Thousands of lists of "amazing Bible facts" are floating around, and many repeat numbers without saying where they came from. This page works differently. We downloaded the complete text of the Berean Standard Bible, the same one you can read free in Terra Gospel, and counted chapters, verses and words with a program. Below are short answers to the questions people ask most, each with its number and its verse.
One heads-up before we start. Some numbers change from one translation to another, because each translation numbers and divides the text in its own way. When that happens we say so, and at the end of the page we show the difference against two more translations.
How many chapters and verses are in the Bible?
The Bible has 1,189 chapters and 31,086 verses in the Berean Standard Bible (BSB). The chapter count is the same in all three translations we checked (English, Spanish and Portuguese). The verse count varies a little, and we will see why in a moment.
The Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 and the Portuguese Bíblia Livre 2018 both number 31,102 verses. The difference of 16 is an exact count: those two number 16 verses that the BSB does not, including Matthew 17:21, Mark 9:44 and Acts 8:37. The BSB follows the oldest manuscripts, where those verses are missing.
How many books are in the Bible, and how many in each Testament?
The Protestant Bible has 66 books: 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New. The Catholic Bible reaches 73 by adding seven books. The details of that difference are in how many books are in the Bible. Here we use the list of 66, which is the one the BSB follows.
The table gathers the numbers by Testament. The Old Testament is far bigger overall, while the New Testament has longer chapters on average.
| Fact (BSB) | Old Testament | New Testament | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Books | 39 | 27 | 66 |
| Chapters | 929 | 260 | 1,189 |
| Verses | 23,145 | 7,941 | 31,086 |
| Words | 552,962 | 171,739 | 724,701 |
| Verses per chapter (average) | 24.9 | 30.5 | 26.1 |
| Share of the words | 76.3% | 23.7% | 100% |
Put another way, of every four words in the Bible, three are in the Old Testament and one is in the New. That is why people who want a shorter start usually open the Gospels first.
How many words are in the Bible?
In the Berean Standard Bible we counted 724,701 words. That is roughly 65 hours of relaxed reading, and each book is timed in how long it takes to read the Bible.
Someone with another translation will get another number. The Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 has 703,758 words and the Portuguese Bíblia Livre 2018 has 698,510. All three counts are right, because each translation picks its own words.
Which is the longest book of the Bible, and which is the shortest?
By verses, the longest book is Psalms: 150 chapters and 2,461 verses. By words, Jeremiah edges it out in the BSB, 39,559 to 39,502. The shortest book is 2 John, with 13 verses and 293 words. It fits on one page.
After Psalms, by verses, come Genesis (1,533), Jeremiah (1,364), Isaiah (1,292) and Numbers (1,288). On the short side, after 2 John you find 3 John (14 verses), Obadiah (21), Philemon (25) and Jude (25).
To see the gap between the giants and the small ones, the table sets the five books with the most verses next to the five with the fewest.
| Book | Chapters | Verses | Words |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psalms | 150 | 2,461 | 39,502 |
| Genesis | 50 | 1,533 | 34,881 |
| Jeremiah | 52 | 1,364 | 39,559 |
| Isaiah | 66 | 1,292 | 33,976 |
| Numbers | 36 | 1,288 | 28,538 |
| Jude | 1 | 25 | 604 |
| Philemon | 1 | 25 | 451 |
| Obadiah | 1 | 21 | 614 |
| 3 John | 1 | 14 | 309 |
| 2 John | 1 | 13 | 293 |
Notice that Philemon has more verses than Obadiah but fewer words, because Obadiah's verses run longer. Counting verses and counting words can give different rankings, which is why we show both numbers.
In the New Testament the longest book is Luke, with 1,149 verses and 23,881 words. Matthew and Acts tie for chapters, 28 each.
How many books of the Bible have only one chapter?
Five: Obadiah, Philemon, 2 John, 3 John and Jude. They are the books with no chapter divisions, so they are cited with the verse number alone, like "Jude 24." If you want a quiet reading for an afternoon, any of them is done in a few minutes.
What is the longest chapter in the Bible?
Psalm 119, with 176 verses and 2,314 words in the BSB. It is a poem built on the Hebrew alphabet: 22 stanzas of 8 verses each (22 times 8 is 176). In the BSB each stanza opens with the name of the letter: "ALEPH" at verse 1, "BETH" at verse 9, "GIMEL" at verse 17, and so on to "TAU" at verse 169.
Far behind comes Numbers 7, with 89 verses, which lists the offerings of the leaders of the twelve tribes.
What is the shortest chapter in the Bible?
Psalm 117: just 2 verses and 28 words in the BSB. It reads:
“Praise the LORD, all you nations! Extol Him, all you peoples! For great is His loving devotion toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Hallelujah!”
And here is a coincidence we like. Number all 1,189 chapters of the Bible in order and chapter 595 is Psalm 117: 594 chapters before it, 594 after. The shortest chapter sits exactly in the middle. Right beside it come Psalm 118 and then Psalm 119, the longest. To meet the most-read psalms, see the most popular psalms.
What is the shortest verse in the Bible?
In English it is John 11:35, and it holds the record outright in the BSB: 2 words and 11 letters.
“Jesus wept.”
Nothing else in the BSB is shorter. The runners-up are fragments of lists and introductions, like "Holon, Debir," (Joshua 21:15) with 13 letters, "72,000 cattle," (Numbers 31:33) with 14, or "Then Job replied:" (Job 6:1) with 17. The shortest stand-alone command is "You shall not steal." in Exodus 20:15, with 20 letters.
The record changes with the language. In Spanish, the Reina-Valera 1909 gives the title to "No matarás." (Exodus 20:13), with 11 letters, and John 11:35 there is "Y lloró Jesús." with 14. In Portuguese there is a tie at 13 letters between "Jesus chorou." and "Não furtarás." Three languages, three possible answers. If you want short verses to carry with you, we have 50 short Bible verses with references.
What is the longest verse in the Bible?
In the BSB it is 2 Kings 16:15, with 400 characters (counting spaces) and 69 words. It is a long instruction from King Ahaz to the priest Uriah about which offerings go on which altar. Ezra 3:8 and Ezekiel 48:21 follow with 398 characters each.
The record changes with the translation. In the Spanish and Portuguese versions the longest is Esther 8:9, with 448 and 472 characters, a single sentence describing how the king's orders went out to "127 provinces" (that is how the BSB writes it), each in its own script and language. In the BSB that verse has 378 characters. To meet the queen the book is named after, read the story of Esther.
Who lived the longest in the Bible?
Methuselah, at 969 years. The number is written in the text itself and reads the same in all three translations:
“So Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died.”
Genesis 5 is a list of ages, and the next names on the podium are there: Jared at 962, Noah at 950 (Genesis 9:29) and Adam at 930 (Genesis 5:5). Lamech, Noah's father, lived 777 years, and Enoch lived 365 and did not die: "he was no more, because God had taken him away" (Genesis 5:24). To read Noah's story in full, see the story of Noah.
What are the first and last verses of the Bible?
The first, Genesis 1:1: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." The last, Revelation 22:21: "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen." The Bible opens with creation and closes with a wish of grace for the reader.
Which book of the Bible never mentions God?
Esther. We counted the word "God" in every book of the BSB, and in Esther it appears 0 times. The name LORD does not appear there either. Song of Solomon gives the same result, 0 times, and the same holds for the Spanish and Portuguese translations we checked.
Across the whole BSB, the word "God" appears 4,444 times. Esther's story takes place in Persia, with a king, a decree and a people in danger, and God's name is never written. Many readers see his hand in Mordecai's question to Esther: "And who knows if perhaps you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14).
What languages was the Bible written in?
Three: Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. The Old Testament was written almost entirely in Hebrew. Aramaic shows up in sections: a large part of Daniel (2:4 through 7:28), parts of Ezra (4:8 through 6:18 and 7:12 through 26), one verse of Jeremiah (10:11) and two words in Genesis 31:47. The New Testament was written in Greek. For who put pen to paper on each book, there is a separate article: who wrote the Bible.
The Bible's records in one table
To keep everything within reach, here is a summary of the records we counted, always in the Berean Standard Bible.
| Record | Answer | Number | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Longest book (by verses) | Psalms | 2,461 verses, 39,502 words | Psalms |
| Longest book (by words) | Jeremiah | 39,559 words | Jeremiah |
| Shortest book | 2 John | 13 verses, 293 words | 2 John |
| Longest chapter | Psalm 119 | 176 verses, 2,314 words | Psalm 119 |
| Shortest chapter | Psalm 117 | 2 verses, 28 words | Psalm 117 |
| Middle chapter | Psalm 117 | chapter 595 of 1,189 | Psalm 117 |
| Shortest verse | "Jesus wept." | 2 words, 11 letters | John 11:35 |
| Longest verse | Ahaz and Uriah | 69 words, 400 characters | 2 Kings 16:15 |
| Person who lived longest | Methuselah | 969 years | Genesis 5:27 |
| Book with most chapters | Psalms | 150 chapters | Psalms |
| One-chapter books | Obadiah, Philemon, 2 John, 3 John, Jude | 5 books | Various |
| Book without the word "God" | Esther | 0 times | Esther |
Do these numbers change by translation?
Some do and some do not. Chapters never change. Verses, words and brevity records do. The table compares the Berean Standard Bible in English, the Reina-Valera 1909 in Spanish and the Bíblia Livre 2018 in Portuguese, the three that Terra Gospel uses.
| Fact | BSB (English) | RV1909 (Spanish) | Bíblia Livre 2018 (Portuguese) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chapters | 1,189 | 1,189 | 1,189 |
| Numbered verses | 31,086 | 31,102 | 31,102 |
| Words | 724,701 | 703,758 | 698,510 |
| Longest book by words | Jeremiah (39,559) | Psalms (37,638) | Psalms (38,893) |
| Shortest book | 2 John (293 words) | 2 Juan (282) | 2 João (273) |
| Shortest verse | "Jesus wept." (11 letters) | "No matarás." (11 letters) | Tie: "Jesus chorou." and "Não furtarás." (13 letters) |
| Books without the word God | Esther, Song of Solomon | Esther, Cantares, Abdías | Ester, Cantares |
If your Bible shows a different total, you did not misread it. The number 31,086 belongs to one specific edition. If you are unsure which translation to pick, see which Bible translation to choose.
What are these facts good for?
They work as a doorway. Psalm 117 takes less than a minute to read and can change the mood of a morning. Philemon, a single chapter, tells a story of forgiveness between two people. Esther reads like a novel. And knowing that the numbers are easy to check gives you freedom not to believe everything that circulates online. A Bible fact is worth as much as its source, and the best source is the text itself, open in front of you.
