How many times is pearl mentioned in the Bible?
The word pearl appears 2 times in the King James Version, in 2 verses. Counting every form (pearl, pearls), it appears 10 times in 9 verses across 4 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses pearl 2 times (9 with every form).
Pearl in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of pearl counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| pearl | 2 | 2 |
| pearls | 8 | 7 |
| Total | 10 | 9 |
Which books mention pearl most
Pearl appears in 4 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Revelation has the most (5), then Matthew (3) and Job (1).
First and last mention of pearl
No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies.
And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
The verse that uses it most is Revelation 21:21, 2 times:
And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
Where the two translations differ
1 verse matches in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 0 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Job 28:18: counted in the KJV only
No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies.
No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal. Yes, the price of wisdom is above rubies.
Verses with pearl on our topic pages
1 verse that uses pearl in the World English Bible is in our topic collections.
In the same way, that women also adorn themselves in decent clothing, with modesty and propriety; not just with braided hair, gold, pearls, or expensive clothing;
On: Modesty
Common questions
How many times is pearl in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 1 of the 10 uses are in the Old Testament and 9 in the New Testament. Pearl appears in 4 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Revelation has the most (5), then Matthew (3) and Job (1).
Where is pearl first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Job 28:18: "No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies." The last is Revelation 21:21.
More word counts: wheat, rock, star, rain, cloud, thorn, chariot, publican, or all 484 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 2026-10-22.