How many times is iron mentioned in the Bible?
The word iron appears 101 times in the King James Version, in 89 verses. Counting every form (iron, irons), it appears 102 times in 90 verses across 25 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses iron 99 times (101 with every form).
Iron in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of iron counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| iron | 101 | 99 |
| irons | 1 | 2 |
| Total | 102 | 101 |
Which books mention iron most
Iron appears in 25 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Daniel has the most (20), then Jeremiah (8) and Deuteronomy (7).
Also in: Proverbs (2), Genesis (1), Leviticus (1), 1 Samuel (1), 2 Kings (1), Ecclesiastes (1), Amos (1), Micah (1), Acts (1), 1 Timothy (1).
First and last mention of iron
And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.
And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
The verse that uses it most is Daniel 2:40, 3 times (tied with Daniel 2:41):
And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
Where the two translations differ
1 verse matches in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 0 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Ecclesiastes 10:10: counted in the KJV only
If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct.
If the ax is blunt, and one doesn’t sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength; but skill brings success.
Verses with iron on our topic pages
3 verses that use iron in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens his friend’s countenance.
Your bars will be iron and brass. As your days, so your strength will be.
His bones are like tubes of brass. His limbs are like bars of iron.
Common questions
How many times is iron in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 95 of the 102 uses are in the Old Testament and 7 in the New Testament. Iron appears in 25 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Daniel has the most (20), then Jeremiah (8) and Deuteronomy (7).
Where is iron first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 4:22: "And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah." The last is Revelation 19:15.
More word counts: weeping, rabbi, Ashkelon, enemy, brother, virgin, birth, mouth, 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.