How many times is treasure mentioned in the Bible?
The word treasure appears 37 times in the King James Version, in 35 verses. Counting every form (treasure, treasures, treasured, treasurest), it appears 101 times in 92 verses across 28 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses treasure 34 times (95 with every form).
Treasurer and treasurers, the officials, are not counted.
Treasure in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of treasure counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| treasure | 37 | 34 |
| treasures | 62 | 59 |
| treasured | 1 | 2 |
| treasurest | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 101 | 95 |
Which books mention treasure most
Treasure appears in 28 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Jeremiah has the most (10), then Matthew (9) and 2 Kings (8).
Also in: Ezekiel (2), Daniel (2), Genesis (1), Ecclesiastes (1), Hosea (1), Micah (1), Mark (1), Acts (1), Romans (1), 2 Corinthians (1), Colossians (1), Hebrews (1), James (1).
First and last mention of treasure
And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them.
Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
The verse that uses it most is 1 Kings 14:26, 2 times (tied with 1 Kings 15:18, 2 Kings 24:13, 1 Chronicles 26:20, 2 Chronicles 12:9, 2 Chronicles 36:18 and 3 more):
And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.
Where the two translations differ
14 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 8 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Exodus 1:11: counted in the KJV only
Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.
Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. They built storage cities for Pharaoh: Pithom and Raamses.
Exodus 19:5: counted in the KJV only
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice, and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own possession from among all peoples; for all the earth is mine;
1 Chronicles 29:3: counted in the World English Bible only
Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house,
In addition, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, since I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, I give it to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house,
Job 20:26: counted in the World English Bible only
All darkness shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle.
All darkness is laid up for his treasures. An unfanned fire shall devour him. It shall consume that which is left in his tent.
Verses with treasure on our topic pages
12 verses that use treasure in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
“Don’t lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal;
On: Money, Contentment, Heaven, Christmas
but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves don’t break through and steal;
On: Contentment, Heaven, Christmas, Giving
for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
On: Money, Contentment, Tithing, Christmas
Sell that which you have, and give gifts to the needy. Make for yourselves purses which don’t grow old, a treasure in the heavens that doesn’t fail, where no thief approaches, neither moth destroys.
On: Tithing, Heaven, Giving, Generosity
There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man swallows it up.
Yahweh will open to you his good treasure in the sky, to give the rain of your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You will lend to many nations, and you will not borrow.
On: Debt
Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, but righteousness delivers from death.
Better is little, with the fear of Yahweh, than great treasure with trouble.
On: Contentment
Getting treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor for those who seek death.
Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
On: Giving
So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Common questions
How many times is treasure in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 79 of the 101 uses are in the Old Testament and 22 in the New Testament. Treasure appears in 28 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Jeremiah has the most (10), then Matthew (9) and 2 Kings (8).
Where is treasure first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 43:23: "And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them." The last is James 5:3.
More word counts: riches, gold, heart, evil, world, beloved, firstborn, law, or all 680 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 2026-10-26.