How many times is mercy mentioned in the Bible?
The word mercy appears 276 times in the King James Version, in 261 verses. Counting every form (mercy, mercies, merciful), it appears 360 times in 336 verses across 45 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses mercy 152 times (218 with every form).
Mercy in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of mercy counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| mercy | 276 | 152 |
| mercies | 44 | 27 |
| merciful | 40 | 39 |
| Total | 360 | 218 |
Which books mention mercy most
Mercy appears in 45 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Psalms has the most (135), then Exodus (24) and Isaiah (17).
Also in: 1 Chronicles (5), Daniel (5), James (5), Zechariah (4), Hebrews (4), Numbers (3), 1 Kings (3), Ezra (3), Micah (3), 1 Timothy (3), 2 Timothy (3), 1 Peter (3), Lamentations (2), Jonah (2), Mark (2), 2 Corinthians (2), Philippians (2), Titus (2), Jude (2), Judges (1), Job (1), Ezekiel (1), Joel (1), Habakkuk (1), Acts (1), 1 Corinthians (1), Galatians (1), Ephesians (1), Colossians (1), 2 John (1).
First and last mention of mercy
And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.
Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
The verse that uses it most is James 2:13, 3 times:
For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
Where the two translations differ
156 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 16 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Genesis 19:19: counted in the KJV only
Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:
See now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your loving kindness, which you have shown to me in saving my life. I can’t escape to the mountain, lest evil overtake me, and I die.
Genesis 24:27: counted in the KJV only
And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master’s brethren.
He said, “Blessed be Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his loving kindness and his truth toward my master. As for me, Yahweh has led me on the way to the house of my master’s relatives.”
Psalm 78:38: counted in the World English Bible only
But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.
But he, being merciful, forgave iniquity, and didn’t destroy them. Yes, many times he turned his anger away, and didn’t stir up all his wrath.
Psalm 111:4: counted in the World English Bible only
He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.
He has caused his wonderful works to be remembered. Yahweh is gracious and merciful.
Verses with mercy on our topic pages
36 verses that use mercy in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.
He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
On: Humility, Mercy, Justice, Judging Others
He who conceals his sins doesn’t prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
On: Mercy, Repentance, Letting Go, Sin
Therefore Yahweh will wait, that he may be gracious to you; and therefore he will be exalted, that he may have mercy on you, for Yahweh is a God of justice. Blessed are all those who wait for him.
But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us,
On: Love, Grace, Mercy, God's Love
Yahweh is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness.
On: Forgiveness, Anger, Mercy
The merciful man does good to his own soul, but he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.
not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,
Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace for help in time of need.
For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
On: Mercy, Revenge, Judging Others
Common questions
How many times is mercy in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 290 of the 360 uses are in the Old Testament and 70 in the New Testament. Mercy appears in 45 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Psalms has the most (135), then Exodus (24) and Isaiah (17).
Where is mercy first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 19:16: "And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city." The last is Jude 1:21.
Read the full collection: Bible Verses About Mercy (29 Verses).
More word counts: glory, truth, righteousness, salvation, repent, kingdom of God, kingdom of heaven, eternal life, 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.