing Romans 14:6 εὐχαριστεῖ present active indicative ongoing Romans 14:6 εὐχαριστεῖ present active indicative ongoing Romans 16:4 εὐχαριστῶ present active indicative ongoing 1 Corinthians 1:14 εὐχαριστῶ present active indicative ongoing 1 Corinthians 1:4 Εὐχαριστῶ present active indicative ongoing 1 Corinthians 10:30 εὐχαριστῶ present active indicative ongoing 1 Corinthians 11:24 εὐχαριστήσας aorist active participle participle 1 Corinthians 14:17 εὐχαριστεῖς present active indicative ongoing 1 Corinthians 14:18 εὐχαριστῶ present active indicative ongoing 2 Corinthians 1:11 εὐχαριστηθῇ aorist passive subjunctive subjunctive Ephesians 1:16 εὐχαριστῶν present active participle participle Ephesians 5:20 εὐχαριστοῦντες present active participle participle Philippians 1:3 Εὐχαριστῶ present active indicative ongoing Colossians 1:12 εὐχαριστοῦντες present active participle participle Colossians 1:3 Εὐχαριστοῦμεν present active indicative ongoing Colossians 3:17 εὐχαριστοῦντες present active participle participle 1 Thessalonians 1:2 Εὐχαριστοῦμεν present active indicative ongoing 1 Thessalonians 2:13 εὐχαριστοῦμεν present active indicative ongoing 1 Thessalonians 5:18 εὐχαριστεῖτε present active imperative imperative 2 Thessalonians 1:3 Εὐχαριστεῖν present active infinitive infinitive 2 Thessalonians 2:13 εὐχαριστεῖν present active infinitive infinitive Philemon 1:4 Εὐχαριστῶ present active indicative ongoing Revelation 11:17 Εὐχαριστοῦμέν present active indicative ongoing
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
To express gratitude.
Additional Occurrences
Luke 17:11–19 εὐχαριστῶν eucharistéō
Giving thanks
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 38 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
εὐχαριστέω is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Demonstrates public acknowledgment of God’s sovereignty. Acts 27:27-38
For the Preacher and Teacher
The core insight of eucharisteo is that Christian thanksgiving is directed, theological speech. The word does not merely name a feeling of appreciation. It names the act of acknowledging God as the giver, sustainer, hearer, and reigning Lord. That is why thanklessness in Romans 1 is so serious: refusing to give thanks is part of refusing to honor God as God.
It is also why thanksgiving can appear beside bread, the cup, a tomb, a suffering church, and the final reign of God. The act is not controlled by comfort. It is controlled by the truth that God has given Himself to His people in Christ. Thanksgiving in every circumstance is therefore not denial. It is faith speaking to the right Person from within the real circumstance.
Anchor passage
1 Thessalonians.5.18
Doctrinal connections
- Matthew.26.27: Jesus gives thanks at the covenant table before the cross.
- John.6.11: Jesus receives and gives provision with thanksgiving.
- John.11.41: Jesus thanks the Father before Lazarus is raised.
- Romans.1.21: thanklessness belongs to humanity's refusal to honor God.
- Colossians.3.17: all Christian word and deed should move through thanksgiving to the Father.
- Revelation.11.17: thanksgiving rises before the reigning Lord God Almighty.
Eucharisteo is a verb of expressed gratitude. It often has God as the direct or implied recipient, so its force is relational and worshipful rather than merely emotional.
From Old to New Testament
Scripture regularly joins thanksgiving to remembrance, sacrifice, prayer, and public praise. The New Testament intensifies that pattern around Christ: thanksgiving is given through Him, in His name, and because His grace secures the believer's life before God.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain