Are the seven deadly sins in the Bible?
No. The phrase "seven deadly sins" is not in the Bible. "Deadly" appears 7 times in the King James Version and 10 in the World English Bible, never beside "sin". The list of pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth comes from church tradition, from monks' lists of eight evil thoughts to Pope Gregory the Great's seven.
Updated October 26, 2026. Every count on this page is a whole-word count over the full text of the King James Version and the World English Bible, and every verse cited is checked against both before the page is built.
Is the phrase "seven deadly sins" in the Bible?
No: "seven deadly", "deadly sin" and "deadly sins" each appear 0 times in both translations. The word "deadly" is there, 7 times in the King James Version and 10 in the World English Bible, and none of those verses uses the word "sin".
| Verse | KJV words | What is deadly |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Samuel 5:11 | "a deadly destruction" | the destruction in Ekron while the ark of God was there |
| Psalms 17:9 | "my deadly enemies" | the psalmist's enemies |
| Ezekiel 30:24 | "a deadly wounded man" | Pharaoh, whose arms God breaks |
| Mark 16:18 | "any deadly thing" | anything believers drink |
| James 3:8 | "full of deadly poison" | the tongue |
| Revelation 13:3 | "his deadly wound was healed" | the beast's wound |
| Revelation 13:12 | "whose deadly wound was healed" | the beast's wound |
KJV, whole-word matches of "deadly". The World English Bible's 10 are in 1 Samuel 5:11, Psalms 17:9, Psalms 64:3, Psalms 91:3, Psalms 144:10, Jeremiah 9:8, Ezekiel 21:25, Ezekiel 21:29, Mark 16:18 and James 3:8.
The closest a "deadly" verse comes to sin is James 3:8, where the tongue is "an unruly evil, full of deadly poison". Later church terms are absent too: "mortal sin", "venial sin" and "capital sin" appear 0 times in either translation. The Bible does call sin deadly in other words: "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23, both translations).
Where did the list of seven deadly sins come from?
The list came from monks and church teachers, not from one book of the Bible. It began as eight and settled at seven.
| Writer | Where | # | The list, in that source's English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evagrius Ponticus | the eight evil thoughts (as Wikipedia gives them) | 8 | gluttony, lust, greed, sadness, acedia, anger, vainglory, pride |
| John Cassian | Institutes, book 5, chapter 1: "the eight principal faults" | 8 | gluttony, fornication, covetousness, anger, dejection, accidie, vainglory, pride |
| Gregory the Great | Moralia in Job, book 31, chapter 45: "seven principal vices" from pride, "the queen of sins" | 7 | vain glory, envy, anger, melancholy, avarice, gluttony, lust |
| Thomas Aquinas | Summa Theologiae I-II, question 84, article 4: "seven capital vices", pride "queen of them all" | 7 | vainglory, envy, anger, sloth, covetousness, gluttony, lust |
| Catechism of the Catholic Church | paragraph 1866: the "capital sins" | 7 | pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, sloth or acedia |
Wikipedia's article on Evagrius Ponticus, a monk who spent his last years in Egypt, says he drew up his list of eight evil thoughts in AD 375. The same article says his disciple John Cassian passed the eight on in the Latin world. Cassian's Institutes, which Wikipedia dates to about 420, name "the eight principal faults" in book 5. Wikipedia dates Gregory the Great's Moralia in Job to between 578 and 595. Gregory made the number seven by setting pride above the rest: "when pride, the queen of sins, has fully possessed a conquered heart, she surrenders it immediately to seven principal sins, as if to some of her generals".
Thomas Aquinas kept Gregory's seven with one change, sloth for melancholy, and, citing Gregory, called pride the "queen of them all". The list most people know today is the one in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1866, read on vatican.va on October 26, 2026: the capital sins "are called 'capital' because they engender other sins, other vices. They are pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth or acedia." It has pride where Gregory and Aquinas had vainglory, and its footnote points to the Moralia, book 31, chapter 45.
The sources use different English words for the same Latin and Greek terms (greed, covetousness and avarice; wrath and anger). The table copies each source's own words.
What does the Bible say about each of the seven deadly sins?
The Bible names all seven vices, though not always with the same word. Pride and wrath words fill hundreds of verses; the gluttony words appear 4 times in the King James Version. Three of the seven names, greed, gluttony and sloth, never appear in the King James Version as words, and the World English Bible has "greed" 2 times.
| Sin | Words counted | KJV | WEB | Most in (KJV) | Key verse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pride | pride, proud, proudly | 106 | 114 | Psalms (24) | Proverbs 16:18 |
| Greed | greedy, greedily, greediness, covet, coveted, coveteth, covetous, covetousness, greed, coveting, covetings | 51 | 45 | Proverbs and 1 Corinthians (5 each) | Luke 12:15 |
| Lust | lust, lusts, lusted, lusteth, lusting, lustful, lustfully, lustfulness | 54 | 52 | James (6) | Matthew 5:28 |
| Envy | envy, envies, envied, enviest, envieth, envying, envyings, envious | 40 | 28 | Proverbs (6) | Proverbs 14:30 |
| Gluttony | glutton, gluttonous, gluttons | 4 | 6 | Deuteronomy, Proverbs, Matthew and Luke (1 each) | Proverbs 23:21 |
| Wrath | wrath, wraths, wrathful, wroth, anger, angered, angry | 529 | 600 | Psalms (66) | Ephesians 4:26 |
| Sloth | slothful, slothfulness, sluggard, sluggish, lazy, laziness | 23 | 23 | Proverbs (18) | Proverbs 6:6 |
Whole-word matches of the forms listed, capitals ignored, in the full KJV and WEB text. A form is shown if either translation uses it.
Pride
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18, WEB)
KJV: Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
The pride words appear 106 times in the King James Version, most in Psalms (24). "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble" (James 4:6), and 1 John 2:16 sets "the pride of life" beside "the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes".
Greed
He said to them, “Beware! Keep yourselves from covetousness, for a man’s life doesn’t consist of the abundance of the things which he possesses.” (Luke 12:15, WEB)
KJV: And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
The King James Version never uses the word "greed"; it says covet, covetousness and greedy, 51 times in all, most in Proverbs and 1 Corinthians (5 each). The tenth commandment is "Thou shalt not covet" (Exodus 20:17), and 1 Timothy 6:10 calls "the love of money" "the root of all evil" (World English Bible: "a root of all kinds of evil").
Lust
but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. (Matthew 5:28, WEB)
KJV: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
54 uses in the King James Version, most in James (6), which traces sin back to it: "every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust" (James 1:14). In the World English Bible the most are in Ezekiel, Romans and 2 Peter (5 each).
Envy
The life of the body is a heart at peace, but envy rots the bones. (Proverbs 14:30, WEB)
KJV: A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.
40 uses in the King James Version, most in Proverbs (6). The translations often differ between envy and jealousy: "who is able to stand before envy?" (Proverbs 27:4, KJV) is "before jealousy" in the World English Bible, which has 28 envy words to the KJV's 40.
Gluttony
for the drunkard and the glutton shall become poor; and drowsiness clothes them in rags. (Proverbs 23:21, WEB)
KJV: For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
The word "gluttony" is in neither translation. "Glutton" and "gluttonous" appear 4 times in the King James Version, one each in Deuteronomy, Proverbs, Matthew and Luke, and always with drinking: the rebellious son is "a glutton, and a drunkard" (Deuteronomy 21:20), and Jesus repeats the charge made against him, "Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber" (Matthew 11:19). The World English Bible has 6: it adds Proverbs 28:7, "a companion of gluttons" (KJV: "of riotous men"), and Titus 1:12, "idle gluttons", where the KJV says "slow bellies".
Wrath
“Be angry, and don’t sin.” Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath, (Ephesians 4:26, WEB)
KJV: Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
529 uses in the King James Version (250 wrath words and 279 anger words), most in Psalms (66). Ephesians 4:26 does not forbid anger itself; it warns against sinning in it and letting it last. James 1:20 adds that "the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God".
Sloth
Go to the ant, you sluggard. Consider her ways, and be wise; (Proverbs 6:6, WEB)
KJV: Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
The word "sloth" is in neither translation. Proverbs holds 18 of the King James Version's 23 sloth words (mostly "slothful" and "sluggard") and 19 of the World English Bible's 23. "By much slothfulness the building decayeth" (Ecclesiastes 10:18, KJV).
What word counts cannot show
The counts include every use, not only the sinful one. Many of the wrath and anger words describe God: "the anger of the LORD" alone appears 24 times in the King James Version and "the wrath of God" 10 times. "Lust" in the King James Version can mean any strong desire: "my lust shall be satisfied upon them" says the enemy at the Red Sea (Exodus 15:9), where the World English Bible says "desire". Word counts measure vocabulary, not teaching, and the two translations often choose different words for the same Hebrew or Greek: the World English Bible says "angry" 101 times to the King James Version's 44, and drops "wroth" altogether.
What are the seven things God hates in Proverbs 6?
Proverbs 6:16-19 lists seven things the LORD hates, and only the first, "a proud look", is one of the seven deadly sins. The others are lying, violence, wicked plans, eagerness for mischief, false witness and stirring up discord.
There are six things which Yahweh hates; yes, seven which are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood; a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are swift in running to mischief, a false witness who utters lies, and he who sows discord among brothers. (Proverbs 6:16-19, WEB)
| # | KJV | WEB | Verse | Deadly sin? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A proud look | haughty eyes | Proverbs 6:17 | pride |
| 2 | a lying tongue | a lying tongue | Proverbs 6:17 | no |
| 3 | hands that shed innocent blood | hands that shed innocent blood | Proverbs 6:17 | no |
| 4 | An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations | a heart that devises wicked schemes | Proverbs 6:18 | no |
| 5 | feet that be swift in running to mischief | feet that are swift in running to mischief | Proverbs 6:18 | no |
| 6 | A false witness that speaketh lies | a false witness who utters lies | Proverbs 6:19 | no |
| 7 | he that soweth discord among brethren | he who sows discord among brothers | Proverbs 6:19 | no |
An item counts as one of the seven only if it uses a word from that sin's family in the table above, in either translation.
The KJV opens "These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him", one number and then the next, a pattern Proverbs 30 repeats ("three things ... yea, four", Proverbs 30:18). None of the other six uses a word for anger, envy, greed or lust, so the table does not count them. Two chapters on, Wisdom says the same of pride: "pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate" (Proverbs 8:13, KJV). Proverbs 26:25 speaks of "seven abominations in his heart" without listing them.
Which of the seven deadly sins are in the New Testament vice lists?
Greed is in the most of them: 5 of the 7 lists below name covetousness or the covetous. Gluttony and sloth are in none. Together the lists have 95 entries in the King James Version and 96 in the World English Bible.
| List | Context | Entries KJV | WEB | Of the seven |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark 7:21-22 | Jesus: what comes out of the heart and defiles | 13 | 13 | pride (pride); greed (covetousness / covetings); lust (lustful desires) |
| Romans 1:29-31 | Paul: those given over to a reprobate mind | 23 | 23 | pride (proud); greed (covetousness); envy (envy) |
| 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 | Paul: who shall not inherit the kingdom of God | 10 | 10 | greed (covetous) |
| Galatians 5:19-21 | Paul: the works of the flesh | 17 | 17 | lust (lustfulness); envy (envyings / envy); wrath (wrath / outbursts of anger) |
| Colossians 3:5 | Paul: what to put to death | 5 | 5 | greed (covetousness) |
| 2 Timothy 3:2-5 | Paul: people in the last days | 19 | 19 | pride (proud); greed (covetous) |
| Revelation 21:8 | the one on the throne: whose part is the lake of fire, the second death | 8 | 9 | none |
Entries counted from the verse text, one per item in the series. In 2 Timothy 3:2-5 the 19th is "having a form of godliness"; the World English Bible's Revelation 21:8 adds "sinners", so it has 9 to the KJV's 8. A list counts for one of the seven if an entry uses a word from that sin's family in either translation.
How many of the 7 lists name each sin
Two of the matches depend on the translation. Pride is in Mark 7:22 in both, but in Romans 1:30 and 2 Timothy 3:2 only the King James Version says "proud"; the World English Bible says "haughty" and "arrogant". Lust is the other way round: the World English Bible has "lustful desires" (Mark 7:22) and "lustfulness" (Galatians 5:19) where the King James Version has "lasciviousness". Wrath appears once, in Galatians 5:20, though three verses after the Colossians list Paul adds "anger, wrath, malice" (Colossians 3:8). The lists name drunkenness (1 Cor. 6:9-10 and Gal. 5:19-21) but never gluttony. Revelation 21:8 names none of the seven.
Galatians sets its list against a second one. Right after "the works of the flesh" comes the fruit of the Spirit, nine qualities from love to self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). The coveting of the vice lists goes back to the tenth commandment, "Thou shalt not covet" (Exodus 20:17), which also stands among the 613 commandments.
Is the "sin unto death" one of the seven deadly sins?
No. 1 John 5:16-17 speaks of a sin that leads to death, but it does not name the sin or connect it to any list.
If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death. (1 John 5:16-17, KJV)
If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life for those who sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death. I don’t say that he should make a request concerning this. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to death. (1 John 5:16-17, WEB)
The phrase is "sin unto death" in the King James Version and "sin leading to death" in the World English Bible, 4 times each across the two verses, counting the "not" forms. The text does not say which sin John means. The Catechism of the Catholic Church points to these verses in a footnote to paragraph 1854, where it says the distinction between mortal and venial sin is "already evident in Scripture" (read on vatican.va, October 26, 2026). Elsewhere Jesus names one sin that "hath never forgiveness", blasphemy against the Holy Ghost (Mark 3:29, KJV); John does not say whether that is the sin he has in mind.
Sources
- The King James Version (1769) and the World English Bible, both public domain: every verse quoted and every count on this page, from the text at github.com/seven1m/open-bibles, counted by scripts/lists/seven-deadly-sins-in-the-bible.mjs (read and counted 2026-10-26). The build stops if a cited verse lacks the words its row relies on.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1866 (vatican.va): the seven capital sins, the quotation, and the footnote to the Moralia, book 31, chapter 45 (read 2026-10-26).
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1854 (vatican.va): mortal and venial sin "already evident in Scripture", with its footnote to 1 John (read 2026-10-26).
- Gregory the Great, Moralia in Job, book 31, in the English translation posted by Lectionary Central, archived copy: pride "the queen of sins" and the seven principal vices, chapter 45, section 87 (read 2026-10-26).
- John Cassian, Institutes, book 5 (New Advent), translated by Edgar C. S. Gibson (1894): the eight principal faults, chapter 1 (read 2026-10-26).
- Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae I-II, question 84 (New Advent), English Dominican translation (1920): the seven capital vices and pride as "queen of them all", article 4 (read 2026-10-26).
- Wikipedia, "Evagrius Ponticus": his eight evil thoughts, the date AD 375, and Cassian as his disciple (read 2026-10-26).
- Wikipedia, "John Cassian": the Institutes written about 420 (read 2026-10-26).
- Wikipedia, "Moralia in Job": written between 578 and 595 (read 2026-10-26).
Questions about the seven deadly sins
Are the seven deadly sins in the Bible?
Not as a list, and not by that name. "Deadly sin" appears 0 times in the King James Version and 0 in the World English Bible. Each of the seven is condemned somewhere in the Bible under its own words, but no verse groups these seven together. The grouping comes from church writers, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church calls them the capital sins (paragraph 1866).
Where in the Bible are the seven deadly sins?
Nowhere as one passage. The nearest lists are Proverbs 6:16-19, the seven things the LORD hates, which shares only pride with the traditional seven, and the vice lists of the New Testament. Of the seven lists on this page, 5 name greed (covetousness), 3 name pride, 2 name envy, 2 use a lust word in the World English Bible, 1 names wrath, and none names gluttony or sloth.
What are the 7 things God hates?
Proverbs 6:16-19 in the King James Version: "A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren." The World English Bible says "haughty eyes" for "a proud look".
What is the worst of the seven deadly sins?
In the tradition, pride. Gregory the Great calls pride "the queen of sins" and "the root of all evil" from which the seven spring (Moralia in Job, book 31, chapter 45), and Thomas Aquinas, citing Gregory, calls it the "queen of them all". The Bible does not rank the seven, but "a proud look" is first of the things the LORD hates (Proverbs 6:17), and "God resisteth the proud" (James 4:6).
Who made the list of seven deadly sins?
No single author. John Cassian wrote of "eight principal faults" (Institutes, book 5). Gregory the Great named seven vices with pride as their root (Moralia in Job, book 31). Thomas Aquinas kept seven and put sloth where Gregory had melancholy. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says the capital sins were distinguished "following St. John Cassian and St. Gregory the Great" (paragraph 1866).
What is the sin unto death in 1 John 5?
1 John 5:16-17 says "There is a sin unto death" and "there is a sin not unto death" (World English Bible: "a sin leading to death"). John does not say which sin he means. The word there is death, not "deadly", and the passage does not mention the seven.
Verses by topic: pride, lust, jealousy and envy, anger, gluttony and laziness. Word counts: sin, humility and anger. Most of the sloth verses are in Proverbs. 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 2026-10-26.