How many times is "eternal life" in the Bible?
The phrase "eternal life" appears 41 times in the King James Version, in 41 verses (eternal life 26, everlasting life 11, life eternal 4). The World English Bible has it 45 times (eternal life 44, everlasting life 1).
Eternal life in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of eternal life counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| eternal life | 26 | 44 |
| everlasting life | 11 | 1 |
| life eternal | 4 | not counted |
| Total | 41 | 45 |
First and last mention of eternal life
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
Where the two translations differ
0 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 4 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Luke 18:30: counted in the World English Bible only
Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.
who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the world to come, eternal life.”
John 12:50: counted in the World English Bible only
And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.
I know that his commandment is eternal life. The things therefore which I speak, even as the Father has said to me, so I speak.”
Verses with eternal life on our topic pages
20 verses that use eternal life in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
On: Resurrection, Eternal Life
These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
On: Hell, Eternal Life
“Most certainly I tell you, he who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
On: Salvation, Eternal Life
I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
On: Salvation, Eternal Life
in hope of eternal life, which God, who can’t lie, promised before time began;
On: Eternal Life, Truth
that being justified by his grace, we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
On: Hope, Eternal Life
but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst again; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
On: Eternal Life
Most certainly, I tell you, he who believes in me has eternal life.
On: Eternal Life
This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
On: Eternal Life
The testimony is this, that God gave to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
On: Eternal Life
Common questions
How many times is eternal life in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 1 of the 41 uses are in the Old Testament and 40 in the New Testament. Eternal life appears in 11 books of the 66 in the King James Version. John has the most (16), then 1 John (6) and Romans (4).
Where is eternal life first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Daniel 12:2: "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." The last is Jude 1:21.
Read the full collection: Bible Verses About Eternal Life (18 Verses).
More word counts: Son of Man, rest, patience, obey, worship, praise, sabbath, tithe, 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.