How many times is debt mentioned in the Bible?
The word debt appears 7 times in the King James Version, in 7 verses. Counting every form (debt, debts, debtor, debtors), it appears 18 times in 17 verses across 9 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses debt 5 times (18 with every form).
Debt in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of debt counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| debt | 7 | 5 |
| debts | 2 | 3 |
| debtor | 4 | 4 |
| debtors | 5 | 6 |
| Total | 18 | 18 |
First and last mention of debt
And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.
For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
The verse that uses it most is Matthew 6:12, 2 times:
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Where the two translations differ
3 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 3 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Matthew 18:30: counted in the KJV only
And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
He would not, but went and cast him into prison, until he should pay back that which was due.
Matthew 23:16: counted in the KJV only
Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!
“Woe to you, you blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated.’
Deuteronomy 15:1: counted in the World English Bible only
At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release.
At the end of every seven years, you shall cancel debts.
Isaiah 24:2: counted in the World English Bible only
And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him.
It will be as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the creditor, so with the debtor; as with the taker of interest, so with the giver of interest.
Verses with debt on our topic pages
5 verses that use debt in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.
On: Forgiveness, Prayer, Debt
Don’t you be one of those who strike hands, of those who are collateral for debts.
On: Friendship, Debt
At the end of every seven years, you shall cancel debts.
On: Debt
Then she came and told the man of God. He said, “Go, sell the oil, and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”
On: Debt
The lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
On: Debt
Common questions
How many times is debt in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 5 of the 18 uses are in the Old Testament and 13 in the New Testament. Debt appears in 9 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Matthew has the most (6), then Romans (4) and Luke (2).
Where is debt first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is 1 Samuel 22:2: "And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men." The last is Galatians 5:3.
Read the full collection: Bible Verses About Debt (33 Verses).
More word counts: tattoo, love, God, Jesus, Christ, Lord, Holy Spirit, faith, 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.