Berean Standard Bible
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
King James Version
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
About this verse
Paul wrote this — the Bible's most-quoted passage on anxiety — from a Roman imprisonment, which keeps it from being cheap advice. "Be anxious for nothing" comes from a man with real things to be anxious about.
The passage is practical in shape. Anxiety is not argued with; it is redirected — "in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Everything means the specific things: the bill, the scan, the child, the deadline. Thanksgiving is the surprising ingredient — gratitude rehearsed in the middle of the worry, not after it resolves.
And then the promise, which is careful in what it offers. Paul does not say the problem will disappear. He says the peace of God — a peace that outruns explanation — will stand guard over your heart and mind. The word is military: a garrison posted at the door of your thoughts. You do the presenting; the peace does the guarding.
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