How many times is earth mentioned in the Bible?
The word earth appears 987 times in the King James Version, in 906 verses. It is found in 52 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses earth 947 times (948 with every form).
Earthquake, earthen and earthly are different words and are not counted.
Earth in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of earth counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| earth | 987 | 947 |
| earth's | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 987 | 948 |
Which books mention earth most
Earth appears in 52 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Psalms has the most (141), then Genesis (121) and Isaiah (102).
Also in: Luke (17), 1 Kings (16), Proverbs (16), 1 Chronicles (13), Amos (12), 2 Chronicles (11), Ecclesiastes (11), Numbers (10), Leviticus (9), Joshua (9), Mark (9), Hebrews (8), Micah (7), 2 Kings (6), Judges (5), Lamentations (5), Hosea (5), Habakkuk (5), James (5), Zephaniah (4), John (4), 1 Corinthians (4), Ephesians (4), Colossians (4), 2 Peter (4), Joel (3), Haggai (3), Romans (3), Ezra (2), Nehemiah (2), Nahum (2), Philippians (2), Song of Solomon (1), Jonah (1), Malachi (1), 2 Timothy (1), 1 John (1).
First and last mention of earth
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
The verse that uses it most is Genesis 8:17, 3 times (tied with Isaiah 24:19, Jeremiah 22:29, Zechariah 6:7, Revelation 7:1):
Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.
Where the two translations differ
66 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 30 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Genesis 4:11: counted in the KJV only
And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;
Now you are cursed because of the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
Genesis 6:1: counted in the KJV only
And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
When men began to multiply on the surface of the ground, and daughters were born to them,
Genesis 18:2: counted in the World English Bible only
And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
He lifted up his eyes and looked, and saw that three men stood opposite him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the earth,
Genesis 19:1: counted in the World English Bible only
And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;
The two angels came to Sodom at evening. Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. Lot saw them, and rose up to meet them. He bowed himself with his face to the earth,
Verses with earth on our topic pages
119 verses that use earth in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
On: New Beginnings, Creation, What Does the Bible Say About Dinosaurs? 26 Verses
Before the mountains were born, before you had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.
On: Creation, What Does the Bible Say About Dinosaurs? 26 Verses, Time
For by him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and for him.
On: Creation, What Does the Bible Say About Dinosaurs? 26 Verses, Nature
The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.
On: Creation, Holy Spirit
God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
“Ah Lord Yahweh! Behold, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for you,
Woe to him who strives with his Maker— a clay pot among the clay pots of the earth! Shall the clay ask him who fashions it, ‘What are you making?’ or your work, ‘He has no hands?’
On: Creation
I heard every created thing which is in heaven, on the earth, under the earth, on the sea, and everything in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb be the blessing, the honor, the glory, and the dominion, forever and ever! Amen!”
On: Creation
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.”
“Don’t lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal;
On: Money, Contentment, Heaven, Christmas
Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: sexual immorality, uncleanness, depraved passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry;
On: Lust, Idolatry, Purity, What Does the Bible Say About Gambling? 25 Verses
Therefore we won’t be afraid, though the earth changes, though the mountains are shaken into the heart of the seas;
On: Protection, Fear, Hard Times, Change
Common questions
How many times is earth in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 795 of the 987 uses are in the Old Testament and 192 in the New Testament. Earth appears in 52 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Psalms has the most (141), then Genesis (121) and Isaiah (102).
Where is earth first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 1:1: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." The last is Revelation 21:24.
Read the full collection: Bible Verses About Creation (22 Verses).
More word counts: heaven, wealth, fatherless, bird, daughter, treasure, evil, world, or all 680 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 2026-10-26.