How many times is hell mentioned in the Bible?
The word hell appears 54 times in the King James Version, in 54 verses. It is found in 17 of the 66 books. The World English Bible never uses the word hell; it has Sheol 65, Hades 11, Gehenna 12, Tartarus 1 instead.
The KJV uses hell for four different words in the original languages: Sheol (Hebrew), and Hades, Gehenna and Tartarus (Greek). The World English Bible keeps those four words as names, and its column counts each of them.
Hell in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of hell counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| hell | 54 | 0 |
| Sheol | not counted | 65 |
| Hades | not counted | 11 |
| Gehenna | not counted | 12 |
| Tartarus | not counted | 1 |
| Total | 54 | 89 |
First and last mention of hell
For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Where the two translations differ
0 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 33 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Genesis 37:35: counted in the World English Bible only
And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.
All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He said, “For I will go down to Sheol to my son mourning.” His father wept for him.
Genesis 42:38: counted in the World English Bible only
And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
He said, “My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he only is left. If harm happens to him along the way in which you go, then you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.”
Verses with hell on our topic pages
15 verses that use hell in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
I also tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my assembly, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.
On: Hell, Spiritual Warfare, Church
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.
For if God didn’t spare angels when they sinned, but cast them down to Tartarus, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;
You serpents, you offspring of vipers, how will you escape the judgment of Gehenna?
On: Hell
If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having your two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire,
On: Hell
But I will warn you whom you should fear. Fear him, who after he has killed, has power to cast into Gehenna. Yes, I tell you, fear him.
On: Hell
In Hades, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom.
On: Hell
Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
On: Hell
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.
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor plan, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, where you are going.
If I ascend up into heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there!
On: Heaven
Common questions
How many times is hell in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 31 of the 54 uses are in the Old Testament and 23 in the New Testament. Hell appears in 17 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Matthew has the most (9), then Psalms (7) and Proverbs (7).
Where is hell first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Deuteronomy 32:22: "For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains." The last is Revelation 20:14.
Read the full collection: Bible Verses About Hell (20 Verses).
More word counts: money, prayer, peace, joy, Satan, devil, angel, forgiveness, 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.