How Many Bible Verses Are There in the Bible? The Total

I’ll never forget a rainy Tuesday night at our church’s small group. We were in the fellowship hall. The room smelled like coffee and leftover food. A young man was there. He was new to the faith and had a look of pure wonder on his face. He held up his brand-new Bible. Then he asked, “So, I know this is a huge book… but does anyone know exactly how many bible verses are there in the bible?”

And you know, the room went quiet for a moment.

That question sounds so simple. But it is deep, too. In fact, the question is about more than just a number. It is really about the huge size of God’s love letter to us. I am sitting here today with my own Bible. It is a beat-up ESV with wide margins. It has seen me through college, marriage, and raising kids. I think that question is one of the best places to start a journey of faith. It is a question that comes from awe.

So, let’s look at that question together. We will look at it as friends in faith, not as experts. Let’s explore the numbers. Let’s look at the history. And let’s see the beautiful, strong meaning behind the total count of verses in God’s Holy Word.

The Grand Total How Many Bible Verses Are There in the Bible: The Number You’re Looking For

First things first, let’s get the big number on the table. For the common Bible that most of us use in our churches, the most accepted and trusted number is:

31,102 verses.

This is the answer most people give when asked How Many Bible Verses Are There in the Bible. Just take a moment. Let that number sink in. That means there are over thirty-one thousand separate sentences of hope and guidance. There are verses of prophecy, poetry, and truth. So, we have thirty-one thousand promises to cling to. We have commands to guide us. And we have passages that show the very heart of God.

When I first really learned that number, it changed how I saw my Bible. It was not just a group of stories anymore. Instead, it was a huge, amazing tapestry. It was woven together by a God who cares about details. He is a God who has so much He wants to say to us.

But the story does not end with just one number. In fact, the story of how we got that number is a faith journey all its own.

Why Do Translations Change How Many Bible Verses Are There in the Bible?

This is where our journey gets really interesting. For example, you might talk to a friend from a different church. They might tell you a different number. Now, this is not a reason to worry! It is actually a wonderful history lesson. It is about how God has saved and shared His Word with us over the years. There are two main reasons why the verse count can change.

How Did Verse Numbers Shape How Many Bible Verses Are There in the Bible?

One thing that surprised me most when I was a younger Christian was this. The first scrolls of the Bible did not have any chapter or verse numbers at all. Can you imagine that? The prophet Isaiah did not write “Isaiah 53.” Instead, he just wrote a long, beautiful scroll. The apostle Paul did not write “Romans 8:28.” Instead, he wrote one long letter to the church in Rome.

The chapter breaks we use today were added much later. They were added around the year 1227 by a man named Stephen Langton. He was a church leader in England. Thankfully, he did it to make the Bible easier to look up and study. That was a great gift!

Then, hundreds of years later, there was a French printer named Robert Estienne. He was working on a printing of the Greek New Testament. As the story goes, he added the verse numbers while he traveled on a horse from Paris to Lyon. He wanted to make a concordance, which is like an index for the Bible. So, he needed a way to point to certain phrases. In 1551, his version was the first to have the verse numbers we use today. And they just stuck.

So, sometimes there is a small difference in verse counts between Bibles. It can be because the translators grouped Estienne’s original breaks in a different way. It is a human touch in the process of sharing God’s perfect Word. So, when we ask how many bible verses are there in the bible, we are partly asking about the work of these faithful men.

Does the Catholic Bible Have More Verses Than Protestant Bibles?

This is the biggest reason for different verse counts. The Catholic Bible has some books that are not in other Bibles. These books are sometimes called the Deuterocanonical books. This means “second list.” Other Christians often call these books the Apocrypha.

These books include works like Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, and Sirach. They were written in the time between the Old and New Testaments. They have great history in them. But the Protestant Reformers did not think they were God’s inspired Scripture. They did not see them in the same way as the 66 books in our Bibles.

Because the Catholic Old Testament has these extra books, its verse count is much higher. I spent a good part of a Saturday morning looking for a solid number for this. It was harder than I thought, because different Catholic Bibles can be slightly different. But a common number you will see is that the Catholic Bible has 35,523 verses. The difference is all in the Old Testament.

Both Bibles have the exact same New Testament. This historical difference is a key part of the story. For a solid and trustworthy resource on why we can trust the 66 books of our Bible, I always suggest Ligonier Ministries. They have great articles that honor God and His Word. You can explore their materials at ligonier.

How Many Bible Verses Are There in the Bible’s Old and New Testaments?

To really appreciate the grand total, it helps to break it down. God is like a good builder. He constructed His Word in two main parts. These are the Old and New Testaments. Thankfully, they fit together perfectly. They tell one single story of being saved through Jesus Christ.

The Old Testament is huge. In fact, it is about three-fourths of the whole Bible. It covers thousands of years of history. It goes from creation to the prophets who were waiting for the Savior. You see, it is the foundation for everything in the New Testament.

Meanwhile, the New Testament is smaller but very powerful. It is the story of Jesus’s life, death, and rising from the dead. It is also the story of the birth of His church. Plus, it is the fulfillment of all the promises made in the Old Testament. The numbers show this beautiful balance.

What is the Breakdown of Verses in the Old Testament?

The Old Testament has 39 books. It is a great collection of history, law, poetry, and prophecy. The verse count for the Old Testament is:

23,145 verses.

This single part of the Bible holds the majority of verses, a key fact when considering How Many Bible Verses Are There in the Bible in total. Think about that for a moment. There are over twenty-three thousand verses before we even get to the birth of Jesus! This tells me that God has always been a God who talks to us. He has been speaking to His people from the very beginning.

The laws in Leviticus show us He is holy. The deep feelings in the Psalms give us words for our own feelings. These verses are a great treasure. Honestly, a number like this helps you see the size of God’s plan. As a result, it makes you realize that Jesus was not a surprise. He was a promise God was carefully explaining for thousands of years.

How Do We Use the Answer to “How Many Bible Verses Are There in the Bible” in Daily Life?

Knowing this breakdown helps us in our daily walk with the Lord. The New Testament contains the other:

7,957 verses.

This is the part of the Bible that I have probably spent the most time in. Many of us have. For example, these are the verses that have the Sermon on the Mount. They have the stories Jesus told. They have the powerful teachings of the Apostle Paul. And they have the amazing vision of heaven in the book of Revelation.

You see that there are nearly 8,000 verses about the life of Christ. They are about the new promise He made. This gives you confidence. You see, God did not just give us a hint. Instead, He gave us a detailed story from people who saw it happen. It was inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is the story of how we are saved. He gave us everything we need for life and faith.

A big part of knowing this comes from seeing how much truth He gave us. It is not just a number. It is a measure of His grace. So, understanding the answer to how many bible verses are there in the bible is really about understanding how much God wants to talk to us.

What Are Some of the Most Famous Verse Statistics in the Bible?

Okay, let’s have a little fun. We know the big numbers now. So, we can zoom in on some of the fun facts in the Bible. In my experience, these are the kinds of details that stick with you. They can be a great way to share a little bit of God’s Word with others.

What is the Shortest Verse and Why Is It So Powerful?

Almost every Christian who has gone to Sunday School knows this one. The shortest verse in the Bible is John 11:35. It says:

“Jesus wept.”

Just two words. It is only nine letters in my Bible. Yet, it is one of the deepest verses in the whole Bible. Why? Because it shows us that Jesus was human. He knew He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead. He also knew the happy ending was moments away.

But still, He saw the sadness of Mary and Martha. And it moved Him to tears. This verse tells us that our God is not far away from our pain. Rather, He enters into it with us. He is a caring High Priest. I once held on to this verse for a whole week after losing a dear friend. It was a lifeline. It reminded me that Jesus understands my tears.

Where Can I Find the Longest Verse in the Bible?

Now for the other end. What is the longest verse? For this one, we have to go back to the Old Testament. We go to the book of Esther. The longest verse in the Bible is Esther 8:9. It is a huge 90 words long!

This long verse talks about the order that King Ahasuerus sent out. It gave the Jewish people the right to fight back against their enemies. I am not going to write the whole thing out here. You should look it up. It is quite a sentence! But its great length tells a story. For example, it is full of details. It names the areas, the peoples, the languages, and the leaders. It is a picture of a king making his command perfectly clear.

I find a beautiful lesson there. When God wants to make something clear, He gives us all the detail we need. The fact that we even have a longest verse is part of the answer to how many bible verses are there in the bible. In short, it shows the different styles in God’s Word. He does not just speak in short lines. He also gives us rich, detailed orders.

Beyond the Count, Why Does Knowing How many bible verses are there in the bible Matter?

So, we have our grand total. We have the breakdowns. And we have our fun facts. But what does this mean for our faith on a Monday morning? Why does this number matter?

Personally, I believe it matters because it shows us the character of our God.

A God who is silent is a God we can only guess about. But our God is a God who speaks. He is a God who shares. The huge number of verses in the Bible is proof of His desire to be known by us. You see, He did not just give us a small Bible book or a short list of rules. Instead, He gave us a huge library.

It is filled with history, poetry, letters, and prophecy. He did this because He wants us to know Him in a deep and personal way. When I feel like God is far away, I can just hold my Bible. I remember the 31,102 verses inside. This reminds me that He is not silent. He has spoken. And His Word is alive and active.

How Do Verse Numbers Make the Bible More Accessible?

This ease of use is another reason the verse numbers are a gift. Thanks to the work of Langton and Estienne, we can say something helpful to a struggling friend. We can say, “Hey, hold on to Philippians 4:13.” We can look up a certain promise in the middle of the night. Plus, we can learn God’s Word one verse at a time. The numbers are not walls. They are handles. They are tools that God has given us. Knowing the answer to How Many Bible Verses Are There in the Bible helps us hold on to His truth in a confusing world.

For anyone who wants to get better at finding these verses, I suggest spending time on a site like Bible Gateway. You can just type a word like “hope” or “peace.” Then you can see all the verses that pop up. This is a powerful way to study the Bible. You can do that here: bible gateway.

A Final Thought on How Many Bible Verses Are There in the Bible: The Verse That Became a Man

So, we have journeyed through thousands and thousands of verses. But the whole Bible, all 31,102 verses, turns on one main idea. It all points to one place.

John 1:14 says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

You see, the final verse was not written on a scroll. The final Verse was a Person. His name is Jesus.

Every single verse in the Old Testament whispers His name. It prepares the way for Him. In the same way, every verse in the New Testament shouts His name. It explains His love. He is the beginning, middle, and end of the whole story. The Bible is not just a group of verses. It is the story of a Person. This is why knowing how many bible verses are there in the bible is only the beginning. It is the map. But Jesus is the treasure.

So, the next time you pick up that big book, I pray you feel the weight of those thirty-one thousand verses. And I pray it reminds you of the endless love of a God who spoke them all. He did it so that you might know His Son. It is the greatest story ever told, one verse at a time. For more on the great story of the Bible itself, the American Bible Society is a wonderful place to learn. Visit them at American bible to find out more.

FAQ – How Many Bible Verses Are There in the Bible