How many times is city mentioned in the Bible?
The word city appears 868 times in the King James Version, in 777 verses. Counting every form (city, cities), it appears 1,316 times in 1,145 verses across 50 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses city 846 times (1,294 with every form).
City in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of city counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| city | 868 | 846 |
| cities | 448 | 447 |
| city's | not counted | 1 |
| Total | 1,316 | 1,294 |
Which books mention city most
City appears in 50 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Joshua has the most (160), then Jeremiah (140) and 2 Chronicles (87).
Also in: 1 Samuel (35), Revelation (29), Matthew (27), Nehemiah (21), Psalms (21), Ezra (15), Leviticus (14), Proverbs (13), Amos (11), Esther (10), Zechariah (10), Mark (9), Jonah (8), John (8), Lamentations (7), Daniel (6), Hosea (6), Ruth (5), Ecclesiastes (5), Micah (5), Job (4), Zephaniah (4), Hebrews (4), Exodus (3), Song of Solomon (3), Habakkuk (3), 2 Corinthians (2), Joel (1), Obadiah (1), Nahum (1), Romans (1), Titus (1), James (1), 2 Peter (1), Jude (1).
First and last mention of city
And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.
And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
The verse that uses it most is Joshua 20:4, 4 times (tied with Jeremiah 32:44, Jeremiah 33:13):
And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.
Where the two translations differ
19 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 5 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Genesis 10:11: counted in the KJV only
Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,
Out of that land he went into Assyria, and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah,
Genesis 35:27: counted in the KJV only
And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.
Jacob came to Isaac his father, to Mamre, to Kiriath Arba (which is Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac lived as foreigners.
1 Samuel 16:4: counted in the World English Bible only
And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably?
Samuel did that which Yahweh spoke, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, “Do you come peaceably?”
2 Samuel 8:1: counted in the World English Bible only
And after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them: and David took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines.
After this, David struck the Philistines and subdued them; and David took the bridle of the mother city out of the hand of the Philistines.
Verses with city on our topic pages
28 verses that use city in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty; one who rules his spirit, than he who takes a city.
On: Patience, Anger, Self Control, What Does the Bible Say About Smoking? 24 Verses
Like a city that is broken down and without walls is a man whose spirit is without restraint.
On: Self Control, What Does the Bible Say About Gluttony? 26 Verses, What Does the Bible Say About Smoking? 24 Verses, What Does the Bible Say About Masturbation? 25 Verses
Unless Yahweh builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless Yahweh watches over the city, the watchman guards it in vain.
But there was a certain man, Simon by name, who used to practice sorcery in the city, and amazed the people of Samaria, making himself out to be some great one,
On: What Does the Bible Say About Witchcraft? 25 Verses, Psychics
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow let’s go into this city, and spend a year there, trade, and make a profit.”
So Yahweh scattered them abroad from there on the surface of all the earth. They stopped building the city.
On: What Does the Bible Say About Speaking in Tongues? 22 Verses
When you draw near to a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace to it.
They shall tell the elders of his city, “This our son is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey our voice. He is a glutton and a drunkard.”
Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. Saul had sent away those who had familiar spirits and the wizards out of the land.
Praise be to Yahweh, for he has shown me his marvelous loving kindness in a strong city.
On: Trust
There is a river, the streams of which make the city of God glad, the holy place of the tents of the Most High.
Shouldn’t I be concerned for Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred twenty thousand persons who can’t discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much livestock?”
On: Animals
Common questions
How many times is city in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 1,145 of the 1,316 uses are in the Old Testament and 171 in the New Testament. City appears in 50 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Joshua has the most (160), then Jeremiah (140) and 2 Chronicles (87).
Where is city first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 4:17: "And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch." The last is Revelation 22:19.
More word counts: sister, body, son, teeth, womb, disease, Shushan, Lachish, or all 635 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 2026-10-24.