How many times is humility mentioned in the Bible?
The word humility appears 7 times in the King James Version, in 7 verses. Counting every form (humility, humble, humbled, humbleth, humbly), it appears 69 times in 63 verses across 25 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses humility 17 times (97 with every form).
Humility in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of humility counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| humility | 7 | 17 |
| humble | 25 | 45 |
| humbled | 28 | 33 |
| humbleth | 7 | 0 |
| humbly | 2 | 2 |
| Total | 69 | 97 |
Which books mention humility most
Humility appears in 25 books of the 66 in the King James Version. 2 Chronicles has the most (13), then Psalms (8) and Isaiah (7).
Also in: Judges (1), 2 Samuel (1), 2 Kings (1), Job (1), Lamentations (1), Daniel (1), Micah (1), Acts (1), 2 Corinthians (1), Philippians (1).
First and last mention of humility
And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me.
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
The verse that uses it most is 1 Kings 21:29, 2 times (tied with 2 Chronicles 12:7, 2 Chronicles 33:23, Isaiah 5:15, Isaiah 57:15, 1 Peter 5:5):
Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.
Where the two translations differ
13 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 39 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
2 Samuel 16:4: counted in the KJV only
Then said the king to Ziba, Behold, thine are all that pertained unto Mephibosheth. And Ziba said, I humbly beseech thee that I may find grace in thy sight, my lord, O king.
Then the king said to Ziba, “Behold, all that belongs to Mephibosheth is yours.” Ziba said, “I bow down. Let me find favor in your sight, my lord, O king.”
1 Kings 21:29: counted in the KJV only
Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.
“See how Ahab humbles himself before me? Because he humbles himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days; but I will bring the evil on his house in his son’s day.”
Genesis 34:2: counted in the World English Bible only
And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.
Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her. He took her, lay with her, and humbled her.
Genesis 43:28: counted in the World English Bible only
And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance.
They said, “Your servant, our father, is well. He is still alive.” They bowed down humbly.
Verses with humility on our topic pages
32 verses that use humility in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls.
doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself;
On: Humility, Jealousy, Pride, Leadership
He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
On: Humility, Mercy, Justice, Judging Others
Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance;
On: Kindness, Humility, Mercy, Friendship
with all lowliness and humility, with patience, bearing with one another in love;
On: Marriage, Patience, Humility, Relationships
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time;
On: Worry, Humility, God's Love, Modesty
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Likewise, you younger ones, be subject to the elder. Yes, all of you clothe yourselves with humility, to subject yourselves to one another; for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Common questions
How many times is humility in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 55 of the 69 uses are in the Old Testament and 14 in the New Testament. Humility appears in 25 books of the 66 in the King James Version. 2 Chronicles has the most (13), then Psalms (8) and Isaiah (7).
Where is humility first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Exodus 10:3: "And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me." The last is 1 Peter 5:6.
Read the full collection: Bible Verses About Humility (29 Verses).
More word counts: sheep, lamb, thankful, rejoice, blessed, Jerusalem, Egypt, church, 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.