Old Testament Statistics: Number of Chapters and Verses in the Old Testament

Old Testament Statistics - New American Bible
compiled by Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D.

Several other websites list the number of chapters and verses in each book of the Bible. Almost all of these websites, however, base their statistics on the King James Version (KJV) or a related Protestant translation of the Bible (such as the RSV or NRSV). Thus, when considering the "Old Testament," they usually do not include the "Apocrypha" or "Deuterocanonical Books" (Tobit, Judith, 1 & 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach/Ecclesiastes, and Baruch). Yet these seven books, as well as additional chapters in the books of Esther and Daniel, are also considered "canonical" (part of the Bible) by Catholics and Orthodox Christians throughout the world.

There are also many slight differences in the number of verses per chapter and/or the total number of verses and chapters in various modern English translations of the Bible, due to discrepancies in the versifications of the Hebrew Bible (HB), the Septuagint (LXX), the Vulgate (Vulg), and other ancient and medieval editions. For a detailed analysis of these many differences, please see the related webpage: OT Statistics Compared (warning: large page; may take some time to download).

The tables below, using the order in which the 46 OT books are normally arranged in Catholic Bibles, provide the following statistics, based on the New American Bible translation:

Number of chapters in each book of the OT;
Total number of verses in each book of the OT;
Number of verses in each chapter of the OT;
Average number of verses per chapter in each book of the OT.

The Pentateuch / Torah

#	Book Name	#Ch.	Total Vv.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50	Avg. Vv/Ch
1	Genesis	50	1533	31	25	24	26	32	22	24	22	29	32	32	20	18	24	21	16	27	33	38	18	34	24	20	67	34	35	46	22	35	43	54	33	20	31	29	43	36	30	23	23	57	38	34	34	28	34	31	22	33	26	30.66
2	Exodus	40	1213	22	25	22	31	23	30	29	28	35	29	10	51	22	31	27	36	16	27	25	26	37	30	33	18	40	37	21	43	46	38	18	35	23	35	35	38	29	31	43	38	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	30.33
3	Leviticus	27	859	17	16	17	35	26	23	38	36	24	20	47	8	59	57	33	34	16	30	37	27	24	33	44	23	55	46	34	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	31.81
4	Numbers	36	1289	54	34	51	49	31	27	89	26	23	36	35	16	33	45	41	35	28	32	22	29	35	41	30	25	19*	65	23	31	39	17	54	42	56	29	34	13	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	35.81
5	Deuteronomy	34	959	46	37	29	49	33	25	26	20	29	22	32	31	19	29	23	22	20	22	21	20	23	29	26	22	19	19	26	69	28	20	30	52	29	12	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	28.21

*Note on Num 25: The NAB follows the Hebrew Bible in numbering a 19th verse, although it prints the three words of v. 19 at the beginning of Num 26; most other ancient and modern Bibles (LXX, Vulg, KJV, RSV, NRSV, etc.) have only 18 verses in Num 25, and include the three words in question as the beginning of Num 26:1.

The Historical Books

#	Book Name	#Ch.	Total Vv.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	Avg. Vv/Ch
6	Joshua	24	658	18	24	17	24	15	27	26	35	27	43	23	24	33	15	63	10	18	28	51	9	45	34	16	33	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	27.42
7	Judges	21	618	36	23	31	24	31	40	25	35	57	18	40	15	25	20	20	31	13	31	30	48	25	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	29.43
8	Ruth	4	85	22	23	18	22	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	21.25
9	1 Samuel	31	810	28	36	21	22	12	21	17	22	27	27	15	25	23	52	35	23	58	30	24	42	16	23	28	23	43	25	12	25	11	31	13	.	.	.	.	.	26.13
10	2 Samuel	24	695	27	32	39	12	25	23	29	18	13	19	27	31	39	33	37	23	29	32	44	26	22	51	39	25	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	28.96
11	1 Kings	22	817	53	46	28	20	32	38	51	66	28	29	43	33	34	31	34	34	24	46	21	43*	29	54	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	37.14
12	2 Kings	25	719	18	25	27	44	27	33	20	29	37	36	20	22	25	29	38	20	41	37	37	21	26	20	37	20	30	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	28.76
13	1 Chronicles	29	943	54	55	24	43	41	66	40	40	44	14	47	41	14	17	29	43	27	17	19	8	30	19	32	31	31	32	34	21	30	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	32.52
14	2 Chronicles	36	821	18	17	17	22	14	42	22	18	31	19	23	16	23	14	19	14	19	34	11	37	20	12	21	27	28	23	9	27	36	27	21	33	25	33	26	23	22.81
15	Ezra	10	280	11	70	13	24	17	22	28	36	15	44	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	28.00
16	Nehemiah	13	405	11	20	38	17	19	19	72	18	37	40	36	47	31	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	31.15
17	Tobit	14	245	22	14	17	21	22	18	17	21	6	14	18	22	18	15	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	17.50
18	Judith	16	340	16	28	10	15	24	21	32	36	14	23	23	20	20	19	14	25	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	21.25
19	Esther	16	272	22	23	15	17*	14	14	10	17	32	3	17	8	30	16	24	10	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	17.00
20	1 Maccabees	16	922	63	70	59	61	68	63	50	32	73	89	74	53	53	49	41	24	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	57.63
21	2 Maccabees	15	556	36	32	40	50	27	31	42	36	29	38	38	46	26	46	39	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	37.07

* Note on 1 Kings 20: Most print editions of the NAB have only 42 verse numbers for this chapter, accidentally omitting the reference for v. 43, although the full text is included; this error is corrected in the NAB online edition.
* Note on Esther 4: The NAB numbers only 16 verses in this chapter, but prints what most ancient and modern Bibles call 4:17 as an unnumbered verse at the beginning of Esther C. See the NAB online edition.

The Wisdom Books

#	Book Name	# Ch.	Total Vv.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50	51	Avg. Vv/Ch
22	Job	42	1068	22	13	26	21	27	30	21	22	35	22	20	25	28	22	35	22	16	21	29	29	34	30	17	25	6	14	21	28	25	31	40	22	33	37	16	33	24	41	30	32	26	17	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	25.43
23a	Psalms (1-50)	.	.	6	11*	9	9	13	11	18	10	21	18	7	9	6	7	5	11	15	51	15	10	14	32	6	10	22	11	14	9	11	13	25	11	22	23	28	13	40	23	14	18	14	12	5	27	18	12	10	15	21	23	.	.
23b	Psalms (51-100)	.	.	21	11	7	9	24	14	12	12	18	14	9	13	12	11	14	20	8	36	37	6	24	20	28	23	11	13	21	72	13	20	17	8	19	13	14	17	7	19	53	17	16	16	5	23	11	13	12	9	9	5	.	.
23c	Psalms (101-150)	150	2526	8	29	22	35	45	48	43	14	31	7	10	10	9	8	18	19	2	29	176	7	8	9	4	8	5	6	5	6	8	8	3	18	3	3	21	26	9	8	24	14	10	8	12	15	21	10	20	14	9	6	.	16.83
24	Proverbs	31	915	33	22	35	27	23	35	27	36	18	32	31	28	25	35	33	33	28	24	29	30	31	29	35	34	28	28	27	28	27	33	31	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	29.52
25	Ecclesiastes	12	222	18	26	22	17	19	12	29	17	18	20	10	14	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	18.50
26	Song of Solomon	8	117	17	17	11	16	16	12	14	14	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	14.63
27	Wisdom of Solomon	19	436	16	24	19	20	23	25	30	21	18	21	26	27	19	31	19	29	21	25	22	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	22.95
28	Sirach/Ecclesiasticus	51	1372	29	18	30	31	17	37	36	19	18	30	34	18	25	27	20	28	27	33	26	30	28	27	27	31	25	20	30	26	28	25	31	24	33	26	24	27	30	34	35	30	24	25	35	23	26	20	25	25	16	29	30	26.90

* Note on Psalm 2: The 1970 edition of the NAB numbers 12 verses in this Psalm, as do most other ancient and modern Bibles; the NAB's 1986 revision of the Psalms includes the full text, but omits the reference for v. 12, possibly accidentally; note how unbalanced the longer v.11 appears in the NAB online edition.

The Major Prophets

#	Book Name	# Ch.	Total Vv.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50	51	52	53	54	55	56	57	58	59	60	61	62	63	64	65	66	Avg. Vv/Ch
29	Isaiah	66	1291	31	22	26	6	30	13	25	23	20	34	16	6	22	32	9	14	14	7	25	6	17	25	18	23	12	21	13	29	24	33	9	20	24	17	10	22	38	22	8	31	29	25	28	28	25	13	15	22	26	11	23	15	12	17	13	12	21	14	21	22	11	12	19	11	25	24	19.56
30	Jeremiah	52	1364	19	37	25	31	31	30	34	23	25	25	23	17	27	22	21	21	27	23	15	18	14	30	40	10	38	24	22	17	32	24	40	44	26	22	19	32	21	28	18	16	18	22	13	30	5	28	7	47	39	46	64	34	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	26.23
31	Lamentations	5	154	22	22	66	22	22	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	30.80
32	Baruch	6	213	22	35	38	37	9	72	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	35.50
33	Ezekiel*	48	1271	28	10	27	17	17	14	27	18	11	22	25	28	23	23	8	63	24	32	14	44	37	31	49	27	17	21	36	26	21	26	18	32	33	31	15	38	28	23	29	49	26	20	27	31	25	24	23	35	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	26.48
34	Daniel	14	530	21	49	100	34	30	29	28	27	27	21	45	13	64	42	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	37.86

* Note on Ezekiel: Much of the text of this book has been rearranged in the NAB; some verses were placed earlier or later within the same chapter, but others have been put into an earlier or later chapter; thus one must be especially careful when counting the total number of verses per chapter; examples are easy to see in the NAB online edition.

The Twelve "Minor Prophets"

#	Book Name	# Ch.	Total Vv.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Avg. Vv/Ch
35	Hosea	14	197	9	25	5	19	15	11	16	14	17	15	11	15	15	10	14.07
36	Joel	4	73	20	27	5	21	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	18.25
37	Amos	9	146	15	16	15	13	27	14	17	14	15	.	.	.	.	.	16.22
38	Obadiah	1	21	21	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	21.00
39	Jonah	4	48	16	11	10	11	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	12.00
40	Micah	7	105	16	13	12	14	14	16	20	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	15.00
41	Nahum	3	47	14	14	19	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	15.67
42	Habakkuk	3	56	17	20	19	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	18.67
43	Zephaniah	3	53	18	15	20	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	17.67
44	Haggai	2	38	15	23	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	19.00
45	Zechariah	14	211	17	17	10	14	11	15	14	23	17	12	17	14	9	21	15.07
46	Malachi	3	55	14	17	24	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	18.33

SUMMARY:
Total Number of Chapters and Verses in the Old Testament (NAB)

OT Book Group	# Chaps.	# Verses
The Pentateuch / Torah	187	5853
The Historical Books	316	9186
The Wisdom Books	313	6656
The Major Prophets	191	4825
The 12 Minor Prophets	67	1050
GRAND TOTAL	1074	27570

To see how these statistics differ in other biblical translations, see OT Statistics Compared
(warning: large page; may take some time to download).

For related information, see my Hebrew & Christian Bibles and New Testament Statistics.

Go to the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for a complete
Online Edition of the New American Bible.