Bible Books by Chapter Count: Full List + Downloadable Chart
The Bible has 1,189 chapters: 929 in the Old Testament across 39 books, and 260 in the New Testament across 27 books. Books range from one chapter (Obadiah) to 150 chapters (Psalms). Download the full table or printable chart below.
When I was creating my reading list for Chapter By Chapter, I suddenly needed a list of books of the Bible by number of chapters to build my reading plan.
Chapters and verses, of course, were added long after the Bible was written, so they’re not inspired the way the text is, and you shouldn’t read anything special into them.
But I’m a fan of putting as many tools in your toolbox as possible. If you come up with some creative ways to use this data, let me know.
Looking for summaries of each book? Start here: Chapter by Chapter
Interactive Book Table
| Book | Order | Testament | Chapters | Verses | Words |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genesis | 1 | Old | 50 | 1533 | 36397 |
| Exodus | 2 | Old | 40 | 1213 | 31005 |
| Leviticus | 3 | Old | 27 | 859 | 23493 |
| Numbers | 4 | Old | 36 | 1288 | 31043 |
| Deuteronomy | 5 | Old | 34 | 959 | 27618 |
| Joshua | 6 | Old | 24 | 658 | 17993 |
| Judges | 7 | Old | 21 | 618 | 18312 |
| Ruth | 8 | Old | 4 | 85 | 2437 |
| 1 Samuel | 9 | Old | 31 | 810 | 24168 |
| 2 Samuel | 10 | Old | 24 | 695 | 19795 |
| 1 Kings | 11 | Old | 22 | 816 | 23520 |
| 2 Kings | 12 | Old | 25 | 719 | 22912 |
| 1 Chronicles | 13 | Old | 29 | 942 | 18580 |
| 2 Chronicles | 14 | Old | 36 | 822 | 24856 |
| Ezra | 15 | Old | 10 | 280 | 6921 |
| Nehemiah | 16 | Old | 13 | 406 | 9874 |
| Esther | 17 | Old | 10 | 167 | 5484 |
| Job | 18 | Old | 42 | 1070 | 17627 |
| Psalms | 19 | Old | 150 | 2461 | 41273 |
| Proverbs | 20 | Old | 31 | 915 | 14552 |
| Ecclesiastes | 21 | Old | 12 | 222 | 5376 |
| Song of Solomon | 22 | Old | 8 | 117 | 2576 |
| Isaiah | 23 | Old | 66 | 1292 | 35385 |
| Jeremiah | 24 | Old | 52 | 1364 | 40544 |
| Lamentations | 25 | Old | 5 | 154 | 3253 |
| Ezekiel | 26 | Old | 48 | 1273 | 37309 |
| Daniel | 27 | Old | 12 | 357 | 11272 |
| Hosea | 28 | Old | 14 | 197 | 4976 |
| Joel | 29 | Old | 3 | 73 | 1917 |
| Amos | 30 | Old | 9 | 146 | 4067 |
| Obadiah | 31 | Old | 1 | 21 | 614 |
| Jonah | 32 | Old | 4 | 48 | 1312 |
| Micah | 33 | Old | 7 | 105 | 3022 |
| Nahum | 34 | Old | 3 | 47 | 1111 |
| Habakkuk | 35 | Old | 3 | 56 | 1373 |
| Zephaniah | 36 | Old | 3 | 53 | 1573 |
| Haggai | 37 | Old | 2 | 38 | 1095 |
| Zechariah | 38 | Old | 14 | 211 | 6083 |
| Malachi | 39 | Old | 4 | 55 | 1752 |
| Matthew | 40 | New | 28 | 1067 | 23019 |
| Mark | 41 | New | 16 | 673 | 14596 |
| Luke | 42 | New | 24 | 1149 | 25010 |
| John | 43 | New | 21 | 866 | 18841 |
| Acts | 44 | New | 28 | 1003 | 23633 |
| Romans | 45 | New | 16 | 432 | 9530 |
| 1 Corinthians | 46 | New | 16 | 437 | 9314 |
| 2 Corinthians | 47 | New | 13 | 257 | 6077 |
| Galatians | 48 | New | 6 | 149 | 3133 |
| Ephesians | 49 | New | 6 | 155 | 3014 |
| Philippians | 50 | New | 4 | 104 | 2160 |
| Colossians | 51 | New | 4 | 95 | 1950 |
| 1 Thessalonians | 52 | New | 5 | 89 | 1854 |
| 2 Thessalonians | 53 | New | 3 | 47 | 1065 |
| 1 Timothy | 54 | New | 6 | 113 | 2314 |
| 2 Timothy | 55 | New | 4 | 83 | 1647 |
| Titus | 56 | New | 3 | 46 | 928 |
| Philemon | 57 | New | 1 | 25 | 461 |
| Hebrews | 58 | New | 13 | 303 | 6935 |
| James | 59 | New | 5 | 108 | 2331 |
| 1 Peter | 60 | New | 5 | 105 | 2405 |
| 2 Peter | 61 | New | 3 | 61 | 1549 |
| 1 John | 62 | New | 5 | 105 | 2507 |
| 2 John | 63 | New | 1 | 13 | 302 |
| 3 John | 64 | New | 1 | 15 | 303 |
| Jude | 65 | New | 1 | 25 | 610 |
| Revelation | 66 | New | 22 | 404 | 11526 |
Selected Superlatives
- Which book has the most chapters?
Psalms with 150 (and it’s not close; second place is Isaiah with merely 66) - Which book has the fewest chapters?
Obadiah, Philemon, 2 John, 3 John, Jude tie with 1 each - Which book has the most verses?
Psalms again with 2,461 (second place is Genesis with 1,533) - Which book has the fewest verses?
2 John with 13 - Which book has the most words (English Standard Version)?
Psalms again with 41,273 (but second-place Isaiah is much closer this time with 40,544) - Which book has the fewest words (English Standard Version)?
2 John with 302 (narrowly beating 3 John with 303)
Books Grouped by Chapter Count
- 1 chapter — Obadiah, Philemon, 2 John, 3 John, Jude
- 2 chapters — Haggai
- 3 chapters — Joel, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, 2 Thessalonians, Titus, 2 Peter
- 4 chapters — Ruth, Jonah, Malachi, Philippians, Colossians, 2 Timothy
- 6 chapters — Galatians, Ephesians, 1 Timothy
- 21 chapters — Judges, John
- 28 chapters — Matthew, Acts
- 30 chapters — No books have exactly 30 chapters
- 31 chapters — 1 Samuel, Proverbs
- 40 chapters — Exodus
