How many times is forgiveness mentioned in the Bible?
The word forgiveness appears 7 times in the King James Version, in 7 verses. Counting every form (forgiveness, forgive, forgiven, forgave, forgiveth, forgiving), it appears 120 times in 102 verses across 24 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses forgiveness 7 times (129 with every form).
Forgiveness in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of forgiveness counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| forgiveness | 7 | 7 |
| forgive | 56 | 60 |
| forgiven | 42 | 47 |
| forgave | 9 | 9 |
| forgiveth | 2 | 0 |
| forgiving | 4 | 4 |
| forgives | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 120 | 129 |
Which books mention forgiveness most
Forgiveness appears in 24 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Luke has the most (19), then Matthew (17) and Mark (11).
Also in: Isaiah (2), 1 John (2), Deuteronomy (1), Joshua (1), 1 Samuel (1), Daniel (1), Amos (1), Romans (1), James (1).
First and last mention of forgiveness
So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.
I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.
The verse that uses it most is 2 Corinthians 2:10, 5 times:
To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ;
Where the two translations differ
4 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 13 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Luke 6:37: counted in the KJV only
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
Don’t judge, and you won’t be judged. Don’t condemn, and you won’t be condemned. Set free, and you will be set free.
Acts 5:31: counted in the KJV only
Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
God exalted him with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins.
Psalm 19:12: counted in the World English Bible only
Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.
Who can discern his errors? Forgive me from hidden errors.
Psalm 32:5: counted in the World English Bible only
I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
I acknowledged my sin to you. I didn’t hide my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to Yahweh, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
Verses with forgiveness on our topic pages
23 verses that use forgiveness in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
On: Forgiveness, Prayer, Divorce, Repentance
And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you.
On: Forgiveness, Kindness, Divorce, Bitterness
Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.
On: Forgiveness, Prayer, Debt
“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
On: Forgiveness, Revenge, Bitterness
But if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
On: Forgiveness, Revenge, Bitterness
Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father, who is in heaven, may also forgive you your transgressions.
On: Forgiveness, Revenge, Bitterness
in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
On: Forgiveness, Blessings, Grace
bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do.
Blessed is he whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
On: Forgiveness, Blessings
who forgives all your sins; who heals all your diseases;
On: Healing, Forgiveness
Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?”
On: Forgiveness, Mercy
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Dividing his garments among them, they cast lots.
On: Forgiveness, Revenge
Common questions
How many times is forgiveness in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 51 of the 120 uses are in the Old Testament and 69 in the New Testament. Forgiveness appears in 24 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Luke has the most (19), then Matthew (17) and Mark (11).
Where is forgiveness first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 50:17: "So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him." The last is 1 John 2:12.
Read the full collection: Bible Verses About Forgiveness (21 Verses).
More word counts: worry, anxious, sin, Israel, David, Moses, Abraham, Mary, 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.