How many times is harlot mentioned in the Bible?
The word harlot appears 40 times in the King James Version, in 38 verses. Counting every form (harlot, harlots, harlot's), it appears 50 times in 48 verses across 20 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses harlot 88 times (104 with every form).
The World English Bible says prostitute where the KJV says harlot, and also where the KJV says whore, whoredom or play the whore: of its 95 verses, 48 are KJV harlot verses and 42 are KJV whore verses. That is why its count is about double. The KJV's whore, whores and whoredom are different words and are not counted in either column.
Harlot in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of harlot counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| harlot | 40 | not counted |
| harlots | 8 | not counted |
| harlot's | 2 | not counted |
| prostitute | not counted | 88 |
| prostitutes | not counted | 14 |
| prostitute's | not counted | 2 |
| Total | 50 | 104 |
Which books mention harlot most
Harlot appears in 20 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Ezekiel has the most (9), then Genesis (6) and Jeremiah (5).
Also in: Nahum (1), Luke (1), Hebrews (1), James (1), Revelation (1).
First and last mention of harlot
And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?
And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
The verse that uses it most is Genesis 38:21, 2 times (tied with Micah 1:7):
Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place.
Where the two translations differ
0 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 47 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Exodus 34:15: counted in the World English Bible only
Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice;
“Don’t make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, lest they play the prostitute after their gods, and sacrifice to their gods, and one call you and you eat of his sacrifice;
Exodus 34:16: counted in the World English Bible only
And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods.
and you take of their daughters to your sons, and their daughters play the prostitute after their gods, and make your sons play the prostitute after their gods.
Verses with harlot on our topic pages
4 verses that use harlot in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
Or don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s Kingdom? Don’t be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexuals,
On: Lust, Idolatry, Sin, What Does the Bible Say About Sex Before Marriage? 26 Verses
“‘The person that turns to those who are mediums, and to the wizards, to play the prostitute after them, I will even set my face against that person, and will cut him off from among his people.
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, Psychics
I saw when, for this very cause, that backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a bill of divorce, yet treacherous Judah, her sister, had no fear; but she also went and played the prostitute.
On: Divorce, What Does the Bible Say About Adultery? 28 Verses
because of the multitude of the prostitution of the alluring prostitute, the mistress of witchcraft, who sells nations through her prostitution, and families through her witchcraft.
Common questions
How many times is harlot in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 42 of the 50 uses are in the Old Testament and 8 in the New Testament. Harlot appears in 20 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Ezekiel has the most (9), then Genesis (6) and Jeremiah (5).
Where is harlot first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 34:31: "And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?" The last is Revelation 17:5.
More word counts: Gehazi, Megiddo, Og, Azariah, Jehoiachin, inheritance, Shimei, Ahimelech, 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.