How many times is curse mentioned in the Bible?
The word curse appears 101 times in the King James Version, in 92 verses. Counting every form (curse, curses, cursed, cursing, cursings, curseth, cursest, cursedst), it appears 207 times in 181 verses across 34 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses curse 106 times (208 with every form).
Cursed is counted with curse, as in Genesis 3:17, "cursed is the ground for thy sake". Accursed is a different word and is not counted. The World English Bible has no curseth, cursest or cursedst; its curses and cursed cover those verses.
Curse in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of curse counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| curse | 101 | 106 |
| curses | 8 | 18 |
| cursed | 72 | 74 |
| cursing | 12 | 10 |
| cursings | 1 | 0 |
| curseth | 10 | 0 |
| cursest | 1 | 0 |
| cursedst | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 207 | 208 |
Which books mention curse most
Curse appears in 34 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Deuteronomy has the most (37), then Numbers (26) and Jeremiah (17).
Also in: Nehemiah (4), Ecclesiastes (4), Matthew (4), 2 Kings (3), Mark (3), Exodus (2), 1 Kings (2), Zechariah (2), Acts (2), Romans (2), James (2), 2 Chronicles (1), Lamentations (1), Daniel (1), Luke (1), John (1), Hebrews (1), 2 Peter (1), Revelation (1).
First and last mention of curse
And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
The verse that uses it most is Numbers 22:6, 3 times (tied with Malachi 2:2, Galatians 3:13):
Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.
Where the two translations differ
12 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 14 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Deuteronomy 7:26: counted in the KJV only
Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.
You shall not bring an abomination into your house, and become a devoted thing like it. You shall utterly detest it, and you shall utterly abhor it; for it is a devoted thing.
Deuteronomy 13:17: counted in the KJV only
And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and shew thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers;
Nothing of the devoted thing shall cling to your hand, that Yahweh may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and show you mercy, and have compassion on you, and multiply you, as he has sworn to your fathers;
1 Samuel 2:30: counted in the World English Bible only
Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
“Therefore Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘I said indeed that your house, and the house of your father, should walk before me forever.’ But now Yahweh says, ‘Far be it from me; for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me will be cursed.
1 Samuel 3:13: counted in the World English Bible only
For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.
For I have told him that I will judge his house forever, for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves, and he didn’t restrain them.
Verses with curse on our topic pages
20 verses that use curse in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you,
On: Love, Prayer, Persecution, Enemies
One who gives to the poor has no lack; but one who closes his eyes will have many curses.
On: Giving, Generosity
Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels;
The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name, and cursed; and they brought him to Moses. His mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.
On: Blasphemy
“Bring out of the camp him who cursed; and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him.
On: Blasphemy
You shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin.
On: Blasphemy
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore choose life, that you may live, you and your descendants;
For the sin of their mouth, and the words of their lips, let them be caught in their pride, for the curses and lies which they utter.
On: Pride
He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous”; peoples will curse him, and nations will abhor him—
On: Justice
Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, and those who dwell therein are found guilty. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.
On: Nature
There is cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break boundaries, and bloodshed causes bloodshed.
Common questions
How many times is curse in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 184 of the 207 uses are in the Old Testament and 23 in the New Testament. Curse appears in 34 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Deuteronomy has the most (37), then Numbers (26) and Jeremiah (17).
Where is curse first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 3:14: "And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:" The last is Revelation 22:3.
More word counts: life, eyes, garden, sea, youth, Joram, Hazor, Hivites, 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.