How many times is atonement mentioned in the Bible?
The word atonement appears 81 times in the King James Version, in 70 verses. It is found in 8 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses atonement 92 times.
Atonement in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of atonement counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| atonement | 81 | 92 |
| Total | 81 | 92 |
Which books mention atonement most
Atonement appears in 8 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Leviticus has the most (49), then Numbers (17) and Exodus (10).
First and last mention of atonement
And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy.
And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
The verse that uses it most is Leviticus 16:33, 3 times:
And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.
Where the two translations differ
1 verse matches in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 11 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Romans 5:11: counted in the KJV only
And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
Leviticus 6:30: counted in the World English Bible only
And no sin offering, whereof any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of the congregation to reconcile withal in the holy place, shall be eaten: it shall be burnt in the fire.
No sin offering, of which any of the blood is brought into the Tent of Meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be eaten: it shall be burned with fire.
Leviticus 8:15: counted in the World English Bible only
And he slew it; and Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar, and sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it.
He killed it; and Moses took the blood, and put it around on the horns of the altar with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured out the blood at the base of the altar, and sanctified it, to make atonement for it.
Common questions
How many times is atonement in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 80 of the 81 uses are in the Old Testament and 1 in the New Testament. Atonement appears in 8 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Leviticus has the most (49), then Numbers (17) and Exodus (10).
Where is atonement first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Exodus 29:33: "And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy." The last is Romans 5:11.
More word counts: Gentiles, giant, Easter, Selah, behold, verily, manna, Passover, or all 253 words.
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 2026-10-05.