How many times is verily mentioned in the Bible?
The word verily appears 140 times in the King James Version, in 113 verses. It is found in 22 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses verily 103 times.
The World English Bible has no verily. Its wording for the same Greek word, most certainly, is counted in the World English Bible column.
Verily in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of verily counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| verily | 140 | not counted |
| most certainly | not counted | 103 |
| Total | 140 | 103 |
Which books mention verily most
Verily appears in 22 books of the 66 in the King James Version. John has the most (50), then Matthew (30) and Mark (15).
Also in: 1 Chronicles (1), Job (1), Isaiah (1), Galatians (1), 1 Thessalonians (1), 1 Peter (1), 1 John (1).
First and last mention of verily
And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.
But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
The verse that uses it most is Psalm 58:11, 2 times (tied with Jeremiah 15:11, John 1:51, John 3:3, John 3:5, John 3:11 and 21 more):
So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.
Where the two translations differ
22 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 9 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Genesis 42:21: counted in the KJV only
And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.
They said to one another, “We are certainly guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us, and we wouldn’t listen. Therefore this distress has come upon us.”
Job 19:13: counted in the KJV only
He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are verily estranged from me.
“He has put my brothers far from me. My acquaintances are wholly estranged from me.
Exodus 20:23: counted in the World English Bible only
Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.
You shall most certainly not make gods of silver or gods of gold for yourselves to be alongside me.
Judges 17:3: counted in the World English Bible only
And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee.
He restored the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother, then his mother said, “I most certainly dedicate the silver to Yahweh from my hand for my son, to make a carved image and a molten image. Now therefore I will restore it to you.”
Verses with verily on our topic pages
20 verses that use verily in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
Therefore when you do merciful deeds, don’t sound a trumpet before yourself, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may get glory from men. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward.
He called his disciples to himself, and said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, this poor widow gave more than all those who are giving into the treasury,
“The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
On: Orphans, Serving Others
Jesus answered, “Most certainly I tell you, unless one is born of water and spirit, he can’t enter into God’s Kingdom.
On: Baptism, What Does the Bible Say About Reincarnation? 26 Verses
“Most certainly I tell you, he who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
On: Salvation, Eternal Life
Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is the bondservant of sin.
He said, “What then is to be done for her?” Gehazi answered, “Most certainly she has no son, and her husband is old.”
On: Hospitality
“Moreover when you fast, don’t be like the hypocrites, with sad faces. For they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen by men to be fasting. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward.
On: Fasting
He said to them, “Because of your unbelief. For most certainly I tell you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
On: Faith
Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, if you have faith, and don’t doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you told this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it would be done.
On: Faith
For whoever will give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because you are Christ’s, most certainly I tell you, he will in no way lose his reward.
On: Hospitality
Most certainly I tell you, whoever will not receive God’s Kingdom like a little child, he will in no way enter into it.”
On: Children
Common questions
How many times is verily in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 16 of the 140 uses are in the Old Testament and 124 in the New Testament. Verily appears in 22 books of the 66 in the King James Version. John has the most (50), then Matthew (30) and Mark (15).
Where is verily first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 42:21: "And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us." The last is 1 John 2:5.
More word counts: manna, Passover, Jehovah, Yahweh, Leviathan, Antichrist, thus saith the LORD, verily, verily, 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.