Im going reading the list of the shortest to the longest books of the bible. By counting the number of words in hebrew or greek, the shortest book of the bible is 3 john, which has 219 words. It followed the first and second epistle written for the churches in asia minor and to a lady and her family, consecutively. The bible is actually a collection of books some long, some short. This might be the shortest prayer in the old testament.
John wrote five of the sixtysix book s of the bible. Perhaps this message should be more sobering to the saints than any of gods messages. The shortest one in the old testament is found in the book. Shortest book in the old testament is the prophet obadiah. The second shortest book of the bible is 2 john with 245 words. Buried deep in the first book of chronicles, interrupting the flow of chronological lists, is a very short and poignant story. The shortest book in the old testament is obadiah with only 21 verses and 670 words. The list of bible verses ive gathered below are the shortest i could find on my own. Bible verses are expressed in numbers, or occasionally with roman numerals. Sandwiched between the prophetic utterances of amos, a farmer, and jonah, who was sent by god to speak to the ninevites but refused and ended up spending a few nights in the belly of a fish before obeying, obadiah speaks of a bitter squabble between two peoples with common. The hebrew word for that is torah, sometimes translated law or teachings. There is a vital reason why god is finally revealing it now. Download your free copy by clicking on the button below. This book of books is the worlds alltime bestseller several billion copies and the worlds most translated book bible s 2 major sections.
It is found in the gospel of john, chapter 11, verse 35 verse breaksor versificationwere introduced into the. Most resources claim that the book of psalms is the longest book in the old testament, and therefore the bible. List of books in the bible from shortest to longest believers portal. Psalm 117 is the shortest psalm with only two verses.
Then jesus wept is a phrase famous for being the shortest verse in the king james version of the bible, as well as many other versions. The secondshortest book by word count, 2 john, has 245 words, but it has fewer verses than 3 john. It was believed that john wrote the third epistle at the same time or soon after he wrote the second epistle. This list does not preach at all, but is simply a brief examination of the stories from the bible that make it a well known and talkedabout book in world literature. This third letter of john is the shortest book in the entire bible. The original greek uses the term onomatos generally translated name referring specifically to the name of jesus, but the text does not say. What are the longest and shortest books of the bible. In judaism and christianity, its authorship is attributed to a prophet who lived in. It is a hymn in praise of and appreciation for gods instructions to his people. The shortest book in the bible by word count is 3 john, with only 219 words in the bibles original language. The apostle john had written the last book of the bible on the island of patmos where he was exiled and spent the latter years of his life. Psalm 119 voice psalm 119 psalm 119 is the longest.
Bibleproject shortest book in the old testament is the. Even that count depends on the translation, as some versions read, job said 7 letters, or and he said 9 letters, or and job said 10 letters. But it has the single most terrifying message of any book in the bible. What is the shortest book in the king james version of the. It is clearly one of the most controversial books in modern times though perhaps not so much for its content as the actions of some who interpret it. Ive noticed astrics on certain books, what does that mean. The book of obadiah harkens back to the feud that began. The story of a man whose very name means he will cause pain. What is the shortest book in the bible old testament.
The king james version kjv of this verse contains just two words. If the calculation is based on the number of verses or the number of chapters or the number of pages, it is correct. The shortest story in the bible activechristianity. The text consists of a single chapter, divided into 21 verses, making it the shortest book in the hebrew bible. The 5 shortest books of the bible, in order overviewbible. This letter repeats many themes from johns first letter, and second john reflects these themes as well. Third john is the shortest book of the bible by word count, though 2 john has fewer verses. The ten shortest books in the bible 3 john 1 chapter, 14 verses, 299 words 2 john 1 chapter, verses, 303 words philemon 1 chapter, 25 verses, 445 words jude 1 chapter, 25 verses, 6 words obadiah 1 chapter, 21 verses, 670 words titus 3 chapters. The shortest verse in the bible can be found in the gospel according to john chapter 11 verse 35. The shortest book of the bible is the third epistle of apostle john to a man named gaius. What book in the bibles new testament was most recently written. He wrote the gospel of john, 1 john, 2 john, 3 john which is the shortest book in the bible, and revelation, the last book of the bible. The book of obadiah is an oracle concerning the divine judgment of edom and the restoration of israel. List of books in the bible from shortest to longest.
Psalm 119 psalm 119 is the longest psalm in the collection. However, technically, it is not the shortest verse in the bible. The third shortest book of the bible is philemon with 335 words in greek. It can be argued whether each psalm is a book or the entire collection of psalms. Shortest verse in the bible do you know what it is. The article states thereupon each member within eight days of the demise shall say for the soul of the deceased. Sandwiched between the prophetic utterances of amos, a farmer, and jonah, who was sent by god to speak to the ninevites but refused and ended up spending a few nights in the belly of a fish before obeying, obadiah speaks of a bitter squabble between two peoples with common ancestral roots. If you count by the number of hebrew or greek letters, 1 chronicles 1.
Longest and shortest book in the new testament daniel. John 2 has fewer verses, but john 3 has fewer words. 1 3 john shortest book 2 2 john 3 philemon 4 jude 5 obadiah 6 titus 7 haggai 8 nahum 9 jonah 10 habbakuk 11 2 peter. As a unit they teach that god is behind it all, that christ is the priority, that sin is to be shunned, that the spirit can be grieved, that prayer is to be continuous, that joy is to overflow, that jesus cares. The shortest verse in the new testament the good book blog. Generally 2nd and 3rd john are the two shortest books. Second john has only verses, but it has 245 words in greek and 298 words in english, on the other hand third john has 15 verses, but only 219 words in greek and 294 words in english. Here are the books of the bible, sorted from shortest to longest, for people who like to try reading the shorter books first.
The book of obadiah is the shortest book in the old testament. The bible s a huge collection of smaller documents, called books. For a long time i have known that there is a shorter verse in greek. The shortest book in any version of the bible is psalm 117 with only 2 verses if you define each psalm as a book. The shortest book in the old testament is obadiah with 21 verses beating haggai 2 chapter book and zephaniah 3 chapter book. Third john shows us what happens when people follow sound teaching. A bible reader locates a verse by finding the book, then finding the chapter, and finally locating the number that the verse is associated with. The jewish scriptures, known as the tanakh, comprise three. Hello steven, the books in the bible from shortest to longest is 66 in number not 24, scroll down more and youll find the others. It is quite well known that the longest book in the bible is the psalms, of which there are 150 individual psalms. Shortest verse in the bible original greek the length of the verse will be measured by the number of letters or characters it contains in the greek manuscript. Now jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name jabez, saying because i bore him in pain.
View each book of the bible in a cloud of words related to the density of each word. Obadiah means servant of jehovah and worshiper of yahweh. The bible is a pretty long book, and that might give the impression that every book of the bible is long, too. The bible s two major sections are the old testament and the new testament. The shortest book of the bible including books of the new testament with fewest words 3 john 1 chapter, 14 verses with 299 words, and 2 john 1 chapter, verses, 303 words with the fewest verses. Some are as long as a trade book today, and others dont even take up a full page. It is the only new testament book which does not contain the names jesus or christ. You see, god not only called israel to be his people and gave them a wonderful land, but he gave them a blueprint for living.
1421 968 1329 118 623 1062 1126 78 1059 283 913 1338 547 905 633 1355 1380 1005 1158 499 916 1152 1404 381 1334 1480 491 494 1420 625 1096