Discover How Many Chapters There Are in the Bible

If you’ve ever picked up a Bible, you might have found yourself wondering: How many chapters are in here? How many chapters there are in the Bible is not a mystery. This article will explain how come the Bible has 1189 total chapters, spread across the 66 books of the Bible. 

Each book of the Bible has chapters as verse divisions

The entire Bible as we know it has not always been this way. There’s a famous quote that says the Bible is a library and not a book. This is said because the Bible is a combination of many different kinds of historical books, gathered over many years. These books have different authors and were written in unique contexts. The Bible as we have it is called a ‘canon’ or a ‘collection’ – and it is one of many. 

Also see what is the shortest book in the Bible.

Here are a few interesting facts about our Bible canon:

• The canonical books of the Bible are not given in chronological order
• Chapter numbers were not in the original text, even though they are added to Bibles today as a referencing tool.
• The original texts did not even have verse references. In some cases, the main sections may have been marked, but chapter breaks were not common.
• There are different genres in the Bible: prophetic books, books of the major prophets, wisdom books, songs, historical books, books of poetry, books of the law, eyewitness accounts, letters, and more.

Also see what are the 73 books in the Bible.

The issue of translation affects the Bible’s chapters

Furthermore, the issue of Bible translation should also be considered. The version of the Bible that you have can have a different number of verses than mine. The total number of verses in a King James Bible might differ from the same tally in a New Living Translation or a New American Standard Bible. The point is that the slight differences in translations affect the total number of words present. This does not usually affect the number of chapters of  the Bible, since these main parts are still identifiable even if the verse system is a bit different. 

The following lists explain the total number of chapters in each Bible book. Each list of books of the Bible has a number to the right of it, showing the number of chapters in that book. For example: Genesis  50 means there are fifty chapters in the Book of Genesis. 

Also see reading the Bible in chronological order.

Different books of the Old Testament and the number of chapters they have

There are 929 chapters across 39 books of the Old Testament of the Bible.

Genesis 50

Exodus 40

Leviticus 27

Numbers 36

Deuteronomy 34

Joshua 24

Jushes 21

Ruth 4

1 Samuel 31

2 Samuel 24

1 Kings 22

2 Kings 25

1 Chronicles 29

2 Chronicles 36

Ezra 10

Nehemiah 13

Esther 10

Job 42

Psalms 150

* The longest chapter in the whole Bible is Psalm 119, which has a total of 176 verses.

Proverbs 31

Ecclesiastes 12

Song of Songs 8

Isaiah 66

Jeremiah 52

Lamentations 5

Ezekiel 48

Daniel 12

Hosea 14

Joel 3

Amos 9

Obadiah 1

Jonah 4

Micah 7

Nahum 3

Habakkuk 3

Zephaniah 3

Haggai 2

Zechariah 14

Malachi 4

(as compiled by Biblememorygoal)

Also see how many pages are in the Bible.

Explore how many chapters each of the New Testament books has

There are 260 chapters across 27 books of the New Testament in the Bible.

Matthew 28

Mark 16

Luke 24

John 21

Acts 28

Romans 16

1 Corinthians 16

2 Corinthians 13

Galatians 6

Ephesians 6

Philippians 4

Colossians 4

1 Thessalonians 5

2 Thessalonians 3

1 Timothy 6

2 Timothy 4

Titus 3

Philemon 1

Hebrews 13

James 5

1 Peter 5

2 Peter 3

1 John 5

2 John 1

3 John 1

Jude 1

Revelation 22

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness That the man of God may be perfect, thoughtfully furnished unto all good works.

2 Timothy 3:16

​Full list of the Books of the Bible by genre

The Old Testament

The Books of the Law (Genesis – Deuteronomy)

Books of History (Joshua – Esther)

The Books of Poetry (Job – Song of Songs)

The Major Prophets (Isaiah – Daniel)

The Minor Prophets (Hosea – Malachi)

The New Testament

The Gospels (Matthew – John)

The History of the Church (Acts)

Paul’s Letters/Epistles (Romans – Philemon)

The General Letters/Epistles (Hebrews – Jude)

The Book of Prophecy (Revelation)

(as compiled by Growingintime)

Bible books ranked by their number of chapters

1. Psalms — 150
2. Isaiah — 66
3. Jeremiah — 52
4. Genesis — 50
5. Ezekiel — 48
6. Job — 42
7. Exodus — 40
8. Second Chronicles — 36
9. Numbers — 36
10. Deuteronomy — 34
11. First Samuel — 31
12. Proverbs — 31
13. First Chronicles — 29
14. Acts — 28
15. Matthew — 28
16. Leviticus — 27
17. Second Kings — 25
18. Second Samuel — 24
19. Joshua — 24
20. Luke — 24
21. First Kings — 22
22. Revelation — 22
23. John — 21
24. Judges — 21
25. First Corinthians — 16
26. Mark — 16
27. Romans — 16
28. Hosea — 14
29. Zechariah — 14
30. Second Corinthians — 13
31. Esther — 13
32. Hebrews — 13
33. Nehemiah — 13
34. Daniel — 12
35. Ecclesiastes — 12
36. Ezra — 10
37. Amos — 9
38. Song of Solomon — 8
39. FirstTimothy — 6
40. Ephesians — 6
41. Galatians — 6
42. First John — 5
43. First Peter — 5
44. First Thessalonians — 5
45. James — 5
46. Lamentations — 5
47. Second Timothy — 4
48. Colossians — 4
49. Jonah — 4
50. Malachi — 4
51. Micah — 4
52. Philippians — 4
53. Ruth — 4
54. Second Thessalonians — 3
55. Second Peter — 3
56. Habakkuk — 3
57. Joel — 3
58. Nahum — 3
59. Titus — 3
60. Zephaniah — 3
61. Haggai — 2
62. Second John — 1
63. Third John — 1
64. Jude — 1
65. Obadiah — 1
66. Philemon — 1

(as compiled by Howard Culbertson)

Famous chapters in the Bible

Old Testament

1. Creation story — Genesis 1 and 2
2. The Fall of Humanity — Genesis 3
3. Noah and the flood — Genesis 6
4. The Tower of Babel — Genesis 11
5. Call of Abraham — Genesis 12
6. Joseph’s Dreams — Genesis 37
7. Moses at the burning bush — Exodus 3
8. Passover — Exodus 12
9. Crossing of the Red Sea — Exodus 14
10. Ten Commandments — Exodus 20
11. The Day of Atonement — Leviticus 16
12. The Twelve Spies — Numbers 13
13. The Shema — Deuteronomy 6
14. Fall of the walls of Jericho — Joshua 6
15. Gideon — Judges 6
16. Ruth’s Pledge of Loyalty — Ruth 1
17. Samuel’s response to God’s call — 1 Samuel 3
18. David and Goliath — 1 Samuel 17
19. David and Bathsheba — 2 Samuel 11
20. Elijah on Mt. Carmel — 1 Kings 18
21. Elijah Taken to Heaven — 2 Kings 2
22. Nehemiah’s Prayer — Nehemiah 1
23. Esther’s Resolve — Esther 4
24. The Ways of the Righteous and Wicked — Psalm 1
25. The Good Shepherd Psalm — Psalm 23
26. David’s prayer for forgiveness — Psalm 51
27. The Glory of God’s Word — Psalm 119
28. Trust in the Lord — Proverbs 3
29. The Virtuous Woman — Proverbs 31
30. A Time for Everything — Ecclesiastes 3
31. Remember Your Creator — Ecclesiastes 12
32. Isaiah’s Vision of the Lord — Isaiah 6
33. Prophecy of Jesus’ Virgin Birth — Isaiah 7
34. Prophecy of the Messiah — Isaiah 9
35. The Suffering Servant — Isaiah 53
36. Comfort for God’s People — Isaiah 40
37. Letter to the Exiles — Jeremiah 29
38. The Valley of Dry Bones — Ezekiel 37
39. The Fiery Furnace — Daniel 3
40. Daniel and the lions’ den — Daniel 6
41. Hosea’s Wife and Children — Hosea 1
42. The Day of the Lord — Joel 2
43. Jonah Flees from the Lord — Jonah 1
44. Jonah and the big fish — Jonah 2
45. Jonah Goes to Nineveh — Jonah 3
46. What does the Lord require? — Micah 6

New Testament

1. Geneaology of Jesus — Matthew 1
2. Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (including the Beatitudes and the Lord’s Prayer) — Matthew 5-7
3. The Great Commission — Matthew 28
4. The Resurrection — Mark 16
5. Birth of Jesus of Nazareth — Luke 2
6. Parable of the Good Samaritan — Luke 10
7. Parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Lost Son — Luke 15
8. The Last Supper — Luke 22
9. The Word became flesh — John 1
10. Nicodemus and the New Birth — John 3
11. The Samaritan Woman — John 4
12. The Raising of Lazarus — John 11
13. The Last Supper — John 13
14. The Vine and the Branches — John 15
15. The Crucifixion of Jesus — John 19
16. The Ascension of Jesus — Acts 1
17. Coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost — Acts 2
18. Conversion of Saul — Acts 9
19. Peter and Cornelius — Acts 10
20. Paul’s Macedonian Vision — Acts 16
21. The Power of the Gospel — Romans 1
22. Life in the Spirit — Romans 8
23. Living Sacrifices — Romans 12
24. The Love Chapter — 1 Corinthians 13
25. The Resurrection of Christ — 1 Corinthians 15
26. Fruit of the Spirit — Galatians 5
27. Alive in Christ — Ephesians 2
28. The Armor of God — Ephesians 7
29. Imitating Christ’s Humility — Philippians 2
30. Rejoice in the Lord — Philippians 4
31. The Supremacy of Christ — Colossians 1
32. The Coming of the Lord — 1 Thessalonians 4
33. By Faith — Hebrews 11
34. The Discipline of the Lord — Hebrews 12
35. Faith and Deeds — James 2
36. Gossip: Taming the Tongue — James 3
37. Letters to the seven churches — Revelation 2-3
38. The Scroll and the Lamb — Revelation 5
39. Grand finale: Vision of people in Heaven — Revelation 7
40. New Heaven and New Earth — Revelation 21

(as compiled by Howard Culbertson)