Counted from the locked text · edition 2026.6
The Bible by the Numbers
The Bible has 1,189 chapters, 31,085 verses and 646,172 words in 66 books, counted from the locked English text of Father’s Heart Bible™ (edition 2026.6). The longest chapter is Psalms 119 (2,352 words), the shortest is Psalms 117 (29 words) and the longest book is Psalms.
Below: every question answered, all 66 books, two free CSVs, and how we counted. For a book-by-book guide see the books of the Bible; for who speaks, who speaks in Scripture; for how our Father is named, the names of God the Father counted. To read it all in a year, see the 365-day plan balanced by words.
The answers
| Books | Chapters | Verses | Words | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old Testament | 39 | 929 | 23,143 | 494,479 |
| New Testament | 27 | 260 | 7,942 | 151,693 |
| Whole Bible | 66 | 1,189 | 31,085 | 646,172 |
- Longest chapter: Psalms 119, 176 verses, 2,352 words.
- Shortest chapter: Psalms 117, 2 verses, 29 words.
- Longest verse: by words, 2 Kings 6:32 (65 words); by characters, Daniel 5:23 (381 characters).
- Shortest verse: by words, 8 verses tie at two (listed below), among them John 11:35, “Jesus wept.” By characters the shortest is Job 3:2, 8 characters.
- Longest book: Psalms, 150 chapters, 2,461 verses, 40,697 words.
- Shortest book: 2 John by verses and words (13 verses, 246 words). Books of one chapter: Obadiah, Philemon, 2 John, 3 John, Jude.
Verses that tie for shortest by words: 1 Chronicles 12:26, 1 Thessalonians 5:16, Job 3:2, John 11:35, Numbers 31:33, Numbers 31:34, Numbers 31:44, Numbers 31:45.
Why 31,085 verses and not 31,102
This edition has 31,085 verses. The figure usually cited is 31,102, which is 17 more; we did not count that figure, we only compare to it. What the locked text itself shows is that its verse numbering skips 16 numbers, in 15 chapters of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts and Romans. Those 16 account for 16 of the 17; this data does not show where the other one falls, so we do not assign it.
The skipped numbers, each linking to its chapter: Acts 8:37; Acts 15:34; Acts 24:7; Acts 28:29; John 5:4; Luke 17:36; Luke 23:17; Mark 7:16; Mark 9:44, 46; Mark 11:26; Mark 15:28; Matthew 17:21; Matthew 18:11; Matthew 23:14; Romans 16:24.
All 66 books
| Book | Chapters | Verses | Words | Longest chapter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genesis | 50 | 1,533 | 30,640 | 24 (1,472) |
| Exodus | 40 | 1,213 | 24,581 | 12 (1,082) |
| Leviticus | 27 | 859 | 18,300 | 13 (1,301) |
| Numbers | 36 | 1,287 | 24,675 | 7 (1,627) |
| Deuteronomy | 34 | 959 | 21,922 | 28 (1,685) |
| Joshua | 24 | 658 | 14,135 | 10 (1,127) |
| Judges | 21 | 618 | 14,275 | 9 (1,284) |
| Ruth | 4 | 85 | 1,896 | 2 (524) |
| 1 Samuel | 31 | 810 | 18,863 | 17 (1,292) |
| 2 Samuel | 24 | 695 | 16,462 | 19 (1,140) |
| 1 Kings | 22 | 816 | 18,975 | 8 (1,709) |
| 2 Kings | 25 | 719 | 17,735 | 23 (1,141) |
| 1 Chronicles | 29 | 942 | 15,878 | 6 (1,064) |
| 2 Chronicles | 36 | 822 | 19,495 | 6 (1,111) |
| Ezra | 10 | 280 | 5,618 | 8 (777) |
| Nehemiah | 13 | 406 | 8,253 | 9 (1,188) |
| Esther | 10 | 167 | 4,088 | 9 (704) |
| Job | 42 | 1,070 | 17,188 | 31 (662) |
| Psalms | 150 | 2,461 | 40,697 | 119 (2,352) |
| Proverbs | 31 | 915 | 14,320 | 30 (606) |
| Ecclesiastes | 12 | 222 | 4,620 | 2 (573) |
| Song of Solomon | 8 | 117 | 2,499 | 5 (370) |
| Isaiah | 66 | 1,292 | 33,905 | 30 (913) |
| Jeremiah | 52 | 1,364 | 35,064 | 51 (1,580) |
| Lamentations | 5 | 154 | 3,197 | 3 (836) |
| Ezekiel | 48 | 1,273 | 31,675 | 16 (1,420) |
| Daniel | 12 | 357 | 8,669 | 2 (1,196) |
| Hosea | 14 | 197 | 4,822 | 2 (621) |
| Joel | 3 | 73 | 1,841 | 2 (849) |
| Amos | 9 | 146 | 3,807 | 5 (608) |
| Obadiah | 1 | 21 | 606 | 1 (606) |
| Jonah | 4 | 47 | 1,087 | 1 (394) |
| Micah | 7 | 105 | 2,898 | 7 (565) |
| Nahum | 3 | 47 | 1,133 | 3 (455) |
| Habakkuk | 3 | 56 | 1,348 | 2 (526) |
| Zephaniah | 3 | 53 | 1,470 | 3 (553) |
| Haggai | 2 | 38 | 980 | 2 (569) |
| Zechariah | 14 | 211 | 5,336 | 8 (630) |
| Malachi | 4 | 55 | 1,526 | 3 (497) |
| Matthew | 28 | 1,068 | 19,842 | 26 (1,405) |
| Mark | 16 | 673 | 12,280 | 14 (1,317) |
| Luke | 24 | 1,149 | 21,484 | 1 (1,356) |
| John | 21 | 878 | 16,558 | 6 (1,292) |
| Acts | 28 | 1,003 | 19,714 | 7 (1,196) |
| Romans | 16 | 432 | 8,129 | 8 (784) |
| 1 Corinthians | 16 | 437 | 8,091 | 15 (1,029) |
| 2 Corinthians | 13 | 257 | 5,228 | 11 (638) |
| Galatians | 6 | 149 | 2,692 | 3 (556) |
| Ephesians | 6 | 155 | 2,626 | 4 (533) |
| Philippians | 4 | 104 | 1,859 | 1 (553) |
| Colossians | 4 | 95 | 1,695 | 1 (555) |
| 1 Thessalonians | 5 | 89 | 1,708 | 2 (431) |
| 2 Thessalonians | 3 | 47 | 931 | 2 (347) |
| 1 Timothy | 6 | 113 | 2,011 | 5 (416) |
| 2 Timothy | 4 | 83 | 1,459 | 2 (448) |
| Titus | 3 | 46 | 805 | 1 (295) |
| Philemon | 1 | 25 | 404 | 1 (404) |
| Hebrews | 13 | 303 | 5,943 | 11 (752) |
| James | 5 | 108 | 2,009 | 1 (470) |
| 1 Peter | 5 | 105 | 2,097 | 1 (515) |
| 2 Peter | 3 | 61 | 1,281 | 2 (473) |
| 1 John | 5 | 105 | 2,295 | 2 (644) |
| 2 John | 1 | 13 | 246 | 1 (246) |
| 3 John | 1 | 15 | 264 | 1 (264) |
| Jude | 1 | 25 | 525 | 1 (525) |
| Revelation | 22 | 404 | 9,517 | 2 (658) |
| Total | 1,189 | 31,085 | 646,172 |
Download the CSV by book (66 rows) and the CSV by chapter (1,189 rows, each with its reader link).
How we counted
- Source: the locked English text, edition 2026.6 (31,085 verses, 66 books). Nothing was edited or sampled.
- A chapter is one chapter file; a verse is one numbered entry; a word is any run of characters between spaces, so “4,600” is one word and so is a word joined to the next by a dash.
- Per-chapter counts add up to each book, and the books add up to the totals. Words are checked against a second, separate count of the same text, book by book, and chapters, verses and books against the locked whole-canon figure, before this page can be built.
- These are counts of one Bible’s English wording. Other translations, and the original languages, give different totals.
How to cite
Spirit Media Publishing. “The Bible by the Numbers: chapters, verses and words in Father’s Heart Bible, counted.” Father’s Heart Bible™, edition 2026.6. https://fathersheartbible.com/bible-by-the-numbers/ (data: https://fathersheartbible.com/data/bible-by-the-numbers-by-book.csv), accessed 2026-11-01.
Frequently asked questions
- How many chapters are in the Bible?
- 1,189 chapters in 66 books: 929 in the Old Testament and 260 in the New Testament (Father’s Heart Bible, edition 2026.6).
- How many verses are in the Bible?
- 31,085 verses in Father’s Heart Bible, edition 2026.6: 23,143 in the Old Testament and 7,942 in the New Testament. The figure usually cited is 31,102; this edition has 17 fewer, and the section below shows where its verse numbering skips.
- How many words are in the Bible?
- 646,172 words in the English text of Father’s Heart Bible: 494,479 in the Old Testament and 151,693 in the New Testament. A word is anything between spaces, so a number such as 4,600 counts as one. Other English Bibles give other totals.
- What is the longest chapter in the Bible?
- Psalms 119, with 176 verses and 2,352 words. It is the longest chapter by verses and by words.
- What is the shortest chapter in the Bible?
- Psalms 117, with 2 verses and 29 words, the shortest chapter by verses and by words.
- What is the shortest verse in the Bible?
- By word count, 8 verses tie at two words, including John 11:35, “Jesus wept.” By characters the shortest is Job 3:2 (8 characters). The tie list is below.
- What is the longest verse in the Bible?
- By words, 2 Kings 6:32 (65 words). By characters, Daniel 5:23 (381 characters, 62 words). Neither is quoted here; both link to our reader.
- What is the longest book of the Bible, and the shortest?
- Psalms is longest on every measure: 150 chapters, 2,461 verses, 40,697 words. The shortest by verses and words is 2 John (13 verses, 246 words). Obadiah, Philemon, 2 John, 3 John, Jude are the books with a single chapter.
- Can I use these numbers?
- Yes. Download the CSVs and cite this page with the citation above. Every figure was counted from the locked English text and checked against a second, independent count of the same text.