Armor of God
The armor of God is six pieces Paul names in Ephesians 6:13-18. They are the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. He ends with prayer. The phrase "whole armour of God" appears 2 times in the King James Version, in Ephesians 6:11 and 6:13.
Updated October 24, 2026. Verses are quoted from the King James Version and the World English Bible. Counts are of every form of the noun in the King James Version, singular and plural.
The six pieces, verse by verse
Ephesians 6:13-18 in the King James Version and the World English Bible. The last column counts how often the Bible names the piece as an object, in all 66 books.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.
| # | Piece | Verse | Wording in each translation | KJV count of the noun |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belt of truth | Ephesians 6:14 | KJV: "loins girt about with truth". WEB: "belt of truth". | 44 (girdle, girdles) |
| 2 | Breastplate of righteousness | Ephesians 6:14 | KJV: "breastplate of righteousness". WEB: "breastplate of righteousness". | 31 (breastplate, breastplates) |
| 3 | Shoes of the gospel of peace | Ephesians 6:15 | KJV: "feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace". WEB: "feet with the preparation of the Good News of peace". | 30 (shoe, shoes) |
| 4 | Shield of faith | Ephesians 6:16 | KJV: "shield of faith". WEB: "shield of faith". | 68 (shield, shields) |
| 5 | Helmet of salvation | Ephesians 6:17 | KJV: "helmet of salvation". WEB: "helmet of salvation". | 10 (helmet, helmets) |
| 6 | Sword of the Spirit | Ephesians 6:17 | KJV: "sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God". WEB: "sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God". | 448 (sword, swords) |
The King James Version has no noun for the first piece: Paul has the loins "girt about with truth", so the count above is of "girdle" and "girdles" in the rest of the Bible. The World English Bible translates it as a belt. Shoes are the same: Ephesians 6:15 says the feet are "shod", and the count is of "shoe" and "shoes" elsewhere.
Which piece does the Bible name most?
The King James Version names a sword 448 times and a helmet 10 times.
The sword has 448 mentions, from Genesis 3:24, where a flaming sword guards Eden, to Revelation. The most are in Ezekiel, with 89. The sword page counts its forms separately. The shield comes next at 68, most often in the Psalms (17), where God himself is the shield, as in Genesis 15:1: "I am thy shield". The helmet, the piece named least, is first worn by Goliath in 1 Samuel 17:5.
Breastplate is named 31 times, and 23 of them are in Exodus, where it is the priest's breastplate of judgment. In Ephesians the word means a soldier's armor.
Other verses that use the same pieces
For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke.
The LORD puts on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of salvation.
But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
Paul's breastplate is faith and love, and the helmet is the hope of salvation.
By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
The armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left.
The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
The armour of light, put on in place of the works of darkness.
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The word of God is sharper than any twoedged sword, the same pair the armor passage joins.
Verses above are the King James text. "Armour" appears 24 times in the King James Version and "armor" 46 times in the World English Bible.
What these counts leave out
The counts cover the nouns in English, so a verse that describes a shield without using the word is not counted. They also do not show what Paul meant by each piece; Ephesians 6 does not explain the belt, breastplate or shoes beyond the word beside each. For the meaning of each piece, the cross references above are the best evidence the text itself gives.
Questions about the armor of God
What are the 6 pieces of the armor of God?
Ephesians 6:14-17 names them in order: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes that carry the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit. Verse 18 adds praying always in the Spirit.
Where is the armor of God in the Bible?
Ephesians 6:10-18. The words "the whole armour of God" are in verse 11 and again in verse 13 of the King James Version. The World English Bible says "the whole armor of God" in the same two verses.
Which piece of the armor is a weapon?
The sword of the Spirit is the only offensive weapon in the list; the belt, breastplate, shoes, shield and helmet cover the body. Paul explains the sword in the same verse: it "is the word of God". Hebrews 4:12 uses the same pair: the word of God is "sharper than any twoedged sword".
Did Paul invent the armor of God?
Pieces of it appear earlier. Isaiah 59:17 has the LORD putting on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of salvation on his head. 1 Thessalonians 5:8, also by Paul, has a breastplate of faith and love and a helmet that is the hope of salvation.
Is it armor or armour?
Both. "Armour" is the King James Version's spelling and appears 24 times in it. "Armor" is the World English Bible's spelling, 46 times.
Sources
- The King James Version (1769) and the World English Bible, both public domain: every verse quoted and every count on this page, counted by scripts/build-bible-lists.mjs from the text at github.com/seven1m/open-bibles (read and counted 2026-10-24).
Paul's other long list is the fruit of the Spirit. See how long Ephesians is, or Bible verses about spiritual warfare. More counts are on the Bible by the numbers.
Counted by Bible Says About from the full public-domain text of the King James Version (1769 edition) and the World English Bible. Verse text only: headings and psalm titles are left out. A word is a run of letters: a hyphenated name like Beer-sheba counts as two, and an apostrophe stays inside its word (LORD'S is one). Matching ignores capital letters. Data compiled 2026-10-24.