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 |
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 | 1Chronicles | 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 | 2Chronicles | 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 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 |
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 |
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 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.
This page was last updated on September 2, 2005.
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