How many times is plague mentioned in the Bible?
The word plague appears 98 times in the King James Version, in 80 verses. Counting every form (plague, plagues), it appears 122 times in 102 verses across 18 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses plague 99 times (125 with every form).
Plague in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of plague counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| plague | 98 | 99 |
| plagues | 24 | 26 |
| Total | 122 | 125 |
Which books mention plague most
Plague appears in 18 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Leviticus has the most (61), then Numbers (13) and Revelation (12).
Also in: 2 Chronicles (1), Hosea (1), Luke (1).
First and last mention of plague
And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram’s wife.
For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
The verse that uses it most is Leviticus 13:3, 4 times:
And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and when the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.
Where the two translations differ
7 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 12 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Leviticus 13:4: counted in the KJV only
If the bright spot be white in the skin of his flesh, and in sight be not deeper than the skin, and the hair thereof be not turned white; then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague seven days:
If the bright spot is white in the skin of his body, and its appearance isn’t deeper than the skin, and its hair hasn’t turned white, then the priest shall isolate the infected person for seven days.
Leviticus 13:12: counted in the KJV only
And if a leprosy break out abroad in the skin, and the leprosy cover all the skin of him that hath the plague from his head even to his foot, wheresoever the priest looketh;
“If the leprosy breaks out all over the skin, and the leprosy covers all the skin of the infected person from his head even to his feet, as far as it appears to the priest;
Exodus 8:2: counted in the World English Bible only
And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs:
If you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your borders with frogs:
Leviticus 13:42: counted in the World English Bible only
And if there be in the bald head, or bald forehead, a white reddish sore; it is a leprosy sprung up in his bald head, or his bald forehead.
But if there is in the bald head, or the bald forehead, a reddish-white plague; it is leprosy breaking out in his bald head, or his bald forehead.
Verses with plague on our topic pages
3 verses that use plague in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
no evil shall happen to you, neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.
On: Protection
For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be famines, plagues, and earthquakes in various places.
On: End Times
There will be great earthquakes, famines, and plagues in various places. There will be terrors and great signs from heaven.
On: End Times
Common questions
How many times is plague in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 106 of the 122 uses are in the Old Testament and 16 in the New Testament. Plague appears in 18 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Leviticus has the most (61), then Numbers (13) and Revelation (12).
Where is plague first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 12:17: "And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram’s wife." The last is Revelation 22:18.
More word counts: olive, fig, donkey, cherubim, frankincense, myrrh, hyssop, cedar, 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.