What Is the Shortest Verse in the Bible? Find It Here

Have you ever sat in a Bible study, a bit of a competitive spirit bubbling up, waiting for the perfect trivia question to drop? I’ve been there. Someone always asks it. The question about the shortest verse in the entire Bible. It seems simple, almost like a fun fact for a Sunday school class. But the answer, and the story behind it, holds more weight than you might imagine. It’s one of those things that, once you really look at it, changes from a piece of trivia into a profound truth. So, what is the shortest verse in the Bible?

The answer is quick and direct. But the meaning behind it can last a lifetime. I’ve spent countless hours not just reading the words, but sitting with them, letting them sink in. The journey to understand this tiny verse has been a huge part of my own walk with God. It has taught me more about His heart than some entire books of the Bible have.

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Key Takeaways

For those who just want the fast answer, here it is. This is the core of what you need to know, a starting point for a much deeper discovery.

• The Shortest Verse: In most English translations of the Bible, the shortest verse is John 11:35, which reads, “Jesus wept.”
• The Context: This verse appears during the story of the death of Lazarus, one of Jesus’s closest friends.
• The Meaning: These two words are incredibly powerful. They reveal the deep humanity of Jesus and His compassion for our suffering and grief.
• The Old Testament: The shortest verse in the Old Testament is 1 Chronicles 1:25, which lists three names: “Eber, Peleg, Reu.”
• The Original Language: In the original Greek manuscript, another verse, 1 Thessalonians 5:16 (“Rejoice always”), is actually shorter by character count.

What Is the Shortest Bible Verse You Can Find?

Let’s get right to it. The shortest verse in the Bible, as found in the King James Version and many other English translations, is John 11:35.

“Jesus wept.”

That’s it. Two words. Nine letters. It’s concise, easy to memorize, and incredibly powerful. For years, I knew this as a simple fact. It was the answer to a question. But I never stopped to think about what it truly meant. Why was this tiny sentence so important that it was preserved for thousands of years? The answer lies in the moments leading up to it.

What Is the Story Happening Around John 11:35?

This verse isn’t floating in space. It’s anchored in one of the most emotional stories in the Gospels. Jesus had a good friend named Lazarus. He and his sisters, Mary and Martha, were very close to Jesus. The Bible tells us plainly, “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.”

One day, Jesus gets word that Lazarus is gravely ill. But He doesn’t rush to his side. Instead, he waits two more days before heading to their village, Bethany. By the time He arrives, Lazarus has been dead and in the tomb for four days.

Can You Feel the Grief of Mary and Martha?

When Jesus finally arrives, He is met with raw, unfiltered grief. Martha comes out to meet him, her heart heavy. “Lord,” she says, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” You can feel the pain in her words. It’s a mix of faith and confusion.

Then Mary comes. She falls at Jesus’s feet, weeping, and says the exact same thing. The scene is heartbreaking. These sisters are devastated. Their hope seems lost. All their friends and neighbors are there, weeping alongside them. It is into this storm of human sorrow that Jesus walks. And when He sees Mary’s tears and the grief of everyone with her, the Bible says he was “deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.”

Why Exactly Did Jesus Weep?

This is the question that took this verse from trivia to transformation for me. The answer seems obvious at first. His friend was dead. But Jesus knew He was about to raise Lazarus from the tomb. So why the tears? The more I’ve studied and prayed over this, the more I believe His tears came from a place of deep, complex compassion.

Was Jesus Weeping Simply Out of Sadness?

• He felt their pain. Jesus was looking at Mary, a woman He loved dearly, completely shattered by grief. He saw her pain, and He felt it with her. His tears were a sign of His empathy. He wasn’t distant or detached. He entered into their suffering.
• He mourned His friend. Even knowing the miracle that was coming, there was still the reality of death. Lazarus had died. Jesus, in His full humanity, felt the sting of losing a friend. It’s a real and honest emotion.

This is a massive comfort to me. I’ve stood at the graveside of people I love. I’ve felt that hollowness and that ache. Knowing that Jesus has felt that same thing makes Him so much more real. He’s not a God who is unfamiliar with our tears. He has shed them Himself.

Did Jesus Weep Because of the People’s Unbelief?

There’s another layer here. The crowd standing around was murmuring. Some said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” They had seen His miracles. But in this moment of crisis, their faith was faltering.

I think part of Jesus’s weeping was for them. He was saddened by their inability to see the bigger picture. He knew the glory of God was about to be revealed, yet they were stuck in their doubt. His tears were for the hardness of their hearts. He wept for the spiritual blindness that kept them from truly seeing who He was.

Was Jesus Angry at Death Itself?

This might be the most profound reason of all. In the original Greek, the phrase “deeply moved” can also carry a sense of indignation or anger. Some scholars believe Jesus wasn’t just sad; He was angry.

Why would He be angry? He was angry at what death does. He was angry at the brokenness of the world. Death was not part of God’s original, perfect creation. It is an intruder. It is an enemy. And Jesus, standing before the tomb of His friend, felt a righteous anger against the very power of sin and death. His tears, then, were a prelude to His victory. He was about to punch a hole in the darkness and show everyone that He had power over the grave.

What Is the Shortest Verse in the Original Greek Bible?

This is where the trivia gets even more interesting. The Bibles we read today have chapters and verses. But the original letters and manuscripts didn’t have them. They were added much later, in the Middle Ages, to make the text easier to navigate and study. This is an important piece of history. The concept of a “verse” is a human invention.

So, while “Jesus wept” is the shortest verse in English, is it the shortest in the original Greek?

The answer is no. That title actually goes to 1 Thessalonians 5:16.

“Πάντοτε χαίρετε” (Pantote chairete)

This translates to “Rejoice always.” In the original Greek, this verse has only 16 characters. John 11:35, in Greek, is “Ἐδάκρυσεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς” (Edakrusen ho Iēsous), which has 25 characters.

Why Does This Difference Matter?

For me, this discovery was fascinating. It shows how translation can change things. The structure of Greek is different from English. A single Greek word can hold the meaning of several English words. It doesn’t change the truth of the Scripture, of course. But it does give us a richer understanding.

It’s also beautiful to think about these two verses together.

• “Jesus wept.” (The shortest in English)
• “Rejoice always.” (The shortest in Greek)

These two ideas hold the tension of the Christian life. We live in a world of sorrow and grief, where weeping is a natural and even holy response. Yet, we are called to a constant state of joy, rooted in the hope and victory we have in Christ. One verse shows us that our God understands our tears. The other reminds us where our ultimate focus should be. It’s a powerful paradox. You can explore more about biblical Greek manuscripts and their history through academic resources, like those from Liberty University’s Rawlings School of Divinity.

What About the Shortest Verse in the Old Testament?

We’ve spent a lot of time in the New Testament. But what about the Old Testament? Does it have a tiny verse contender? It absolutely does.

The shortest verse in the Old Testament is found in the middle of a long genealogy. It is 1 Chronicles 1:25.

“Eber, Peleg, Reu.”

In the original Hebrew, it’s even shorter than “Jesus wept.” It’s just three names, a simple list.

Why Are Genealogies Even in the Bible?

I’ll be honest. For a long time, I used to skip the genealogies. My eyes would glaze over reading the long lists of names. But I’ve learned that they are in the Bible for a very important reason.

• They show history. These lists ground the stories of the Bible in real history. These were real people, in a real time and place.
• They show God’s faithfulness. The genealogies trace the family line from Adam all the way to Jesus. They are a written record of God’s promise to carry His covenant people through history.

So, while “Eber, Peleg, Reu” doesn’t have the emotional punch of “Jesus wept,” it has its own quiet power. It’s a small link in a long, unbreakable chain of God’s faithfulness.

Why Does the Shortest Verse Matter So Much?

So, we’ve established the facts. We know the shortest verse in English, Greek, and the Old Testament. But we have to come back to the main question. Why does this matter? Why do we, as Christians, find so much meaning in “Jesus wept”?

I believe it’s because this verse builds a bridge. It connects the divine to the human. It connects God’s heart to our own.

How “Jesus Wept” Shows His Perfect Humanity

The Bible tells us that Jesus was fully God and fully man. Sometimes, it’s easier to focus on His divinity. We think about His miracles, His wisdom, His power over nature. But this verse forces us to remember His humanity.

• He got tired.
• He felt hunger.
• He experienced frustration.
• And, as this verse shows us, He felt deep, profound sorrow.

He understands what it’s like to be us. When we pray to Him from a place of pain, we are not praying to a distant deity who cannot understand. We are praying to a Savior who has walked this earth and has felt the full weight of human grief.

How This Verse Points to His Awesome Divinity

The incredible thing about this story is what happens next. After His tears, after sharing in their grief, Jesus steps forward. He commands the stone to be rolled away from the tomb. And with a loud voice, He cries out, “Lazarus, come out!”

And the man who was dead, walks out of the tomb.

His tears of humanity were immediately followed by a breathtaking display of divinity. He showed us that He is compassionate enough to weep with us in our darkest moments. And He is powerful enough to defeat the very thing that causes our pain: death itself. It’s this combination that makes Him our perfect Savior.

What Can We Learn from the Bible’s Smallest Words?

The Bible is a huge book. It’s filled with epic stories, complex laws, and deep theology. It can be intimidating. But sometimes, the most powerful truths are hiding in the smallest spaces.

“Jesus wept.”

This verse is more than a fun fact. It is a foundation for our faith. It tells us that it is okay to grieve. It shows us that God is not afraid of our emotions. He doesn’t run from our pain. He enters into it with us.

The next time you are faced with a moment of sorrow, remember this verse. Remember that the King of the universe, the Creator of all things, knows what it’s like to cry. He has sanctified our tears. He understands. And just as He did for Lazarus, He holds the power to roll the stone away and bring new life out of the darkest places. What an incredible hope that is.

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