How many times is fruit mentioned in the Bible?
The word fruit appears 208 times in the King James Version, in 184 verses. Counting every form (fruit, fruits, fruitful), it appears 286 times in 254 verses across 45 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses fruit 214 times (317 with every form).
Fruit in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of fruit counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| fruit | 208 | 214 |
| fruits | 43 | 63 |
| fruitful | 35 | 40 |
| Total | 286 | 317 |
Which books mention fruit most
Fruit appears in 45 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Deuteronomy has the most (25), then Genesis (24) and Isaiah (23).
Also in: Romans (6), Exodus (5), Nehemiah (4), Micah (4), James (4), Numbers (3), 2 Samuel (3), 2 Kings (3), Daniel (3), Malachi (3), Philippians (3), Revelation (3), Lamentations (2), Acts (2), Colossians (2), Hebrews (2), Jude (2), Joshua (1), Judges (1), Job (1), Ecclesiastes (1), Joel (1), Habakkuk (1), Haggai (1), Zechariah (1), 1 Corinthians (1), 2 Corinthians (1), Galatians (1), Ephesians (1), 2 Timothy (1).
First and last mention of fruit
And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
The verse that uses it most is Deuteronomy 28:4, 3 times (tied with Deuteronomy 28:11, Deuteronomy 30:9, Ezekiel 47:12, Matthew 12:33, John 15:2):
Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
Where the two translations differ
18 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 48 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Exodus 21:22: counted in the KJV only
If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman’s husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.
“If men fight and hurt a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely, and yet no harm follows, he shall be surely fined as much as the woman’s husband demands and the judges allow.
Exodus 22:29: counted in the KJV only
Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.
“You shall not delay to offer from your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. “You shall give the firstborn of your sons to me.
Genesis 3:12: counted in the World English Bible only
And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
Genesis 47:27: counted in the World English Bible only
And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.
Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen; and they got themselves possessions therein, and were fruitful, and multiplied exceedingly.
Verses with fruit on our topic pages
32 verses that use fruit in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith,
Honor Yahweh with your substance, with the first fruits of all your increase:
On: Provision, Money, Tithing, Leadership
Behold, children are a heritage of Yahweh. The fruit of the womb is his reward.
On: Family, Children, Mothers, What Does the Bible Say About Abortion? 25 Verses
God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
He will be like a tree planted by the streams of water, that produces its fruit in its season, whose leaf also does not wither. Whatever he does shall prosper.
On: Blessings, What Does the Bible Say About Meditation? 29 Verses, Success
Death and life are in the power of the tongue; those who love it will eat its fruit.
On: Gossip, Self Control, What Does the Bible Say About Cussing and Swearing? 26 Verses
You didn’t choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatever you will ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
Now may he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, supply and multiply your seed for sowing, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;
On: Provision, Giving, Generosity
But if I live on in the flesh, this will bring fruit from my work; yet I don’t know what I will choose.
On: What Does the Bible Say About Ghosts? 25 Verses, What Does the Bible Say About Reincarnation? 26 Verses, Purgatory
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
Your wife will be as a fruitful vine, in the innermost parts of your house; your children like olive plants, around your table.
But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first fruits of those who are asleep.
On: Easter, Resurrection
Common questions
How many times is fruit in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 202 of the 286 uses are in the Old Testament and 84 in the New Testament. Fruit appears in 45 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Deuteronomy has the most (25), then Genesis (24) and Isaiah (23).
Where is fruit first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 1:11: "And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so." The last is Revelation 22:2.
More word counts: charity, pestilence, Dathan, Jezreel, lily, harlot, Gehazi, Megiddo, or all 635 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 2026-10-24.