Jesus Loves Me is a children's hymn by Anna Bartlett Warner, first printed in 1860 as a poem in Say and Seal, a novel she wrote with her sister Susan, where a teacher sings it to a dying boy. In 1862 William Bradbury set it to music and added the chorus Yes, Jesus loves me. It may be the best-known Christian song in the world. Its message rests on verses like John 15:9, "As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love."
Anna Bartlett Warner (1827-1915) and her older sister Susan grew up wealthy in New York City, but their father lost his fortune in the Panic of 1837 and the family moved to Constitution Island, in the Hudson River opposite the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. To support the family, both sisters wrote novels; Susan's The Wide, Wide World was one of the best-selling books in America. In their 1860 novel Say and Seal, a little boy named Johnny Fax lies dying, and his Sunday school teacher, Mr. Linden, carries him in his arms and sings to him the words Anna wrote: Jesus loves me, this I know. Two years later the composer William Bradbury gave the poem a tune and a chorus, and it spread around the world through Sunday schools and missionaries. For more than forty years the Warner sisters also taught a Bible class for West Point cadets. Below are the words as Bradbury printed them in 1862, Anna's original last stanza, and the 12 KJV passages behind the song.
Jesus Loves Me: the words
Verse 1
Jesus loves me! this I know,
For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to him belong,
They are weak, but he is strong.
Refrain:
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
The Bible tells me so.
Verse 2
Jesus loves me! He who died
Heaven's gate to open wide;
He will wash away my sin,
Let his little child come in.
Refrain:
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
The Bible tells me so.
Verse 3
Jesus loves me! loves me still,
Though I'm very weak and ill;
From his shining throne on high,
Comes to watch me where I lie.
Refrain:
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
The Bible tells me so.
Verse 4
Jesus loves me! He will stay
Close beside me all the way;
If I love him, when I die
He will take me home on high.
Refrain:
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
The Bible tells me so.
Words: Anna Bartlett Warner, first printed as a poem in the novel Say and Seal by Susan and Anna Warner (Philadelphia, 1860), volume 2, pages 115-116 (Internet Archive scan). Song version with refrain, as printed in William B. Bradbury's Golden Shower of S.S. Melodies (New York, 1862), pages 68-69 (Internet Archive scan); Bradbury added the refrain and rewrote the last stanza. Warner's 1860 fourth stanza reads: Jesus loves me, he will stay / Close beside me all the way. / Then his little child will take / Up to heaven for his dear sake. The refrain is printed after each stanza. Tune: China (Jesus Loves Me), William B. Bradbury (1862). Public domain.
Jesus loves me, this I know: for the Bible tells me so
1. John 15:9
"As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love."
Jesus loves me! The first three words are the whole song in miniature, and they come straight from Jesus. On the night before He died, He told His disciples: As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. The measure of Jesus' love for His people is the love between the Father and the Son, the deepest love there is. That is not a sentimental feeling that might change tomorrow. It is the settled love of God Himself. Children can understand it, and the wisest adults never get to the bottom of it.
2. Jeremiah 31:3
"The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee."
Jesus loves me, loves me still. God's love is not only for the days we behave well. Through Jeremiah, God told a people who had wandered far from Him: Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. Everlasting means it had no beginning and will have no end. The word still in the third stanza says the same thing for a child: even now, even when I am sick, even when I have done wrong, Jesus loves me still. His love does not wear out.
3. 1 John 4:19
"We love him, because he first loved us."
Yes, Jesus loves me. Bradbury's chorus repeats the words three times, as children love to do. John explains which love comes first: We love him, because he first loved us. Our love for God is always a response to His love for us, never the other way round. That matters for the fourth stanza, where Bradbury's version says If I love him, when I die. The Bible's order is clear. Jesus loves first. Our love for Him grows in answer to His, and it is His love, not ours, that brings us home.
4. 2 Timothy 3:15
"And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."
For the Bible tells me so. How does a child know that Jesus loves them? Not by feelings or by guessing, but because God has said so in His word. Paul reminded Timothy: from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Timothy learned the Scriptures from his mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5). The song is a gift parents and teachers can give: a child's first theology lesson, resting on the Bible rather than on how they feel.
Little ones to Him belong: they are weak, but He is strong
5. Mark 10:14
"But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God."
Little ones to him belong. When parents brought their children to Jesus, the disciples tried to send them away. Jesus was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Suffer here means allow. Jesus did not see children as an interruption. He took them in His arms and blessed them (Mark 10:16). Anna Warner's line is a simple summary of this scene. Children belong to Jesus, and He wants them near Him. See our Bible verses for kids for more.
6. Matthew 18:14
"Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish."
They are weak, but he is strong. In Say and Seal the song is sung to a dying child, and it does not pretend he is strong. Jesus speaks with special tenderness about little ones: it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish. He told the parable of the shepherd who leaves ninety-nine sheep to find the one that strayed, and He applied it to children. The weaker the child, the closer the care. That is a comfort to every parent who has sat beside a sick child's bed.
7. Isaiah 40:11
"He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young."
Close beside me all the way. Isaiah describes God as a shepherd with a special way of handling the smallest of the flock: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. In the novel, Mr. Linden carries Johnny in his arms as he sings. Anna Warner may have had this verse in mind. The Good Shepherd does not only lead His lambs; He carries them when they cannot walk. Close beside me all the way is a child's version of this promise.
8. 2 Corinthians 12:9
"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
They are weak, but he is strong. Paul begged God three times to remove a painful thorn in the flesh, and God answered: My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. This line from a children's song is also one of the deepest truths in the Christian life. Weakness is not a barrier to God's love or power; it is where His strength shows most clearly. Adults sing Jesus Loves Me at the bedsides of the dying for this reason. It is true for the small and for the old alike.
He who died heaven's gate to open wide
9. John 10:9
"I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture."
Jesus loves me! He who died heaven's gate to open wide. The second stanza moves from Jesus' love to what that love cost. Jesus called Himself the door: I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved. Heaven's gate was shut by sin, and Jesus opened it by His death on the cross. Anna Warner's picture of a wide-open gate is one children can see in their minds. Jesus did not open it a crack; He opened it wide, so that a little child could walk right in.
10. 1 John 1:7
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."
He will wash away my sin. Even a child's song does not skip over sin. John writes: the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. Children know they do wrong, and they know what it feels like to need forgiveness. The song gives them a simple, true answer: Jesus washes it away. All sin, not some. Let his little child come in: the stanza ends with welcome, not with punishment. The forgiven child is invited inside the gate Jesus opened.
11. Psalms 41:3
"The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness."
Though I'm very weak and ill. The third stanza is the one that reveals the song's origin. It was written for a sick and dying child, and it was not written to be cute. The psalmist promises: The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness. From His shining throne on high, comes to watch me where I lie. Many hymnals now leave this stanza out, but for children and adults who are seriously ill, it may be the most precious of all. Jesus watches over the sickbed.
12. John 14:3
"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."
He will take me home on high. Anna Warner's original ending said Jesus would take His little child up to heaven for his dear sake, that is, for His own sake, not because the child had earned it. Jesus promised: I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. Bradbury's 1862 version changed the line to If I love him, when I die. Both end in the same place: home with Jesus. The surest ground is the one Warner chose, His dear sake, His love, not ours.
A short prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You that You love me, and that I know it because the Bible tells me so. Thank You that little ones belong to You, and that when I am weak, You are strong. Thank You for dying to open heaven's gate wide and for washing away my sin. When I am weak or ill, watch over me where I lie. Stay close beside me all the way, and one day take me home to be with You, for Your dear sake. Help me to love You, because You first loved me. Amen.
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Frequently asked questions
Who wrote Jesus Loves Me?
Anna Bartlett Warner (1827-1915) wrote the words. They first appeared in 1860 in Say and Seal, a novel she wrote with her sister Susan Warner, where a teacher sings them to a dying child. In 1862 the composer William Batchelder Bradbury set the poem to music, added the chorus Yes, Jesus loves me, and rewrote the last stanza. The tune is sometimes called China in older hymnals because of how popular the song became with missionaries in China.
What are the original words to Jesus Loves Me?
Anna Warner's 1860 poem had four stanzas and no chorus. The first three match the song as it is usually sung. Her fourth stanza was: Jesus loves me, he will stay close beside me all the way. Then his little child will take up to heaven for his dear sake. Bradbury changed the last two lines to If I love him, when I die he will take me home on high, and added Yes, Jesus loves me as a chorus. Both versions are printed on this page.
Is Jesus Loves Me in the public domain?
Yes. Anna Warner's words (1860) and William Bradbury's tune and chorus (1862) are in the public domain, so the traditional song can be freely printed, copied for Sunday school and sung. Newer verses written by others, and modern arrangements such as those by contemporary artists, may be copyrighted.
Did Karl Barth sum up his theology with Jesus Loves Me?
A well-known story says that the Swiss theologian Karl Barth, asked during his 1962 visit to the United States to summarize his life's work in a sentence, answered: Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. The story is widely repeated, though the exact occasion is hard to document. Whether or not it happened as told, it captures why the song is loved: its first two lines contain the heart of the gospel and the reason we can be sure of it.
Sources: All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), public domain in the United States. References were checked against the KJV text from bible-api.com.
Related: Bible Verses for Kids · The Love of Jesus · God's Love · Infants · Away in a Manger · John 3:16 Meaning · Parenting · Bible Worksheets for Kids
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