How many times is sleep mentioned in the Bible?
The word sleep appears 82 times in the King James Version, in 72 verses. Counting every form (sleep, slept, sleepeth, sleeping), it appears 144 times in 131 verses across 29 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses sleep 83 times (143 with every form).
Sleep in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of sleep counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| sleep | 82 | 83 |
| slept | 49 | 49 |
| sleepeth | 7 | 0 |
| sleeping | 6 | 11 |
| Total | 144 | 143 |
Which books mention sleep most
Sleep appears in 29 books of the 66 in the King James Version. 1 Kings has the most (15), then 2 Kings (14) and Proverbs (13).
Also in: Deuteronomy (3), Judges (3), 1 Samuel (3), Ecclesiastes (3), Isaiah (3), 1 Corinthians (3), 2 Samuel (2), Exodus (1), Esther (1), Song of Solomon (1), Ezekiel (1), Hosea (1), Zechariah (1), Romans (1).
First and last mention of sleep
And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
The verse that uses it most is Genesis 2:21, 2 times (tied with Psalm 13:3, Psalm 76:5, Proverbs 4:16, Proverbs 6:9, Proverbs 6:10 and 7 more):
And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
Where the two translations differ
14 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 14 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
1 Samuel 3:3: counted in the KJV only
And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;
and God’s lamp hadn’t yet gone out, and Samuel had laid down in Yahweh’s temple, where God’s ark was;
1 Kings 1:21: counted in the KJV only
Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders.
Otherwise it will happen, when my lord the king sleeps with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be considered criminals.”
Genesis 47:30: counted in the World English Bible only
But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.
but when I sleep with my fathers, you shall carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying place.” He said, “I will do as you have said.”
Joshua 2:1: counted in the World English Bible only
And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there.
Joshua the son of Nun secretly sent two men out of Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, including Jericho.” They went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and slept there.
Verses with sleep on our topic pages
22 verses that use sleep in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep, for you, Yahweh alone, make me live in safety.
On: Peace, Anxiety, Protection, Rest
Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
On: New Beginnings, Sleep
It is vain for you to rise up early, to stay up late, eating the bread of toil; for he gives sleep to his loved ones.
When you lie down, you will not be afraid. Yes, you will lie down, and your sleep will be sweet.
Don’t love sleep, lest you come to poverty. Open your eyes, and you shall be satisfied with bread.
I laid myself down and slept. I awakened; for Yahweh sustains me.
On: Sleep
I will not give sleep to my eyes, or slumber to my eyelids;
On: Sleep
The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the abundance of the rich will not allow him to sleep.
On: Sleep
he said to them, “Make room, because the girl isn’t dead, but sleeping.” They were ridiculing him.
On: Sleep
Common questions
How many times is sleep in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 110 of the 144 uses are in the Old Testament and 34 in the New Testament. Sleep appears in 29 books of the 66 in the King James Version. 1 Kings has the most (15), then 2 Kings (14) and Proverbs (13).
Where is sleep first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 2:21: "And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;" The last is 1 Thessalonians 5:10.
Read the full collection: Bible Verses About Sleep (19 Verses).
More word counts: debt, tattoo, love, God, Jesus, Christ, Lord, Holy Spirit, 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.