How many times is fire mentioned in the Bible?
The word fire appears 549 times in the King James Version, in 506 verses. Counting every form (fire, fires), it appears 550 times in 507 verses across 47 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses fire 544 times (548 with every form).
Fire in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of fire counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| fire | 549 | 544 |
| fires | 1 | 4 |
| Total | 550 | 548 |
Which books mention fire most
Fire appears in 47 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Leviticus has the most (74), then Ezekiel (53) and Jeremiah (42).
Also in: Mark (9), Job (8), Daniel (8), Luke (8), Zechariah (7), 2 Samuel (6), 2 Chronicles (6), Nehemiah (6), Proverbs (6), Acts (6), Joel (5), James (5), 1 Samuel (4), Lamentations (4), Hebrews (4), Genesis (3), Nahum (3), John (3), 1 Corinthians (3), 1 Chronicles (2), Hosea (2), Micah (2), Zephaniah (2), Malachi (2), 2 Peter (2), Jude (2), Song of Solomon (1), Obadiah (1), Habakkuk (1), Romans (1), 2 Thessalonians (1), 1 Peter (1).
First and last mention of fire
Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
The verse that uses it most is Numbers 31:23, 3 times (tied with 1 Kings 19:12, Ezekiel 1:13, Ezekiel 5:4, James 3:6):
Every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean: nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go through the water.
Where the two translations differ
18 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 17 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Exodus 9:23: counted in the KJV only
And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.
Moses stretched out his rod toward the heavens, and Yahweh sent thunder, hail, and lightning flashed down to the earth. Yahweh rained hail on the land of Egypt.
Exodus 9:24: counted in the KJV only
So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
So there was very severe hail, and lightning mixed with the hail, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
Exodus 27:3: counted in the World English Bible only
And thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes, and his shovels, and his basons, and his fleshhooks, and his firepans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass.
You shall make its pots to take away its ashes, its shovels, its basins, its meat hooks, and its fire pans: all its vessels you shall make of brass.
Exodus 38:3: counted in the World English Bible only
And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basons, and the fleshhooks, and the firepans: all the vessels thereof made he of brass.
He made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, the shovels, the basins, the forks, and the fire pans. He made all its vessels of brass.
Verses with fire on our topic pages
31 verses that use fire in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, and flame will not scorch you.
On: Protection, Worry, Suffering, Loneliness
Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm; for love is strong as death. Jealousy is as cruel as Sheol. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a very flame of Yahweh.
On: Love, Marriage, Jealousy, What Does the Bible Say About Sex Before Marriage? 26 Verses
But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
On: Idolatry, What Does the Bible Say About Lying? 28 Verses, What Does the Bible Say About Halloween? 24 Verses, What Does the Bible Say About Witchcraft? 25 Verses
There shall not be found with you anyone who makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices sorcery, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer,
On: What Does the Bible Say About Halloween? 24 Verses, What Does the Bible Say About Ghosts? 25 Verses, What Does the Bible Say About Witchcraft? 25 Verses
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow, and shatters the spear. He burns the chariots in the fire.
On: Peace, Fear, What Does the Bible Say About War? 27 Verses
Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing so, you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
On: Persecution, Enemies, What Does the Bible Say About War? 27 Verses
But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be in danger of the judgment; and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ will be in danger of the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of Gehenna.
Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels;
The natives showed us uncommon kindness; for they kindled a fire, and received us all, because of the present rain, and because of the cold.
On: Kindness, Hospitality
The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are also. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Be very careful, for you saw no kind of form on the day that Yahweh spoke to you in Horeb out of the middle of the fire,
On: Idolatry
Elisha prayed, and said, “Yahweh, please open his eyes, that he may see.” Yahweh opened the young man’s eyes; and he saw: and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire around Elisha.
On: Angels
Common questions
How many times is fire in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 467 of the 550 uses are in the Old Testament and 83 in the New Testament. Fire appears in 47 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Leviticus has the most (74), then Ezekiel (53) and Jeremiah (42).
Where is fire first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 19:24: "Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;" The last is Revelation 21:8.
More word counts: sword, king, priest, wife, wicked, mountain, tree, vine, or all 253 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 2026-10-05.