How Many Verses in the Bible? 31,102 (Old & New Testament)

The Bible has 31,102 verses. This is the King James Version (KJV) count. The KJV has 66 books. The Old Testament has 23,145 verses. The New Testament has 7,957 verses.

The Bible also has 1,189 chapters. There are 929 in the Old Testament and 260 in the New Testament.

These numbers help us see how big the Bible is. They also help us plan our reading. But the numbers were added later. They are not part of the first writings.

The short answer

Part of the Bible	Books	Chapters	Verses
Old Testament	39	929	23,145
New Testament	27	260	7,957
Whole Bible	66	1,189	31,102

The Bible was not written with these numbers at first. They came later, as study tools. We explain the chapter count in our guide on how many chapters are in the Bible.

How many verses are in the Old Testament?

The Old Testament has 23,145 verses. It has 39 books and 929 chapters.

It starts with Genesis. It ends with Malachi. It holds law, history, poetry, wisdom, and prophecy.

Psalms is the largest book in the Old Testament by verse count. It has 2,461 verses in 150 chapters.

The Old Testament is much bigger than the New Testament. It holds more than two out of every three verses in the Bible. To be exact, it holds about 74 of every 100 verses.

How many verses are in the New Testament?

The New Testament has 7,957 verses. It has 27 books and 260 chapters.

It starts with Matthew. It ends with Revelation. It tells the story of Jesus. It also tells the story of the first church.

The New Testament is shorter. But its verses are often longer. Matthew has 1,071 verses. Luke has 1,151 verses. Revelation has 404 verses.

How many verses are in each book of the Bible?

Old Testament

Book	Chapters	Verses
Genesis	50	1,533
Exodus	40	1,213
Leviticus	27	859
Numbers	36	1,288
Deuteronomy	34	959
Joshua	24	658
Judges	21	618
Ruth	4	85
1 Samuel	31	810
2 Samuel	24	695
1 Kings	22	816
2 Kings	25	719
1 Chronicles	29	942
2 Chronicles	36	822
Ezra	10	280
Nehemiah	13	406
Esther	10	167
Job	42	1,070
Psalms	150	2,461
Proverbs	31	915
Ecclesiastes	12	222
Song of Solomon	8	117
Isaiah	66	1,292
Jeremiah	52	1,364
Lamentations	5	154
Ezekiel	48	1,273
Daniel	12	357
Hosea	14	197
Joel	3	73
Amos	9	146
Obadiah	1	21
Jonah	4	48
Micah	7	105
Nahum	3	47
Habakkuk	3	56
Zephaniah	3	53
Haggai	2	38
Zechariah	14	211
Malachi	4	55
Total	929	23,145

New Testament

Book	Chapters	Verses
Matthew	28	1,071
Mark	16	678
Luke	24	1,151
John	21	879
Acts	28	1,007
Romans	16	433
1 Corinthians	16	437
2 Corinthians	13	257
Galatians	6	149
Ephesians	6	155
Philippians	4	104
Colossians	4	95
1 Thessalonians	5	89
2 Thessalonians	3	47
1 Timothy	6	113
2 Timothy	4	83
Titus	3	46
Philemon	1	25
Hebrews	13	303
James	5	108
1 Peter	5	105
2 Peter	3	61
1 John	5	105
2 John	1	13
3 John	1	14
Jude	1	25
Revelation	22	404
Total	260	7,957

Some lists online say the book of Numbers has 1,289 verses. That is not correct. In the KJV and in other common translations, Numbers has 1,288 verses.

Which book of the Bible has the most verses?

Psalms has 2,461 verses. It stands far above every other book.

Genesis comes second, with 1,533 verses. Jeremiah comes third, with 1,364 verses.

Psalms are full of songs, prayers, praise, sorrow, and trust in God. It shows many feelings in one book.

Which chapter has the most verses?

Psalm 119 has 176 verses. It is the longest chapter in the Bible.

Which chapter is the shortest?

Psalm 117 has only 2 verses. It is the shortest chapter in the Bible.

It is also the middle chapter of the whole Bible. It is the 595th chapter.

What is the shortest verse in the Bible?

This answer depends on how you count. It depends on the words. It depends on the letters. It also depends on the language.

In English, many people say John 11:35 “Jesus wept” is the shortest. It has 2 words and 9 letters.

But other verses are shorter in English letters. Job 3:2 “He said” has only 6 letters.

In the Greek, John 11:35 has 16 letters. 1 Thessalonians 5:16 “Rejoice always” has only 14 letters in Greek.

In Hebrew, 1 Chronicles 1:25 “Eber, Peleg, Reu” has only 9 letters if you count consonants alone.

So the safe answer is this: name the language and the translation before you give a number.

What is the longest verse in the Bible?

Esther 8:9 is the longest verse. In the KJV it runs to about 78 words.

What is the middle verse of the Bible?

Many people say the middle verse is Psalm 118:8. This is a common belief, but it is not correct.

The KJV has 31,102 verses. That is an even number. An even number has no single middle. So there is no one middle verse.

There are two middle verses instead: Psalm 103:1–2. There are 15,550 verses before them and 15,550 verses after them.

Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. (Psalm 103:1–2, KJV)

It is a good thing that the middle of the Bible is about praise.

Who put the numbers in the Bible?

The first readers had no numbers. Each book was one long text. There were no chapters. There were no verses.

Chapters came much later. The system we use today comes from Stephen Langton, who was the Archbishop of Canterbury, in the early 1200s.

Another early system came from Cardinal Hugo de Sancto Caro, around the year 1238.

Verses came about three hundred years after that. They were added by Robert Estienne, also called Robertus Stephanus.

His verse numbers were printed in 1551 for the New Testament and in 1553 for the Hebrew Bible.

These numbers were made to help readers. They help us find a passage fast. They help us teach and study. But they were not in the first writings.

Does every Bible have 31,102 verses?

No. The number 31,102 belongs to the KJV and the 66-book Protestant Bible. Other Bibles are different.

Catholic Bibles include extra books in the Old Testament. They have 73 books.

Their count is about 1,334 chapters that is 1,074 chapters in the Old Testament (46 books) plus 260 in the New Testament.

Jewish and Hebrew numbering comes out about 116 verses higher than Christian texts. The reason is simple. Many Psalms start with a short title line.

Jewish tradition counts those title lines as verses. Christian Bibles usually do not count them.

Other traditions, such as Orthodox and Ethiopian Orthodox, include more books again. So their totals are higher.

So when you give a number, say which Bible you mean. Say the canon. Say the translation.

How many words are in the Bible?

The KJV is often given as 783,137 words.

There is no single answer for every Bible. Each translation uses a different number of words. Most counts for the English Bible come out around 780,000 to 785,000 words.

How long does it take to read the Bible?

The Bible does not tell us how fast to read. You can pick your own speed.

• One chapter each day: about 3 years and 3 months.
• Three chapters each day: about 1 year and 1 month.
• One verse each day: about 85 years.

A slow speed is not a bad thing. It gives you more time to think about what you read.

Common questions about Bible verses

Is 31,102 the exact number of verses? 

Yes, for the KJV and the 66-book Protestant Bible. Other Bibles and other numbering systems can give a different total.

How many verses are in the Old and New Testaments? 

The Old Testament has 23,145 verses. The New Testament has 7,957 verses.

How many chapters are in the Bible? 

The 66-book Protestant Bible has 1,189 chapters. The Old Testament has 929. The New Testament has 260.

What is the longest chapter in the Bible? 

Psalm 119, with 176 verses.

What is the shortest chapter in the Bible? 

Psalm 117, with 2 verses.

What is the middle verse of the Bible? 

There is no single middle verse, because 31,102 is an even number. The two middle verses are Psalm 103:1–2.

Are the chapter and verse numbers in the first writings? 

No. They were added later, to help readers find passages.

Does the verse count change with the translation? 

Yes. Numbering systems can differ. Jewish tradition counts the titles of many Psalms as verses, and this adds about 116 verses.

Why the verse count matters

The number 31,102 answers a simple question. But the number is not the main point.

A verse is not a small island. Each verse sits inside a chapter. Each chapter sits inside a book. Each book sits inside one large story.

So read the verses around a passage. Look at who is speaking. Look at who is being spoken to. Look at what is happening in the text.

The number helps you plan.  God’s Word helps you grow.

Start reading, one passage at a time

You do not need to read the whole Bible at once. You do not need to rush.

Pick one book. Read one chapter today. Read the verses around it. Write down one question if you have one.

Thirty-one thousand verses may sound like a lot. But you meet them one at a time. Each one is a small part of a much bigger message.