“Do not be anxious about anything”

The verse

Philippians 4:6 in the BSB:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

In the KJV (1769):

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

The KJV’s “be careful for nothing” uses “careful” in its older English sense — full of cares, distressed, anxious — not the modern sense of “cautious.” Modern translations universally render the verb as “be anxious” or “do not worry” or similar.

The full unit (Philippians 4:4–9)

The verse sits in a tightly constructed six-verse unit toward the close of the letter. The full passage in BSB:

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be apparent to all. The Lord is near. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — dwell on these things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me, put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

The unit moves through a sequence of imperatives:

• v. 4: Rejoice (twice, for emphasis)
• v. 5: Let gentleness (Greek: ἐπιεικές, epieikes) be evident; ground in nearness of the Lord
• v. 6: Do not be anxious; present requests with thanksgiving
• v. 7: A consequence: the peace of God will guard your hearts
• v. 8: Dwell on (Greek: λογίζεσθε, logizesthe — actively reckon, consider) what is true, noble, right, pure
• v. 9: Practice what you have learned; ground in the God of peace

The “do not be anxious” of verse 6 is one move within this pattern. It is paired immediately with the alternative practice — prayer with thanksgiving — and bracketed by surrounding instructions about rejoicing, gentleness, dwelling on what is true, and putting into practice.

The Greek merimnaō

The verb in verse 6 is μεριμνάω (merimnaō). BDAG s.v. merimnaō documents two main senses:

1. To be apprehensive, anxious, worried
2. To be concerned about, to attend to, to look after

The two senses are not entirely separable in usage. The same verb can carry the negative weight of debilitating anxiety and the more neutral weight of being preoccupied with something. Context indicates which is in view.

The verb appears across the New Testament in several notable places:

• Matthew 6:25, 28, 31, 34 — the Sermon on the Mount: “do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink.” The same verb. The same instruction not to be anxious is grounded in observations about birds, lilies, and the heavenly Father’s knowledge.
• Luke 10:41 — Jesus says of Martha that she is “worried (merimnas) and bothered about many things.” The same verb, with a clear sense of distraction-by-many-cares.
• 1 Corinthians 7:32–34 — Paul writes about how the unmarried “are concerned (merimnaō) about the Lord’s affairs,” while the married are “concerned about the things of this world.” The same verb in both clauses, with no negative weight — simply “preoccupied with.”

The semantic range — anxiety, worry, preoccupation, concern, attention — is broader than the English “anxiety” (which leans toward the pathological). Philippians 4:6 sits within this range.

What the surrounding verses do

The unit’s structure pairs each imperative with a corresponding ground or practice:

• “Rejoice” — grounded in “in the Lord” (v. 4)
• “Let gentleness be evident” — grounded in “the Lord is near” (v. 5)
• “Do not be anxious” — paired with “by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests” (v. 6) — i.e., redirecting the activity of anxious concern into petition and gratitude
• The result: “the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds” (v. 7)
• A second imperative: “dwell on” what is true, noble, right, pure (v. 8) — i.e., active mental practice rather than passive non-anxiety

The “do not be anxious” verse is not a freestanding command to stop feeling anxious. It is paired with a specific practice — prayer with thanksgiving — and followed by a related practice — dwelling on what is good. The verse is part of a constructive sequence.

Why this matters in popular usage

In popular usage, “do not be anxious about anything” is often cited to someone who is anxious — sometimes accompanied by gentle pressure to simply stop being anxious, as if the anxiety were a matter of choice. Read in context, the verse is paired with practices that redirect anxious activity rather than simply suppressing the experience: petition, thanksgiving, mental dwelling on what is true.

The popular use is not exactly wrong — the verse does say “do not be anxious.” But the standalone use can carry a tone of reproach that the surrounding verses do not. Paul is not reproaching anxiety in the abstract; he is offering an alternative pattern of activity (prayer-with-thanksgiving and mental dwelling on the good) that is paired with the imperative.

What this entry does not do

We do not say anxiety is a moral failing or that the verse should not be cited to someone struggling. Christian pastoral tradition has used the verse for centuries in conversations about anxiety, and the use has substantial warrant. We do say that the verse is one move within a six-verse unit, that the Greek verb covers a broader semantic range than the English “anxiety,” and that the verse pairs the imperative with a specific practice rather than issuing it as a standalone command.

For the related entry on “be still and know,” see Psalm 46:10.