You're standing in a bookstore or scrolling through a digital app, and you see that thick spine. It’s the Bible. Most people know it’s big, but when you actually start asking how many chapters in each book of bible, things get surprisingly specific—and honestly, a little weird.
It isn't just one long story. It’s a library. Sixty-six different books written by roughly forty authors over about 1,500 years. If you’re trying to read through the whole thing, knowing the "terrain" is a survival skill. You don't want to walk into Psalms thinking it’s a quick afternoon read like Obadiah.
The Big Picture: 1,189 Steps
Total count? 1,189.
The Old Testament takes up the lion's share with 929 chapters. The New Testament is much leaner, coming in at 260. If you divided that by a year, you’d be looking at roughly 3.25 chapters a day. Easy enough on paper, right? But some chapters are three verses long, and others are essentially short novels.
Interestingly, the chapter divisions weren't even there originally. Early manuscripts were just walls of text. It wasn't until the 13th century that Stephen Langton, the Archbishop of Canterbury, decided we needed a way to find things without losing our minds. Later, Robert Estienne added the verses in the 16th century.
Imagine trying to find a specific sentence in a book with no page numbers or chapters. That was life for over a millennium.
Breaking Down the Old Testament (The Heavy Lifters)
The Old Testament is where the bulk of the chapter count lives. It starts with the Pentateuch—the first five books. Genesis has 50 chapters. Exodus follows with 40. Leviticus (the one where many people’s "read the Bible in a year" plans go to die) has 27. Numbers has 36, and Deuteronomy closes the set with 34.
Then you hit the history books. Joshua (24), Judges (21), and the tiny but beautiful Ruth (only 4 chapters). Then the "double" books kick in. 1 Samuel has 31, 2 Samuel has 24. 1 Kings has 22, 2 Kings has 25. 1 Chronicles has 29, and 2 Kings has 36.
It feels like a lot of numbers because it is.
But then you hit the Wisdom literature. This is where the statistics get wild. Job has 42 chapters. Psalms? That’s the heavyweight champion of the world with 150 chapters. It’s the longest book by chapter count, though technically, Jeremiah has more actual words if you’re counting "bulk." Proverbs has 31—one for every day of the month, which is why a lot of people read one a day. Ecclesiastes has 12, and Song of Solomon has 8.
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The Major and Minor Prophets
The "Major" prophets are called that because they are long, not because they are more important. Isaiah is a beast with 66 chapters. Fun fact: Some people call Isaiah a "mini-bible" because the Bible has 66 books and Isaiah has 66 chapters, with a shift in tone right at chapter 40, much like the shift from the Old to the New Testament. Jeremiah has 52. Lamentations (his "sequel") has 5. Ezekiel has 48, and Daniel has 12.
Then come the "Minor" prophets. They are short. Really short.
Hosea: 14.
Joel: 3.
Amos: 9.
Obadiah: 1. Just one.
Jonah: 4.
Micah: 7.
Nahum: 3.
Habakkuk: 3.
Zephaniah: 3.
Haggai: 2.
Zechariah: 14.
Malachi: 4.
If you want to feel productive, read the Minor Prophets. You can knock out five books in twenty minutes.
The New Testament: Fast and Focused
The New Testament is a sprint compared to the Old Testament marathon. It kicks off with the Gospels. Matthew has 28 chapters. Mark is the "action" Gospel—short, fast-paced, only 16 chapters. Luke is the longest Gospel with 24, and John has 21.
Acts, the history of the early church, has 28.
Then we get into Paul’s letters (the Epistles). Romans is the "theological powerhouse" at 16 chapters. 1 Corinthians has 16, and 2 Corinthians has 13. Galatians has 6. Ephesians has 6. Philippians has 4. Colossians has 4.
The letters to the Thessalonians are quick: 1 Thessalonians has 5, 2 Thessalonians has 3.
1 Timothy has 6, 2 Timothy has 4.
Titus has 3, and Philemon is another one-chapter wonder.
The General Epistles and Revelation
Hebrews is a bit longer at 13 chapters. James has 5. 1 Peter has 5, 2 Peter has 3.
1 John has 5, while 2 John and 3 John are just 1 chapter each. Jude is also 1 chapter.
Finally, Revelation wraps the whole thing up with 22 chapters of intense imagery and prophecy.
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Why These Numbers Trip People Up
When asking how many chapters in each book of bible, most people assume chapters are a measure of time. They aren't.
Take Psalm 117. It’s the shortest chapter in the whole Bible. It has two verses. Two! You can read it in five seconds.
Then look at Psalm 119. It has 176 verses. It’s an acrostic poem where every section starts with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. If you treat Psalm 117 and Psalm 119 as "equal" because they are both one chapter, your reading schedule is going to be a disaster.
The "Obadiah" Effect
There are five books in the Bible that consist of only a single chapter: Obadiah, Philemon, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude.
In a standard Bible, these don't even get their own pages. They just sort of blend into the surrounding text. If you’re looking for a specific verse in Jude, you don't say "Jude chapter 1, verse 3." You just say "Jude 3." Because there is no chapter 2.
Navigating the Complexity of Word Counts
If you really want to be an expert on this, you have to look past the chapter numbers. The chapters are artificial. They were added hundreds of years later to help us find our place. If you look at the actual word counts, the rankings change.
- Jeremiah: The longest book by word count (approx. 33,000 words).
- Genesis: Second longest (approx. 32,000 words).
- Psalms: Third longest (approx. 30,000 words).
Wait, Psalms has 150 chapters but it's only third? Yep. Because so many of those "chapters" are just a few lines of poetry. Jeremiah has fewer chapters (52) but they are dense, long, prose-heavy sections.
In the New Testament, Luke is actually the "longest" writer. If you combine the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts (both written by Luke), he wrote more of the New Testament than anyone else—including Paul.
Misconceptions About the "Middle" of the Bible
You’ve probably heard someone say that Psalm 118:8 is the middle of the Bible.
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"It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man."
It’s a great verse. It’s a cool sentiment. But strictly speaking, it depends on which version of the Bible you’re using and how you calculate the "middle." If you go by chapter count (1,189 chapters), the middle chapter is actually Psalm 117 (the shortest one!).
If you go by verse count (31,102 verses), the middle is somewhere around Psalm 103.
The point is, the structure of the Bible is a human overlay on top of divine inspiration. It’s a tool. Don’t get too hung up on the "exact middle" as if it’s a secret code.
Practical Takeaways for Your Reading Plan
If you're trying to actually get through these chapters, here is how to use this data so you don't burn out by February:
- Don't count chapters; count time. Instead of saying "I'll read three chapters," say "I'll read for ten minutes." Reading three chapters of 1 Chronicles (which is often just lists of names) feels a lot different than reading three chapters of the Gospel of John.
- The "One-Chapter" win. On days when you are totally overwhelmed, go to Jude or 3 John. You get the satisfaction of finishing an entire book of the Bible in about three minutes. It keeps the momentum going.
- The Psalm 119 Warning. If you see "Psalm 119" on your schedule, clear your calendar. Or break it up. It’s longer than many other entire books.
- Understand the Genres. The Law (Genesis-Deuteronomy) and History books have longer chapters. The Prophets are "punchy." The Epistles are dense—you might read one chapter of Romans and need an hour to process it, whereas you could fly through five chapters of 1 Kings.
The Bible is a massive library. Whether you're looking at the 50 chapters of Genesis or the single chapter of Obadiah, the goal isn't just to check a box. It's to understand the narrative. Now that you know the layout, the "map" should be a lot less intimidating.
Actionable Next Steps
To make this practical, start with a "Low-Bar" habit. Pick one of the five single-chapter books (Philemon is a great place to start because it's a personal letter about a runaway slave) and read it today.
Once you’ve done that, move to the "Big Three" of the New Testament (Matthew, Acts, or Romans) to get a feel for the longer chapter structures. Use a version like the ESV or NASB for study, or the NLT if you just want to get through the story quickly without getting tripped up by the 1,189-chapter hurdles.