How many times is divorce mentioned in the Bible?
The word divorce appears 1 time in the King James Version, in 1 verses. Counting every form (divorce, divorced, divorcement), it appears 11 times in 11 verses across 7 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses divorce 13 times (23 with every form).
Divorce in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of divorce counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| divorce | 1 | 13 |
| divorced | 4 | 6 |
| divorcement | 6 | 0 |
| divorces | 0 | 4 |
| Total | 11 | 23 |
First and last mention of divorce
A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife.
And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.
Where the two translations differ
1 verse matches in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 9 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Matthew 5:32: counted in the KJV only
But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
but I tell you that whoever puts away his wife, except for the cause of sexual immorality, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries her when she is put away commits adultery.
Leviticus 21:7: counted in the World English Bible only
They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband: for he is holy unto his God.
“‘They shall not marry a woman who is a prostitute, or profane. They shall not marry a woman divorced from her husband; for he is holy to his God.
Malachi 2:16: counted in the World English Bible only
For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.
For I hate divorce”, says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with violence!” says Yahweh of Armies. “Therefore take heed to your spirit, that you don’t deal treacherously.
Verses with divorce on our topic pages
9 verses that use divorce in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
For I hate divorce”, says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with violence!” says Yahweh of Armies. “Therefore take heed to your spirit, that you don’t deal treacherously.
When a man takes a wife and marries her, then it shall be, if she finds no favor in his eyes, because he has found some unseemly thing in her, that he shall write her a bill of divorce, and put it in her hand, and send her out of his house.
On: Divorce
I saw when, for this very cause, that backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a bill of divorce, yet treacherous Judah, her sister, had no fear; but she also went and played the prostitute.
On: Divorce
“It was also said, ‘Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorce,’
On: Divorce
He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it has not been so.
On: Divorce
I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and he who marries her when she is divorced commits adultery.”
On: Divorce
He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife, and marries another, commits adultery against her.
On: Divorce
If a woman herself divorces her husband, and marries another, she commits adultery.”
On: Divorce
Everyone who divorces his wife, and marries another, commits adultery. He who marries one who is divorced from a husband commits adultery.
On: Divorce
Common questions
How many times is divorce in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 7 of the 11 uses are in the Old Testament and 4 in the New Testament. Divorce appears in 7 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Matthew has the most (3), then Leviticus (2) and Deuteronomy (2).
Where is divorce first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Leviticus 21:14: "A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife." The last is Mark 10:4.
Read the full collection: Bible Verses About Divorce (27 Verses).
More word counts: healing, strength, courage, pride, humility, sheep, lamb, thankful, 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.