How many times is "thus saith the LORD" in the Bible?
The phrase "thus saith the LORD" appears 415 times in the King James Version, in 413 verses. The World English Bible has it 128 times.
The World English Bible words the same phrase "thus says the Lord" or "thus says Yahweh", and both are counted in its column.
Thus saith the LORD in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of thus saith the LORD counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| thus saith the lord | 415 | not counted |
| thus says the lord | not counted | 128 |
| Total | 415 | 128 |
Which books mention thus saith the LORD most
Thus saith the LORD appears in 19 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Jeremiah has the most (148), then Ezekiel (126) and Isaiah (35).
Also in: Judges (1), Obadiah (1), Nahum (1), Malachi (1).
First and last mention of thus saith the LORD
And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:
Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.
The verse that uses it most is 1 Kings 21:19, 2 times (tied with Jeremiah 34:2):
And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.
Where the two translations differ
285 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 0 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Exodus 4:22: counted in the KJV only
And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:
You shall tell Pharaoh, ‘Yahweh says, Israel is my son, my firstborn,
Exodus 5:1: counted in the KJV only
And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.
Afterward Moses and Aaron came, and said to Pharaoh, “This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’”
Common questions
How many times is thus saith the LORD in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 415 of the 415 uses are in the Old Testament and 0 in the New Testament. Thus saith the LORD appears in 19 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Jeremiah has the most (148), then Ezekiel (126) and Isaiah (35).
Where is thus saith the LORD first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Exodus 4:22: "And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:" The last is Malachi 1:4.
More word counts: verily, verily, born again, Son of God, Alpha and Omega, love one another, fear of the LORD, forty days, Jesus Christ, or all 253 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 2026-10-05.