How many times is tears mentioned in the Bible?
The word tears appears 36 times in the King James Version, in 35 verses. It is found in 17 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses tears 41 times.
Tears in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of tears counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| tears | 36 | 41 |
| Total | 36 | 41 |
Which books mention tears most
Tears appears in 17 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Psalms has the most (8), then Jeremiah (5) and Isaiah (3).
Also in: 2 Corinthians (1), 2 Timothy (1).
First and last mention of tears
Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
The verse that uses it most is Psalm 80:5, 2 times:
Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink in great measure.
Where the two translations differ
2 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 7 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Revelation 7:17: counted in the KJV only
For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
for the Lamb who is in the middle of the throne shepherds them, and leads them to springs of life-giving waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Revelation 21:4: counted in the KJV only
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away.”
Deuteronomy 33:20: counted in the World English Bible only
And of Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad: he dwelleth as a lion, and teareth the arm with the crown of the head.
About Gad he said, “He who enlarges Gad is blessed. He dwells as a lioness, and tears the arm, yes, the crown of the head.
Psalm 102:9: counted in the World English Bible only
For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping,
For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mixed my drink with tears,
Verses with tears on our topic pages
4 verses that use tears in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
Those who sow in tears will reap in joy.
On: Hope, Joy, Miscarriage
You count my wanderings. You put my tears into your bottle. Aren’t they in your book?
On: Grief, Miscarriage
“Hear my prayer, Yahweh, and give ear to my cry. Don’t be silent at my tears. For I am a stranger with you, a foreigner, as all my fathers were.
On: Prayer
He has swallowed up death forever! The Lord Yahweh will wipe away tears from off all faces. He will take the reproach of his people away from off all the earth, for Yahweh has spoken it.
Common questions
How many times is tears in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 25 of the 36 uses are in the Old Testament and 11 in the New Testament. Tears appears in 17 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Psalms has the most (8), then Jeremiah (5) and Isaiah (3).
Where is tears first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is 2 Kings 20:5: "Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD." The last is Revelation 21:4.
More word counts: mourning, Zebedee, Heshbon, Nun, Hananiah, Jehoram, Elkanah, Ethiopians, 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.