How many times is Belial mentioned in the Bible?
The word Belial appears 17 times in the King James Version, in 16 verses. It is found in 7 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses Belial 1 time.
Belial in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of Belial counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| Belial | 17 | 1 |
| Total | 17 | 1 |
What the name Belial means
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Belial as "wicked, worthless".
This is the 1869 traditional meaning; modern scholars often read names differently.
See every name and place with its meaning and count on Bible names and their meanings.
Source: Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary (1869), checked 2026-10-22.
Which books mention Belial most
Belial appears in 7 books of the 66 in the King James Version. 1 Samuel has the most (6), then 2 Samuel (3) and 1 Kings (3).
First and last mention of Belial
Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;
And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
The verse that uses it most is 1 Kings 21:13, 2 times:
And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.
Where the two translations differ
15 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 0 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Deuteronomy 13:13: counted in the KJV only
Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;
certain wicked fellows have gone out from among you, and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods,” which you have not known;
Judges 19:22: counted in the KJV only
Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him.
As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain wicked fellows, surrounded the house, beating at the door; and they spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came into your house, that we can have sex with him!”
Common questions
How many times is Belial in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 16 of the 17 uses are in the Old Testament and 1 in the New Testament. Belial appears in 7 books of the 66 in the King James Version. 1 Samuel has the most (6), then 2 Samuel (3) and 1 Kings (3).
Where is Belial first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Deuteronomy 13:13: "Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;" The last is 2 Corinthians 6:15.
What does the name Belial mean in the Bible?
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary glosses Belial as "wicked, worthless".
More word counts: Beelzebub, Lucifer, Moab, Assyria, Hebron, Lebanon, Bethel, Shechem, or all 484 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 2026-10-22.