How many times is love mentioned in the Bible?
The word love appears 310 times in the King James Version, in 280 verses. Counting every form (love, loves, loved, loving, loveth, lovest, lovedst), it appears 492 times in 415 verses across 54 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses love 353 times (537 with every form).
The World English Bible's loving kindness, its word for the Hebrew hesed, is left out of these counts: the KJV prints it as one word, lovingkindness, so counting it would compare different things.
Love in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of love counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| love | 310 | 353 |
| loves | 2 | 71 |
| loved | 98 | 95 |
| loving | 3 | 18 |
| loveth | 65 | not counted |
| lovest | 12 | not counted |
| lovedst | 2 | not counted |
| Total | 492 | 537 |
Which books mention love most
Love appears in 54 books of the 66 in the King James Version. John has the most (57), then 1 John (46) and Psalms (41).
Also in: 2 Samuel (8), Jeremiah (8), Mark (7), Ecclesiastes (6), 1 Thessalonians (6), 1 Peter (6), Revelation (6), 2 Chronicles (5), Ezekiel (5), 1 Corinthians (5), Galatians (5), Hebrews (5), Judges (4), 1 Kings (4), Malachi (4), Philippians (4), Colossians (4), 2 Timothy (4), Titus (4), 2 John (4), 2 Thessalonians (3), 1 Timothy (3), James (3), Exodus (2), Leviticus (2), Joshua (2), Daniel (2), Micah (2), Zechariah (2), Philemon (2), 3 John (2), Jude (2), Ruth (1), Nehemiah (1), Esther (1), Job (1), Amos (1), Zephaniah (1), 2 Peter (1).
First and last mention of love
And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
The verse that uses it most is Luke 6:32, 4 times (tied with John 14:21):
For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.
Where the two translations differ
8 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 50 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Proverbs 16:13: counted in the KJV only
Righteous lips are the delight of kings; and they love him that speaketh right.
Righteous lips are the delight of kings. They value one who speaks the truth.
Ezekiel 23:11: counted in the KJV only
And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms.
“Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was more corrupt in her lusting than she, and in her prostitution which was more depraved than the prostitution of her sister.
Genesis 32:10: counted in the World English Bible only
I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.
I am not worthy of the least of all the loving kindnesses, and of all the truth, which you have shown to your servant; for with just my staff I crossed over this Jordan; and now I have become two companies.
Deuteronomy 28:54: counted in the World English Bible only
So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave:
The man who is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye will be evil toward his brother, toward the wife whom he loves, and toward the remnant of his children whom he has remaining;
Verses with love on our topic pages
130 verses that use love in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Yahweh, your God, is among you, a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with joy. He will calm you in his love. He will rejoice over you with singing.
Love is patient and is kind; love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud,
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith,
It is because of Yahweh’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn’t fail.
On: Love, Hope, Depression, Mercy
But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
On: Love, Forgiveness, Salvation, Grace
And above all things be earnest in your love among yourselves, for love covers a multitude of sins.
On: Love, Marriage, Kindness, Friendship
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
On: Love, Family, Friendship, God's Love
nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from God’s love, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
On: Love, Depression, Loneliness, Death
But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you,
On: Love, Prayer, Persecution, Enemies
For you, brothers, were called for freedom. Only don’t use your freedom for gain to the flesh, but through love be servants to one another.
But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us,
On: Love, Grace, Mercy, God's Love
Common questions
How many times is love in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 238 of the 492 uses are in the Old Testament and 254 in the New Testament. Love appears in 54 books of the 66 in the King James Version. John has the most (57), then 1 John (46) and Psalms (41).
Where is love first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 22:2: "And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." The last is Revelation 22:15.
Read the full collection: Bible Verses About Love (43 Verses).
More word counts: God, Jesus, Christ, Lord, Holy Spirit, faith, hope, grace, 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.