How many times is feast mentioned in the Bible?
The word feast appears 123 times in the King James Version, in 109 verses. Counting every form (feast, feasts, feasting, feasted), it appears 163 times in 145 verses across 36 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses feast 135 times (179 with every form).
Feast in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of feast counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| feast | 123 | 135 |
| feasts | 32 | 35 |
| feasting | 7 | 9 |
| feasted | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 163 | 179 |
Which books mention feast most
Feast appears in 36 books of the 66 in the King James Version. John has the most (21), then Exodus (15) and 2 Chronicles (13).
Also in: Zechariah (4), Mark (4), Ezra (3), Nehemiah (3), Lamentations (3), 1 Samuel (2), Job (2), Psalms (2), Ecclesiastes (2), Jeremiah (2), Amos (2), 1 Corinthians (2), Jude (2), 2 Samuel (1), 1 Chronicles (1), Proverbs (1), Daniel (1), Nahum (1), Malachi (1), Acts (1), 2 Peter (1).
First and last mention of feast
And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.
These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
The verse that uses it most is 2 Chronicles 8:13, 4 times:
Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles.
Where the two translations differ
6 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 21 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Lamentations 1:4: counted in the KJV only
The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness.
The roads to Zion mourn, because no one comes to the solemn assembly. All her gates are desolate. Her priests sigh. Her virgins are afflicted, and she herself is in bitterness.
Lamentations 2:6: counted in the KJV only
And he hath violently taken away his tabernacle, as if it were of a garden: he hath destroyed his places of the assembly: the LORD hath caused the solemn feasts and sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion, and hath despised in the indignation of his anger the king and the priest.
He has violently taken away his tabernacle, as if it were of a garden. He has destroyed his place of assembly. Yahweh has caused solemn assembly and Sabbath to be forgotten in Zion. In the indignation of his anger, he has despised the king and the priest.
Exodus 23:18: counted in the World English Bible only
Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.
“You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread. The fat of my feast shall not remain all night until the morning.
Numbers 10:10: counted in the World English Bible only
Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD your God.
“Also in the day of your gladness, and in your set feasts, and in the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be to you for a memorial before your God. I am Yahweh your God.”
Verses with feast on our topic pages
6 verses that use feast in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
Better is a dry morsel with quietness, than a house full of feasting with strife.
On: Peace, Contentment
This day shall be to you for a memorial, and you shall keep it a feast to Yahweh: throughout your generations you shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever.
On: Communion
as the days in which the Jews had rest from their enemies, and the month which was turned to them from sorrow to gladness, and from mourning into a good day; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, and of sending presents of food to one another, and gifts to the needy.
On: Christmas
He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the ruler of the feast.” So they took it.
On: Alcohol
When the ruler of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and didn’t know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the ruler of the feast called the bridegroom,
On: Alcohol
Let no one therefore judge you in eating, or in drinking, or with respect to a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day,
Common questions
How many times is feast in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 120 of the 163 uses are in the Old Testament and 43 in the New Testament. Feast appears in 36 books of the 66 in the King James Version. John has the most (21), then Exodus (15) and 2 Chronicles (13).
Where is feast first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 19:3: "And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat." The last is Jude 1:12.
More word counts: Passover, sabbath, wine, word, husband, morning, kingdom, temperance, 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.