How many times is water mentioned in the Bible?
The word water appears 396 times in the King James Version, in 363 verses. Counting every form (water, waters, watered, watereth, watering), it appears 702 times in 628 verses across 49 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses water 410 times (704 with every form).
Water in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of water counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| water | 396 | 410 |
| waters | 287 | 279 |
| watered | 11 | 14 |
| watereth | 5 | 0 |
| watering | 3 | 1 |
| Total | 702 | 704 |
Which books mention water most
Water appears in 49 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Genesis has the most (67), then Isaiah (59) and Psalms (53).
Also in: Proverbs (17), Judges (14), 2 Samuel (10), Nehemiah (9), 1 Samuel (8), Matthew (8), Luke (8), Acts (7), Lamentations (5), Amos (5), Mark (5), 2 Peter (4), 1 John (4), 1 Chronicles (3), 2 Chronicles (3), Ecclesiastes (3), Song of Solomon (3), Daniel (3), Hosea (3), Joel (3), Nahum (3), Habakkuk (3), 1 Corinthians (3), Jonah (2), Zechariah (2), Hebrews (2), James (2), Ezra (1), Micah (1), 2 Corinthians (1), Ephesians (1), 1 Timothy (1), 1 Peter (1), Jude (1).
First and last mention of water
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 Genesis 1:6, 3 times (tied with Genesis 24:43, Joshua 3:13, Isaiah 58:11, Ezekiel 47:4, John 4:14 and 1 more):
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
Where the two translations differ
16 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 13 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Genesis 7:7: counted in the KJV only
And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
Noah went into the ship with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, because of the floodwaters.
Genesis 7:10: counted in the KJV only
And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
After the seven days, the floodwaters came on the earth.
Numbers 19:12: counted in the World English Bible only
He shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he purify not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean.
He shall purify himself with water on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean; but if he doesn’t purify himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean.
Deuteronomy 11:10: counted in the World English Bible only
For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs:
For the land, where you go in to possess, isn’t like the land of Egypt, that you came out of, where you sowed your seed, and watered it with your foot, as a garden of herbs;
Verses with water on our topic pages
45 verses that use water in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, and flame will not scorch you.
On: Protection, Worry, Suffering, Loneliness
The liberal soul shall be made fat. He who waters shall be watered also himself.
On: Blessings, Tithing, Giving, Generosity
Many waters can’t quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man would give all the wealth of his house for love, he would be utterly scorned.
On: Love, Marriage, What Does the Bible Say About Sex Before Marriage? 26 Verses
and Yahweh will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in dry places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters don’t fail.
The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.
On: Creation, Holy Spirit
He looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on the coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again.
On: Mental Health, What Does the Bible Say About Suicide? 25 Verses of Hope
He will be like a tree planted by the streams of water, that produces its fruit in its season, whose leaf also does not wither. Whatever he does shall prosper.
On: Blessings, What Does the Bible Say About Meditation? 29 Verses
though its waters roar and are troubled, though the mountains tremble with their swelling. Selah.
On: Fear, Hard Times
“Hey! Come, everyone who thirsts, to the waters! Come, he who has no money, buy, and eat! Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
I indeed baptize you in water for repentance, but he who comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.
On: Baptism, Holy Spirit
He cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue! For I am in anguish in this flame.’
On: What Does the Bible Say About Ghosts? 25 Verses, What Does the Bible Say About Reincarnation? 26 Verses
Common questions
How many times is water in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 612 of the 702 uses are in the Old Testament and 90 in the New Testament. Water appears in 49 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Genesis has the most (67), then Isaiah (59) and Psalms (53).
Where is water 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: light, cross, blood, gold, amen, hallelujah, mercy, glory, 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 2026-10-03.