How many times is spirit mentioned in the Bible?
The word spirit appears 505 times in the King James Version, in 456 verses. Counting every form (spirit, spirits), it appears 551 times in 499 verses across 52 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses spirit 595 times (645 with every form).
Spirit in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of spirit counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| spirit | 505 | 595 |
| spirits | 46 | 50 |
| Total | 551 | 645 |
Which books mention spirit most
Spirit appears in 52 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Isaiah has the most (39), then 1 Corinthians (37) and Romans (29).
Also in: Ephesians (15), Job (14), Numbers (13), Matthew (13), 1 John (13), 2 Chronicles (11), Daniel (10), Judges (9), 1 Peter (8), 1 Kings (7), Zechariah (7), Hebrews (7), Genesis (5), Exodus (5), 2 Kings (5), 1 Chronicles (5), Haggai (4), Philippians (4), 1 Timothy (4), Leviticus (3), Deuteronomy (3), Micah (3), Malachi (3), 1 Thessalonians (3), 2 Thessalonians (3), Ezra (2), Nehemiah (2), Hosea (2), Joel (2), Colossians (2), 2 Timothy (2), James (2), Joshua (1), 2 Samuel (1), Jeremiah (1), Philemon (1), Jude (1).
First and last mention of spirit
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
The verse that uses it most is Isaiah 11:2, 4 times:
And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
Where the two translations differ
28 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 115 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Leviticus 19:31: counted in the KJV only
Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.
“‘Don’t turn to those who are mediums, nor to the wizards. Don’t seek them out, to be defiled by them. I am Yahweh your God.
Leviticus 20:6: counted in the KJV only
And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.
“‘The person that turns to those who are mediums, and to the wizards, to play the prostitute after them, I will even set my face against that person, and will cut him off from among his people.
Genesis 7:22: counted in the World English Bible only
All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.
All on the dry land, in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died.
Genesis 25:8: counted in the World English Bible only
Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.
Abraham gave up his spirit, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years, and was gathered to his people.
Verses with spirit on our topic pages
114 verses that use spirit in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit.
On: Anxiety, Comfort, Depression, Worry
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith,
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
On: Peace, Hope, Depression, Joy
Or don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
On: Tattoos, Alcohol, Temptation, Modesty
For God didn’t give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.
On: Worry, Courage, Self Control, Encouragement
but in the hidden person of the heart, in the incorruptible adornment of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God very precious.
Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
On: Baptism, Holy Spirit, Discipleship, Evangelism
for you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty; one who rules his spirit, than he who takes a city.
On: Patience, Anger, Self Control
A cheerful heart makes good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
On: Healing, Joy, Bitterness
The Lord Yahweh’s Spirit is on me; because Yahweh has anointed me to preach good news to the humble. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to those who are bound;
On: Comfort, Depression, Freedom
Common questions
How many times is spirit in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 258 of the 551 uses are in the Old Testament and 293 in the New Testament. Spirit appears in 52 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Isaiah has the most (39), then 1 Corinthians (37) and Romans (29).
Where is spirit first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 1:2: "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." The last is Revelation 22:17.
More word counts: covenant, miracle, prophet, baptism, resurrection, grief, anger, sleep, 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.