Push From God

Bible verses for tattoos

Philippians 4:13, Jeremiah 29:11 and Isaiah 41:10 are the three tattoo studios and design sites most often name as the popular ones, though no survey exists to settle it. All fourteen below are set out in full, in both translations, with a note on what each one actually says — which matters more here than anywhere else on this site, because you can't edit a tattoo.

14 passages · World English Bible & King James · public domain

Read it properly first

Most verse tattoos are chosen from an image on Pinterest or a search result, and a fair number of those are cropped, paraphrased or quietly wrong. The three most popular ones are all commonly understood to mean roughly the opposite of what they say in context. That is a strange thing to find out afterwards.

So each passage below is quoted in full, with the reference and the translation named, and a line on what it's actually about. Whether you should get a tattoo at all is a separate question and a genuinely contested one among Christians — we're not going to settle that for you, here or anywhere.

  1. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.Philippians 4:13 · World English Bible

    The most tattooed verse in English, and the most misread. Paul is describing how he has learned to cope with being well fed and hungry, with plenty and in need. It is about enduring both, not about achieving anything. Related verses →

    King James

    I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

  2. For I know the thoughts that I think towards you,” says the LORD, “thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future.Jeremiah 29:11 · World English Bible

    Second most common, usually meaning “good things are coming”. It was written to exiles who had just been told they would be in Babylon seventy years. A better promise, and a harder one. Related verses →

    King James

    For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

  3. Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.Isaiah 41:10 · World English Bible

    Four promises in one verse, none of them conditional on you being brave. Often shortened to “fear not”, which loses the reason attached to it. Related verses →

    King James

    Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

  4. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.Psalms 23:4 · World English Bible

    The valley line. Note the word people usually drop: through. Not into, not stuck in. More on this passage →

    King James

    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.

  5. Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.Proverbs 3:5-6 · World English Bible

    Trust with all your heart, don't lean on your own understanding. Popular with people making a decision they can't reason their way through. Related verses →

    King James

    Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

  6. Haven’t I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”Joshua 1:9 · World English Bible

    Be strong and courageous — an order given to a man taking over from Moses, with company attached rather than confidence. Related verses →

    King James

    Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

  7. God is within her. She shall not be moved. God will help her at dawn.Psalms 46:5 · World English Bible

    “She shall not be moved.” One of the most chosen by women, and it's about a city, not a person — which most people who love it already know and don't mind. Related verses →

    King James

    God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

  8. I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. That life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me.Galatians 2:20 · World English Bible

    Crucified with Christ, and no longer I who live. A heavier claim than most verse tattoos make, and chosen deliberately by people who mean it.

    King James

    I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

  9. We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.Romans 8:28 · World English Bible

    All things work together — a weaving, not a claim that every event is good. Read the next verse for what the good actually refers to. Related verses →

    King James

    And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

  10. but those who wait for the LORD will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint.Isaiah 40:31 · World English Bible

    Wings like eagles. Note the waiting comes first; the strength is described as renewed rather than summoned. Related verses →

    King James

    But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

  11. Love is patient and is kind. Love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud, doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil; doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.1 Corinthians 13:4-7 · World English Bible

    The wedding passage. Worth knowing it was written as a rebuke to a church that thought it was doing brilliantly.

    King James

    Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

  12. He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does the LORD require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?Micah 6:8 · World English Bible

    Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly. Three verbs, and the shortest summary of the prophets there is.

    King James

    He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

  13. For God didn’t give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.2 Timothy 1:7 · World English Bible

    Not a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self-control. Useful when the fear has started claiming to be your personality. Related verses →

    King James

    For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

  14. The LORD is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?Psalms 27:1 · World English Bible

    Whom shall I fear? A question rather than an instruction, which is why it wears well. Related verses →

    King James

    The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Which wording ends up on your skin

Two translations appear on this page. The King James is the one most people picture — the older cadence, and the reason “I can do all things” sounds the way it does. The World English Bible is modern and reads more plainly.

Both are in the public domain. That is worth knowing: most modern translations (NIV, ESV, NLT) are copyrighted and set their own limits on reproduction, and while nobody is going to sue over a tattoo, a studio putting a verse in its portfolio or on flash is on firmer ground with a text that carries no licence at all. You can hand your artist either wording from this page and neither of you needs anyone's permission.

The King James does not say “love”

Worth knowing before this one goes on permanently. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 is in the list above, and it is the passage people mean when they say the love chapter. Open the King James toggle under it.

It says charity. Three times in those four verses, and nine times across the whole chapter — counted in the text we hold, not asserted. The modern rendering says love nine times in the same chapter. Neither word appears in the other version at all: the King James never says “love” in 1 Corinthians 13, and the modern rendering never says “charity”.

One Greek word sits under both — agape, Strong’s 26, and the interlinear has it in verse 4. Nothing about the Greek is in dispute. What moved is the English: “charity” was a fair rendering in 1611 and now means giving money to people in need, which is a good thing and not what the chapter is about. This is the English-drift kind of difference, not a manuscript one.

So if you want the older cadence, choose it with your eyes open. Charity suffereth long, and is kind is the King James of the clause everyone knows as love is patient and is kind. Same sentence. It will not read that way to most people who see it on your arm.

The verb in that clause is worth one more look. It is makrothumeo, Strong’s 3114 — the verb behind the noun our page about patience is built on, which the same translators render “longsuffering” in Galatians 5:22. Here they render it “suffereth long”. One root, one set of translators, two English phrasings.

Before the needle

  • Check the reference against the words. A mismatch between the reference and the text is the error we see reported most often, and it is permanent and very visible to anyone who knows the passage.
  • Decide about the reference itself. “Isaiah 41:10” alone is discreet and means nothing to a stranger. The full text is unmissable. Different tattoos.
  • Don't trust an image. Verse graphics circulate with words dropped to fit the layout. Copy from a text source — this page, or any Bible.
  • Read the verses either side. It takes a minute and it is how you find out that Philippians 4:13 is about hunger.
  • If it's in Hebrew or Greek, have someone who reads it check. This goes wrong often enough to be a genre of its own.

What we're not telling you

Whether Christians should get tattoos at all turns on Leviticus 19:28 and on how you read Old Testament law, and sincere believers land in different places on it. We're not in that argument. This site is non-denominational and we'd rather be useful about the words than authoritative about your choices.

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Questions

What is the most common Bible verse tattoo?

Philippians 4:13 — 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me' in the King James wording — is the one studios and tattoo-design sites most often name, though nobody has published a survey to settle it. In context Paul is describing how he has learned to cope with both plenty and hunger, so it is about endurance rather than achievement. Jeremiah 29:11, Isaiah 41:10 and John 3:16 are the others that come up repeatedly.

Which Bible translation should I use for a tattoo?

The King James Version if you want the familiar older cadence, or the World English Bible if you want plain modern English. Both are in the public domain, so neither you nor your tattoo artist needs permission to reproduce them — unlike the NIV, ESV or NLT, which are copyrighted.

Does the Bible say tattoos are a sin?

Leviticus 19:28 prohibits making cuttings in the flesh for the dead and putting marks on the body, in a passage concerning mourning practices. Christians disagree in good faith about how Old Testament law applies, and this site does not take a position on it.

Should I include the verse reference in the tattoo?

That is a design choice rather than a religious one. The reference alone is discreet and reads as a private marker; the full text is legible to everyone. Whichever you choose, check that the reference and the wording actually match — a mismatch is the most common error in verse tattoos.

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