What Is The Shortest Chapter In The Bible: 13 Fascinating Facts

I’m going to show you the shortest chapter in the Bible. 

In fact:

It only takes you less than 10 seconds to read through it. (No excuse for not reading it.)

It may take you a minute or two to read through it in the Hebrew Bible (if you can read it). 

Here are the 13 fun facts you should know about the shortest chapter in the Bible.

Let’s dive right into it.

1. This chapter is buried inside the Old Testament

Christians may find the Old Testament daunting to read.

It has 39 books. Many of them hold some of the longest chapters in a single book. 

The Old Testament contains the longest verse, longest chapter, and longest book of the Bible. 

The longest verse is found in Esther 8:9. 

The longest chapter is Psalm 119, which is also the longest Psalm.

But the longest book is NOT the book of Psalms. Surprised? It is actually the book of Jeremiah by word count. 

The book that has the most number of chapters is the book of Psalms. (It has 150 chapters.) That number of chapters makes us think psychologically that it is the longest book.

The shortest verse is actually in the New Testament. It is when Christ Jesus wept at Lazarus’ death (John 11:35). 

The Old Testament does have the shortest chapter in the whole Bible.

2. This chapter is specifically found in the book of Psalms

Psalm 117 is the shortest Bible chapter.

It is the shortest chapter in the Old Testament. 

But the shortest chapter in the New Testament is NOT second John or third John. 

It is Revelation 15. The Apostle John talks about the seven angels with seven plagues. But that is for another post.

3. It is the shortest Psalm

The book of Psalms has 150 chapters. 

Chapter 117 of Psalm is the shortest.

But there are other Psalms that are just as short.

Here are the top 10 of the shortest Psalms from shortest to not so shortest (in the KJV):

1. Psalm 117 

1 O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people.

2 For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Praise ye the Lord.

2. Psalm 134

1 Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, which by night stand in the house of the Lord. 

2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord.

3 The Lord that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion.

3. Psalm 131 

1 Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me.

2 Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.

3 Let Israel hope in the Lord from henceforth and for ever.

4. Psalm 133 

1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;

3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

5. Psalm 123 

1 Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.

2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that he have mercy upon us.

3 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt.

4 Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud.

6. Psalm 93

1 The Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.

2 Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.

3 The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves.

4 The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.

5 Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, for ever.

7. Psalm 15 

1 Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?

2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.

3 He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.

4 In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.

5 He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.

8. Psalm 125 

1 They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.

2 As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.

3 For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.

4 Do good, O Lord, unto those that be good, and to them that are upright in their hearts.

5 As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the Lord shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity: but peace shall be upon Israel.

9. Psalm 70

1 Make haste, o God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O Lord.

2 Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul: let them be turned backward, and put to confusion, that desire my hurt.

3 Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, Aha, aha.

4 Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.

5 But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O Lord, make no tarrying.

10. Psalm 127

1 Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

3 Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

4. Only two verses

Psalm 117 only has two verses. 

It may be short.

But it has a big message for all people (See #11). 

5. Word Count In The English Bible

In the KJV, Psalms have a total of 2461 verses and 43,738 words. The average verse length is 17.77 words.

The number of word counts can vary depending on the English translation.

Here are some statistics:

• The English Standard Version (ESV) contains 28 words.
• The King James Version (KJV) has 33 words.
• The New International Version (NIV) contains 29 words. 
• The New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995) contains 27 words
• The New Living Translation (NLT) contains 27 words

In the KJV, Psalm 117 makes up 0.07% of the whole Psalm. (33 words divide it by 43,738 words) 

6. Word Count In The Hebrew Bible

In the Hebrew Bible, Psalm 117 contains 17 words.

It may take you less than 5 seconds to read (if you are fluent in Hebrew).

But it may take you more than 2 minutes to read out every single word. 

Or you may not read it all (because you do not know Hebrew). 

7. Easy For Beginners To Learn Hebrew

Beginners of Hebrew would need to learn the number of alphabets and their pronunciation.

After learning the basics, students should begin reading Psalm 117. It is easy.

There is a word that many people should know, “Hallelujah.” 

Hallelujah means Praise The LORD. 

The idea of praise is repeated three times

8. The 595 chapter of the Bible

This is a fun little exercise.

Try counting the chapters beginning from Genesis.

Count forward all the way to Psalm 117. 

You’ll discover that Psalm 117 is the 595th chapter of the Bible.

This can become good Bible trivia!

But there is another fascinating little fact.

9. The center of the entire Bible

Psalm 117 is the center of the Bible.

How many chapters are there in the Bible? The total number of chapters in the Bible is 1,189 chapters long.

That means that this short chapter is the center of God’s word.

Try asking your pastor about it! 

10. It is written in Hebrew poetry

Psalms were not originally written in the English language.

All the Psalms were written in Hebrew poetry. 

They were meant to be sung.

King David probably wrote half of the Psalms. He was a gifted musician and poet. He comforted King Saul with music. His music was meant to glorify the LORD.

Sometimes poetry does not always translate well into another language.

But if you know Hebrew, you can unlock the treasures of Scripture. 

11. It is all about praising the LORD

It may be a short chapter.

But it has BIG teaching on the importance of praising and worshiping the LORD.

Hebrew poetry incorporates this poetic device called inclusio. 

Think of it like a parenthesis. Or like a burger. The bread goes on the top and the bottom. 

Inclusio creates a sense of completeness or unity. It involves repeating a word, phrase, or idea at the beginning and end of a passage.

For example, a writer starts a story by saying “Once upon a time,” and then ends the story with the same phrase, “Once upon a time.” 

What’s the point?

Inclusio helps to draw the reader’s attention to the emphasized ideas and themes. It connects the beginning and end of the text in a meaningful way.

Psalm 117 has an inclusio where it begins and ends with this phrase, “Praise the LORD.”

Which is the main point of this chapter.

Fun Exercise: Read Psalm 8 and tell me the inclusio in the comment!

12. God’s great love is a reason for worship

What is the reason for praising God? The first reason is found at the center of this short chapter.

Verse 2 begins with, “For.” It can also be translated as, “Because.” 

Why should all the nations praise the LORD? It is because of the greatness of God’s steadfast love toward us.

The Hebrew word for, “steadfast love,” is HESED. It refers to God’s covenant and unfailing love to His chosen people.

God’s love for His people is not based on our performance or our worthiness. But it is based on the fact that God is a loving God.

So God is worthy of the praise from all peoples.

13. The faithfulness of the Lord is another reason for worship 

The second reason for worship is that God’s faithfulness endures forever. 

This means that He never fades or fails. 

God is not affected by the changing circumstances of this world.

But He is rooted in his unchanging character. 

We can trust in His ever-enduring faithfulness, no matter what we may face in this life.

His steadfast love and faithfulness are intimately connected with each other. He will faithfully show the greatness of His lovingkindness to His people forever. 

Therefore, God is worthy of our worship!

Final Thoughts

With only two Bible verses, Psalm 117 is the shortest chapter in the Bible. 

But it packs a huge punch! 

It reminds us of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness that never fades or fails and calls us to praise Him for His lovingkindness. 

So let’s praise the Lord together and be filled with joy. 

Why? 

For His merciful kindness is great towards us. 

Hallelujah!

Now it is your turn to respond.

What is one fact that you learned about Psalm 117?

Let me know in the comments section below.