How many times is locust mentioned in the Bible?
The word locust appears 11 times in the King James Version, in 9 verses. Counting every form (locust, locusts), it appears 28 times in 24 verses across 13 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses locust 16 times (36 with every form).
Locust in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of locust counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| locust | 11 | 16 |
| locusts | 17 | 20 |
| Total | 28 | 36 |
Which books mention locust most
Locust appears in 13 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Exodus has the most (7), then Psalms (3) and Joel (3).
First and last mention of locust
Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast:
And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
The verse that uses it most is Exodus 10:14, 2 times (tied with Exodus 10:19, Leviticus 11:22, Joel 1:4):
And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such.
Where the two translations differ
0 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 6 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Judges 6:5: counted in the World English Bible only
For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.
For they came up with their livestock and their tents. They came in as locusts for multitude. Both they and their camels were without number; and they came into the land to destroy it.
Judges 7:12: counted in the World English Bible only
And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude.
The Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like locusts for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand which is on the seashore for multitude.
Common questions
How many times is locust in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 24 of the 28 uses are in the Old Testament and 4 in the New Testament. Locust appears in 13 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Exodus has the most (7), then Psalms (3) and Joel (3).
Where is locust first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Exodus 10:4: "Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast:" The last is Revelation 9:7.
More word counts: soul, bride, widow, poor, riches, sun, moon, wilderness, 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.