How many times is jealousy mentioned in the Bible?
The word jealousy appears 34 times in the King James Version, in 31 verses. Counting every form (jealousy, jealousies, jealous), it appears 54 times in 43 verses across 17 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses jealousy 46 times (69 with every form).
Jealousy in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of jealousy counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| jealousy | 34 | 46 |
| jealousies | 1 | 1 |
| jealous | 19 | 22 |
| Total | 54 | 69 |
Which books mention jealousy most
Jealousy appears in 17 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Numbers has the most (11), then Ezekiel (10) and Deuteronomy (7).
Also in: Nahum (1), 1 Corinthians (1).
First and last mention of jealousy
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
The verse that uses it most is Numbers 5:14, 4 times:
And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled:
Where the two translations differ
1 verse matches in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 14 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Isaiah 42:13: counted in the KJV only
The LORD shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.
Yahweh will go out like a mighty man. He will stir up zeal like a man of war. He will raise a war cry. Yes, he will shout aloud. He will triumph over his enemies.
Numbers 11:29: counted in the World English Bible only
And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD’S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!
Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all Yahweh’s people were prophets, that Yahweh would put his Spirit on them!”
Numbers 25:13: counted in the World English Bible only
And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.
It shall be to him, and to his offspring after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was jealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.’”
Verses with jealousy on our topic pages
14 verses that use jealousy in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies,
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.
On: Love, Marriage, Jealousy, What Does the Bible Say About Sex Before Marriage? 26 Verses
Let us walk properly, as in the day; not in reveling and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and lustful acts, and not in strife and jealousy.
For I am afraid that by any means, when I come, I might find you not the way I want to, and that I might be found by you as you don’t desire; that by any means there would be strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, whisperings, proud thoughts, riots;
But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t boast and don’t lie against the truth.
On: Jealousy, Bitterness
For where jealousy and selfish ambition are, there is confusion and every evil deed.
On: Jealousy, Bitterness
for you shall worship no other god: for Yahweh, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
On: Jealousy
and the spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is jealous of his wife, and she is defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is jealous of his wife, and she isn’t defiled:
On: Jealousy
For resentment kills the foolish man, and jealousy kills the simple.
On: Jealousy
For jealousy arouses the fury of the husband. He won’t spare in the day of vengeance.
On: Jealousy
Wrath is cruel, and anger is overwhelming; but who is able to stand before jealousy?
On: Jealousy
for you are still fleshly. For insofar as there is jealousy, strife, and factions among you, aren’t you fleshly, and don’t you walk in the ways of men?
On: Jealousy
Common questions
How many times is jealousy in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 49 of the 54 uses are in the Old Testament and 5 in the New Testament. Jealousy appears in 17 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Numbers has the most (11), then Ezekiel (10) and Deuteronomy (7).
Where is jealousy first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Exodus 20:5: "Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;" The last is 2 Corinthians 11:2.
Read the full collection: Bible Verses About Jealousy (32 Verses).
More word counts: Barak, Sennacherib, Achish, Medes, Gibeah, Kedar, Gerar, Joash, 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.