How many times is heathen mentioned in the Bible?
The word heathen appears 150 times in the King James Version, in 145 verses. It is found in 26 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses heathen 1 time.
The World English Bible almost never says heathen. Where the KJV has heathen it usually says nations, and in five New Testament verses (such as Matthew 6:7 and Galatians 1:16) Gentiles. Its one use of heathen is 1 Corinthians 12:2, so its count is 1.
Heathen in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of heathen counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| heathen | 150 | 1 |
| Total | 150 | 1 |
Which books mention heathen most
Heathen appears in 26 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Ezekiel has the most (46), then Psalms (38) and Jeremiah (7).
Also in: Malachi (2), Matthew (2), Deuteronomy (1), Ezra (1), Isaiah (1), Amos (1), Micah (1), Zephaniah (1), Haggai (1), Acts (1), 2 Corinthians (1).
First and last mention of heathen
Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.
And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
The verse that uses it most is Psalm 79:10, 2 times (tied with Jeremiah 10:2, Ezekiel 36:23, Ezekiel 39:21, Joel 3:12):
Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed.
Where the two translations differ
145 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 1 verse matches only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Leviticus 25:44: counted in the KJV only
Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.
“‘As for your male and your female slaves, whom you may have; of the nations that are around you, from them you may buy male and female slaves.
Leviticus 26:33: counted in the KJV only
And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.
I will scatter you among the nations, and I will draw out the sword after you. Your land will be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste.
1 Corinthians 12:2: counted in the World English Bible only
Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.
You know that when you were heathen, you were led away to those mute idols, however you might be led.
Common questions
How many times is heathen in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 143 of the 150 uses are in the Old Testament and 7 in the New Testament. Heathen appears in 26 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Ezekiel has the most (46), then Psalms (38) and Jeremiah (7).
Where is heathen first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Leviticus 25:44: "Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids." The last is Galatians 3:8.
More word counts: feet, ashes, sickness, Kohath, curse, life, eyes, garden, 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.