How many times is witness mentioned in the Bible?
The word witness appears 135 times in the King James Version, in 119 verses. Counting every form (witness, witnesses, witnessed, witnesseth, witnessing), it appears 191 times in 167 verses across 37 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses witness 74 times (123 with every form).
Witness in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of witness counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| witness | 135 | 74 |
| witnesses | 49 | 49 |
| witnessed | 4 | 0 |
| witnesseth | 2 | 0 |
| witnessing | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 191 | 123 |
Which books mention witness most
Witness appears in 37 books of the 66 in the King James Version. John has the most (22), then Acts (21) and Deuteronomy (15).
Also in: Luke (5), 1 Samuel (4), Revelation (4), Exodus (3), Ruth (3), Psalms (3), 1 Timothy (3), 1 Kings (2), Malachi (2), 1 Thessalonians (2), Leviticus (1), Judges (1), 2 Chronicles (1), Lamentations (1), Micah (1), 1 Corinthians (1), 2 Corinthians (1), 2 Timothy (1), Titus (1), James (1), 1 Peter (1), 3 John (1).
First and last mention of witness
And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
The verse that uses it most is Deuteronomy 17:6, 3 times (tied with Deuteronomy 19:15, 1 Samuel 12:5, John 5:32, 1 John 5:9):
At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
Where the two translations differ
68 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.
Exodus 20:16: counted in the KJV only
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
Exodus 22:13: counted in the KJV only
If it be torn in pieces, then let him bring it for witness, and he shall not make good that which was torn.
If it is torn in pieces, let him bring it for evidence. He shall not make good that which was torn.
Deuteronomy 30:19: counted in the World English Bible only
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore choose life, that you may live, you and your descendants;
Deuteronomy 31:28: counted in the World English Bible only
Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them.
Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to witness against them.
Verses with witness on our topic pages
16 verses that use witness in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
Therefore let us also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,
On: Gratitude, Stress, Addiction, Discipleship
a false witness who utters lies, and he who sows discord among brothers.
On: Gossip, What Does the Bible Say About Lying? 28 Verses, Bullying, Murder
Yet you say, ‘Why?’ Because Yahweh has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion, and the wife of your covenant.
On: What Does the Bible Say About Adultery? 28 Verses, Remarriage
Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you confessed the good confession in the sight of many witnesses.
On: Faith, Spiritual Warfare
“You shall not spread a false report. Don’t join your hand with the wicked to be a malicious witness.
On: Gossip
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore choose life, that you may live, you and your descendants;
Don’t deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen up against me, such as breathe out cruelty.
On: Fear
He who is truthful testifies honestly, but a false witness lies.
On: Tattoos
A truthful witness will not lie, but a false witness pours out lies.
A false witness shall not be unpunished. He who utters lies shall perish.
I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the perjurers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who deprive the foreigner of justice, and don’t fear me,” says Yahweh of Armies.
Then the high priest tore his clothing, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Behold, now you have heard his blasphemy.
On: Blasphemy
Common questions
How many times is witness in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 88 of the 191 uses are in the Old Testament and 103 in the New Testament. Witness appears in 37 books of the 66 in the King James Version. John has the most (22), then Acts (21) and Deuteronomy (15).
Where is witness first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 21:30: "And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well." The last is Revelation 20:4.
More word counts: judge, servant, ox, hair, Hamath, Asahel, Amram, Nahash, 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.