Command Palette

Search for a command to run...

How many times is sickness mentioned in the Bible?

The word sickness appears 20 times in the King James Version, in 19 verses. Counting every form (sickness, sicknesses), it appears 24 times in 23 verses across 13 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses sickness 22 times (25 with every form).

20
Exact word (KJV)
in 19 verses
24
Every form (KJV)
in 23 verses
25
Every form (WEB)
in 24 verses
13 of 66
Books
18 OT uses, 6 NT uses

Sickness in the King James Version and the World English Bible

Each form of sickness counted in each translation.

FormKJVWEB
sickness2022
sicknesses43
Total2425

Which books mention sickness most

Sickness appears in 13 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Deuteronomy, 2 Chronicles and Matthew share the most, 4 each.

First and last mention of sickness

And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.

Exodus 23:25 (KJV)

When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.

John 11:4 (KJV)

The verse that uses it most is 2 Chronicles 21:15, 2 times:

And thou shalt have great sickness by disease of thy bowels, until thy bowels fall out by reason of the sickness day by day.

2 Chronicles 21:15 (KJV)

Where the two translations differ

5 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 6 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.

Leviticus 20:18: counted in the KJV only

And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovered her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people.

Leviticus 20:18 (KJV)

“‘If a man lies with a woman having her monthly period, and uncovers her nakedness; he has made naked her fountain, and she has uncovered the fountain of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from among their people.

Leviticus 20:18 (WEB)

2 Kings 13:14: counted in the KJV only

Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.

2 Kings 13:14 (KJV)

Now Elisha became sick with the illness of which he died; and Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over him, and said, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”

2 Kings 13:14 (WEB)

2 Kings 1:2: counted in the World English Bible only

And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease.

2 Kings 1:2 (KJV)

Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper room that was in Samaria, and was sick. So he sent messengers, and said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover of this sickness.”

2 Kings 1:2 (WEB)

2 Kings 8:8: counted in the World English Bible only

And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thine hand, and go, meet the man of God, and enquire of the LORD by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?

2 Kings 8:8 (KJV)

The king said to Hazael, “Take a present in your hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of Yahweh by him, saying, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”

2 Kings 8:8 (WEB)

Verses with sickness on our topic pages

5 verses that use sickness in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.

Surely he has borne our sickness, and carried our suffering; yet we considered him plagued, struck by God, and afflicted.

Isaiah 53:4 (WEB)

On: Healing, Suffering

You shall serve Yahweh your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you.

Exodus 23:25 (WEB)

On: Worship

Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.

Matthew 4:23 (WEB)

On: Healing

Jesus went about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.

Matthew 9:35 (WEB)

On: Healing

He called to himself his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness.

Matthew 10:1 (WEB)

On: Demons

Common questions

How many times is sickness in the Old Testament and the New Testament?

In the King James Version, counting every form, 18 of the 24 uses are in the Old Testament and 6 in the New Testament. Sickness appears in 13 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Deuteronomy, 2 Chronicles and Matthew share the most, 4 each.

Where is sickness first mentioned in the Bible?

The first use in the King James Version is Exodus 23:25: "And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee." The last is John 11:4.

More word counts: Kohath, curse, life, eyes, garden, sea, youth, Joram, or all 635 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 2026-10-24.