How many times is disease mentioned in the Bible?
The word disease appears 15 times in the King James Version, in 14 verses. Counting every form (disease, diseases, diseased), it appears 36 times in 34 verses across 14 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses disease 13 times (32 with every form).
Disease in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of disease counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| disease | 15 | 13 |
| diseases | 13 | 15 |
| diseased | 8 | 4 |
| Total | 36 | 32 |
Which books mention disease most
Disease appears in 14 books of the 66 in the King James Version. 2 Chronicles has the most (7), then Matthew (6) and 2 Kings (3).
First and last mention of disease
And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.
So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed:
The verse that uses it most is 2 Chronicles 16:12, 3 times:
And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians.
Where the two translations differ
10 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 6 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
2 Kings 1:2: counted in the KJV only
And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease.
Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper room that was in Samaria, and was sick. So he sent messengers, and said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover of this sickness.”
2 Kings 8:8: counted in the KJV only
And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thine hand, and go, meet the man of God, and enquire of the LORD by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?
The king said to Hazael, “Take a present in your hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of Yahweh by him, saying, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”
Leviticus 21:20: counted in the World English Bible only
Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken;
or hunchbacked, or a dwarf, or one who has a defect in his eye, or an itching disease, or scabs, or who has damaged testicles.
Isaiah 53:3: counted in the World English Bible only
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
He was despised, and rejected by men; a man of suffering, and acquainted with disease. He was despised as one from whom men hide their face; and we didn’t respect him.
Verses with disease on our topic pages
8 verses that use disease in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
who forgives all your sins; who heals all your diseases;
On: Healing, Forgiveness, Stress, Bible Verses for a Birthday
and he said, “If you will diligently listen to Yahweh your God’s voice, and will do that which is right in his eyes, and will pay attention to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you, which I have put on the Egyptians; for I am Yahweh who heals you.”
On: Healing
He was despised, and rejected by men; a man of suffering, and acquainted with disease. He was despised as one from whom men hide their face; and we didn’t respect him.
On: Suffering
Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.
On: Healing
The report about him went out into all Syria. They brought to him all who were sick, afflicted with various diseases and torments, possessed with demons, epileptics, and paralytics; and he healed them.
On: Mental Health
Jesus went about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.
On: Healing
He called to himself his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness.
On: Demons
He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be cured of your disease.”
On: Healing
Common questions
How many times is disease in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 21 of the 36 uses are in the Old Testament and 15 in the New Testament. Disease appears in 14 books of the 66 in the King James Version. 2 Chronicles has the most (7), then Matthew (6) and 2 Kings (3).
Where is disease first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Exodus 15:26: "And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee." The last is Acts 28:9.
More word counts: Shushan, Lachish, Ziklag, Arabia, wind, dust, lips, physician, 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.