Precede each word in the search string with a + character and add IN BOOLEAN MODE after the string
mysql> mysql> CREATE TABLE mytable -> ( -> bsect ENUM('O','N') NOT NULL, # book section (testament) -> bname VARCHAR(20) NOT NULL, # book name -> bnum TINYINT UNSIGNED NOT NULL, # book number -> cnum TINYINT UNSIGNED NOT NULL, # chapter number -> vnum TINYINT UNSIGNED NOT NULL, # verse number -> vtext TEXT NOT NULL # text of verse -> ) TYPE = MyISAM; Query OK, 0 rows affected, 1 warning (0.01 sec) mysql> mysql> ALTER TABLE mytable ADD FULLTEXT (vtext); Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.02 sec) Records: 0 Duplicates: 0 Warnings: 0 mysql> mysql> mysql> SELECT COUNT(*) FROM mytable WHERE MATCH(vtext) AGAINST('+David +Goliath' IN BOOLEAN MODE); +----------+ | COUNT(*) | +----------+ | 0 | +----------+ 1 row in set (0.00 sec) mysql> mysql> drop table mytable; Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)