Bible Facts & Numbers
How many books are in the Bible? What's the longest chapter? The shortest verse? Here are the most commonly asked Bible statistics and facts.
How many books are in the Bible?▾
66 total — 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament.
How many chapters are in the Bible?▾
1,189 chapters — 929 in the Old Testament and 260 in the New Testament.
How many verses are in the Bible?▾
31,102 verses (KJV count) — 23,145 in the Old Testament and 7,957 in the New Testament.
What is the longest book of the Bible?▾
Psalms, with 150 chapters and 2,461 verses. By word count, Jeremiah is the longest.
What is the shortest book of the Bible?▾
3 John, with just 1 chapter, 14 verses, and approximately 299 words (KJV). 2 John and Obadiah are close runners-up.
What is the longest chapter in the Bible?▾
Psalm 119, with 176 verses. It's an acrostic poem with 22 sections — one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
What is the shortest chapter in the Bible?▾
Psalm 117, with just 2 verses. It's also the middle chapter of the Bible.
What is the longest verse in the Bible?▾
Esther 8:9, with 90 words (KJV). It describes a royal decree sent throughout the Persian Empire.
What is the shortest verse in the Bible?▾
John 11:35 — "Jesus wept." Just two words, but profoundly powerful.
How long does it take to read the entire Bible?▾
About 70-80 hours at average reading speed, or roughly 15-20 minutes per day for one year.
How many authors wrote the Bible?▾
Approximately 40 different authors over about 1,500 years — including kings, shepherds, fishermen, doctors, and prophets.
What languages was the Bible written in?▾
Hebrew (most of the Old Testament), Aramaic (parts of Daniel and Ezra), and Greek (the entire New Testament).
What is the middle verse of the Bible?▾
Psalm 118:8 — "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man." (Based on KJV verse count.)
Which word appears most often in the Bible?▾
"The Lord" appears over 7,000 times in the KJV. "God" appears about 4,300 times.
How many times does "fear not" appear?▾
The phrase "fear not" or "do not fear" appears over 365 times — roughly one for every day of the year.