How many times is idol mentioned in the Bible?
The word idol appears 15 times in the King James Version, in 12 verses. Counting every form (idol, idols), it appears 116 times in 105 verses across 22 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses idol 12 times (119 with every form).
Idol in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of idol counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| idol | 15 | 12 |
| idols | 101 | 107 |
| Total | 116 | 119 |
Which books mention idol most
Idol appears in 22 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Ezekiel has the most (39), then Isaiah (16) and 1 Corinthians (10).
Also in: 1 Samuel (1), Micah (1), Habakkuk (1), Romans (1), 2 Corinthians (1), 1 Thessalonians (1), 1 John (1).
First and last mention of idol
Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.
And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
The verse that uses it most is 1 Kings 15:13, 2 times (tied with 2 Chronicles 15:16, Isaiah 2:20, Isaiah 10:11, Isaiah 31:7, Ezekiel 6:13 and 5 more):
And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron.
Where the two translations differ
8 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 13 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
1 Kings 15:13: counted in the KJV only
And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron.
He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah. Asa cut down her image and burned it at the brook Kidron.
2 Chronicles 15:8: counted in the KJV only
And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD.
When Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominations out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from the hill country of Ephraim; and he renewed Yahweh’s altar that was before Yahweh’s porch.
Exodus 20:4: counted in the World English Bible only
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
“You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Exodus 34:17: counted in the World English Bible only
Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.
“You shall make no cast idols for yourselves.
Verses with idol on our topic pages
7 verses that use idol in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
“You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
On: Idolatry
“‘Don’t turn to idols, nor make molten gods for yourselves. I am Yahweh your God.
On: Idolatry
“What value does the engraved image have, that its maker has engraved it; the molten image, even the teacher of lies, that he who fashions its form trusts in it, to make mute idols?
On: Idolatry
Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
On: Idolatry
but that we write to them that they abstain from the pollution of idols, from sexual immorality, from what is strangled, and from blood.
that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality, from which if you keep yourselves, it will be well with you. Farewell.”
Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that no idol is anything in the world, and that there is no other God but one.
Common questions
How many times is idol in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 95 of the 116 uses are in the Old Testament and 21 in the New Testament. Idol appears in 22 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Ezekiel has the most (39), then Isaiah (16) and 1 Corinthians (10).
Where is idol first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Leviticus 19:4: "Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God." The last is Revelation 9:20.
Read the full collection: Bible Verses About Idolatry (19 Verses).
More word counts: apostle, disciple, elder, gospel, parable, demon, judgment, wrath, or all 253 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 2026-10-05.