How many times is baptism mentioned in the Bible?
The word baptism appears 22 times in the King James Version, in 22 verses. Counting every form (baptism, baptize, baptized, baptizing, baptizeth), it appears 98 times in 74 verses across 11 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses baptism 22 times (97 with every form).
Baptism in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of baptism counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| baptism | 22 | 22 |
| baptize | 9 | 10 |
| baptized | 61 | 58 |
| baptizing | 4 | 7 |
| baptizeth | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 98 | 97 |
First and last mention of baptism
And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
The verse that uses it most is Matthew 20:22, 3 times (tied with Matthew 20:23, Mark 10:38, Mark 10:39):
But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.
Where the two translations differ
1 verse matches in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 1 verse matches only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
John 3:26: counted in the KJV only
And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.
They came to John, and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, the same baptizes, and everyone is coming to him.”
John 1:25: counted in the World English Bible only
And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?
They asked him, “Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?”
Verses with baptism on our topic pages
19 verses that use baptism in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
On: Baptism, Holy Spirit, Discipleship, Evangelism
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all given to drink into one Spirit.
I indeed baptize you in water for repentance, but he who comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.
On: Baptism, Holy Spirit
Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
On: Baptism, Repentance
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Jesus, when he was baptized, went up directly from the water: and behold, the heavens were opened to him. He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming on him.
On: Baptism
John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching the baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins.
On: Baptism
Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus also had been baptized, and was praying. The sky was opened,
On: Baptism
I didn’t recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water, he said to me, ‘On whomever you will see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’
On: Baptism
Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. There were added that day about three thousand souls.
On: Baptism
But when they believed Philip preaching good news concerning God’s Kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
On: Baptism
Common questions
How many times is baptism in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 0 of the 98 uses are in the Old Testament and 98 in the New Testament. Baptism appears in 11 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Acts has the most (27), then Matthew (15) and Mark (14).
Where is baptism first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Matthew 3:6: "And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins." The last is 1 Peter 3:21.
Read the full collection: Bible Verses About Baptism (20 Verses).
More word counts: resurrection, grief, anger, sleep, debt, tattoo, love, God, or all 107 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 2026-10-02.