How many times is offering mentioned in the Bible?
The word offering appears 723 times in the King James Version, in 503 verses. Counting every form (offering, offerings), it appears 989 times in 637 verses across 33 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses offering 814 times (1,096 with every form).
Most uses are in Leviticus and Numbers, where the law sets out the sacrifices. Counting singular and plural, the KJV says burnt offering 270 times, meat offering 133 (meal offering in the World English Bible), sin offering 119, peace offering 87 and trespass offering 36.
Offering in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of offering counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| offering | 723 | 814 |
| offerings | 266 | 282 |
| Total | 989 | 1,096 |
Which books mention offering most
Offering appears in 33 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Leviticus has the most (293), then Numbers (274) and Ezekiel (64).
Also in: Joshua (11), Nehemiah (11), Judges (9), 2 Samuel (9), Hebrews (9), Malachi (8), Joel (6), Amos (5), Hosea (3), Job (2), Luke (2), Acts (2), Proverbs (1), Micah (1), Zephaniah (1), Mark (1), Romans (1), Ephesians (1).
First and last mention of offering
And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
The verse that uses it most is 2 Kings 16:15, 7 times (tied with Ezekiel 45:17):
And king Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt offering, and the evening meat offering, and the king’s burnt sacrifice, and his meat offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle upon it all the blood of the burnt offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice: and the brasen altar shall be for me to enquire by.
Where the two translations differ
5 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 59 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Leviticus 6:5: counted in the KJV only
Or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering.
or any thing about which he has sworn falsely; he shall restore it even in full, and shall add a fifth part more to it. He shall return it to him to whom it belongs in the day of his being found guilty.
Leviticus 22:24: counted in the KJV only
Ye shall not offer unto the LORD that which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut; neither shall ye make any offering thereof in your land.
You must not offer to Yahweh that which has its testicles bruised, crushed, broken, or cut. You must not do this in your land.
Exodus 25:29: counted in the World English Bible only
And thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and spoons thereof, and covers thereof, and bowls thereof, to cover withal: of pure gold shalt thou make them.
You shall make its dishes, its spoons, its ladles, and its bowls to pour out offerings with. You shall make them of pure gold.
Leviticus 2:12: counted in the World English Bible only
As for the oblation of the firstfruits, ye shall offer them unto the LORD: but they shall not be burnt on the altar for a sweet savour.
As an offering of first fruits you shall offer them to Yahweh: but they shall not rise up for a pleasant aroma on the altar.
Verses with offering on our topic pages
10 verses that use offering in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In tithes and offerings.
On: Tithing, What Does the Bible Say About Stealing? 30 Verses
Abel also brought some of the firstborn of his flock and of its fat. Yahweh respected Abel and his offering,
On: Jealousy
but he didn’t respect Cain and his offering. Cain was very angry, and the expression on his face fell.
On: Jealousy
“Moreover you shall speak to the Levites, and tell them, ‘When you take of the children of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall offer up a wave offering of it for Yahweh, a tithe of the tithe.
On: Tithing
Samuel said, “Has Yahweh as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying Yahweh’s voice? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.
On: Obedience
Their sorrows shall be multiplied who give gifts to another god. Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, nor take their names on my lips.
On: Idolatry
The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead the dough, to make cakes to the queen of the sky, and to pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.
On: Idolatry
yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening offering.
On: Angels
and he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver; and they shall offer to Yahweh offerings in righteousness.
On: Purgatory
by which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
On: Holiness
Common questions
How many times is offering in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 973 of the 989 uses are in the Old Testament and 16 in the New Testament. Offering appears in 33 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Leviticus has the most (293), then Numbers (274) and Ezekiel (64).
Where is offering first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 4:3: "And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD." The last is Hebrews 10:18.
Read the full collection: Bible Verses About Giving (21 Verses).
More word counts: sacrifice, lamb, tongue, iniquity, meek, beast, flower, feast, or all 680 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 2026-10-26.