How many times does the Bible mention justice?

The count

The English word “justice” alone:

• KJV: about 28 occurrences (the KJV more often uses “judgment”).
• NIV: about 134 occurrences.
• NRSV: about 180 occurrences.

The variance is substantial because translation philosophy differs sharply on how to render the underlying Hebrew and Greek words. The vocabulary that English Bibles render variously as “justice,” “judgment,” “righteousness,” “fairness,” and “ordinance” is approximately:

• Old Testament: about 700 occurrences of the major justice/righteousness vocabulary.
• New Testament: about 150 occurrences.

The Hebrew vocabulary

The Old Testament uses several Hebrew words in the justice family:

• mishpat (מִשְׁפָּט, “judgment, justice, legal ruling, custom”): about 425 occurrences. The most common word; carries a strong sense of procedural fairness and legal right.
• tsedeq / tsedaqah (צֶדֶק / צְדָקָה, “righteousness, justice”): about 524 occurrences combined. Closely related to mishpat; often paired with it (“justice and righteousness,” “the right and the just”).
• yashar (יָשָׁר, “upright”): about 119 occurrences.

The frequent OT pairing of mishpat and tsedaqah — “justice and righteousness” — is a Hebrew idiom for social justice in the comprehensive sense: legal fairness, economic equity, protection of the vulnerable.

The Greek vocabulary

• dikaiosynē (δικαιοσύνη, “righteousness, justice”): about 92 occurrences in the NT.
• dikaios (δίκαιος, “righteous, just”): about 79 occurrences.
• krima (κρίμα, “judgment, verdict”) and krisis (κρίσις, “judgment”): combined about 75 occurrences.

Greek dikaiosynē and Hebrew tsedaqah are typically used to translate each other in the Septuagint and the NT. The Pauline use of dikaiosynē in Romans and Galatians blends a forensic sense (declared righteous before God) with a covenant-relational sense (loyalty within the covenant).

Where justice concentrates

The Prophets — especially Amos, Micah, Isaiah, and Jeremiah — concentrate the densest use of justice-language. Amos 5:24 (“Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream”) is a paradigm statement. Micah 6:8 (“to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God”) sums the requirement. The Psalms and the legal sections of the Pentateuch also use justice-language densely.