How many times is liar in Bible?

Answer 1

Answer # 1

In the King James Version of The Bible the word "Liar" or "Liars" appears 23 times.

Deuteronomy 19:18

Job 34:6

Psalm 63:11

Psalm 116:11

Proverbs 17:4

Proverbs 19:22

Proverbs 30:6

Isaiah 57:4

Micah 2:11

Micah 6:12

John 8:44

John 8:55

Romans 3:4

1 Timothy 1:10

1 Timothy 4:2

Titus 1:12

1 John 1:10

1 John 2:4

1 John 2:22

1 John 4:20

1 John 5:10

Revelation 3:9

Revelation 21:8

Answer # 2

A count will depend on a) which translation is being read, and b) whether one wants to count only those occurences in the body of the text per se, or if one is counting other occurences in introductory text, footnotes and commentaries that are included in many translations today.

There are many online concordances that produce frequency counts such as this. For example, the Vatican website has a concordance for the New American Bible which yields a count of 17 + 8 = 25, very similar to the KJV count above. The counts are summarized below.

NAB Concordance count for text string "liar": 17 occurences

Old Testament

Psalms 52: 3

Proverbs 10: 18

Proverbs 19: 22

Sirach 20: 24

Sirach 20: 25

Sirach 34: 4

Jeremiah 48: 30

Jeremiah 48: 30 (a second occurence in the same verse)

New Testament

John 8: 44

John 8: 55

Romans 3: 4

Romans 3: 4(2) (an occurence in the footnotes)

1 John 1: 10

1 John 2: 4

1 John 2: 22

1 John 4: 20

1 John 5: 10

NAB Concordance count for text string "liars" (plural): 8 occurences

Old Testament

Psalms 55: 24

Psalms 58: 4

Psalms 63: 12

Sirach 15: 8

Isaiah 44: 25

New Testament

1 Timothy 1: 10

1 Timothy 4: 2

Titus 1: 12

Reformed scholars and theologians may locate equivalent expressions of the deuterocanonical texts in the original first printing of the 1611 King James Bible as follows (alas, I cannot also reproduce the beautiful fonts and artwork!):

Sirach 15:7-8

Worthless men will not attain to her, haughty men will not beholdher. Far from the impious is she, not to be spoken of by liars. (NAB)

But foolish men shall not attaine unto her, and sinners shall not see her. For she is farre from pride, and men that are liers cannot remember her. (1611 KJV)

Sirach 20:24-25

Better a thief than aninveterate liar, yet both willsuffer disgrace; A liar'sway leads to dishonor, hisshame remains ever with him. (NAB)

A thief is better then a man that is accustomed to lie: but they both shall have destruction to heritage. The disposition of a liar is dishonourable, and his shame is ever with him. (1611 KJV)

Sirach 34:4

Can the unclean produce theclean? can the liar everspeak the truth? (NAB)

Of an uncleane thing, what can be cleansed? and from that thing which is false, what trueth can come? (1611 KJV)

REFERENCES

Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. The New American Bible, (Iowa Falls: IA, World Bible Publishers, Inc. 1991).

The Bible Museum. The Bible: 1611 King James Version: 1st Edition, 1st Printing, (Goodyear, AZ: The Bible Museum, 2006).