The Bible has 1,189 chapters in the ESV text bundled in Berean. Adding the book-by-book counts gives 929 chapters in the Old Testament and 260 in the New Testament. Below, you can check every book's total and compare the shortest chapter with the longest by verse count. That comparison matters if you want to turn the numbers into a reading schedule.
In short
The bundled ESV has 1,189 chapters across the 66 books listed below.
The Old Testament has 929 chapters; the New Testament has 260.
Psalms has the most chapters of any book, with 150.
Psalm 117 has 2 verses and Psalm 119 has 176. A chapter is not a fixed amount of reading.
What does the total of 1,189 chapters include?
This total counts each chapter in the books listed in the tables below, from Genesis through Revelation. It treats each psalm as a chapter, so Psalms contributes 150 to the total. It counts a single-chapter book, such as Obadiah or Jude, as one chapter.
The scope matters. Here, the answer refers to the 66-book collection in Berean's bundled ESV, not a count for every edition someone might call a Bible. If your contents page includes books outside these tables, this total does not include them. For the related question about which books belong in a Bible, see how many books are in the Bible.
You can check the total without estimating length or reading speed. Add the chapters in each Old Testament row, do the same for the New Testament, then add the two subtotals:
929 + 260 = 1,189 chapters.
That arithmetic answers how many chapters there are. It does not yet answer how long they take to read, or how much attention a particular passage might need.
How many chapters are in each Old Testament book?
The Old Testament books listed here contain 929 chapters altogether. The table follows their order in the bundled Bible, rather than sorting them from longest to shortest. Use it as a reference when you want to check where a book ends or choose a stretch of reading.
| Book | Chapters |
|---|---|
| Genesis | 50 |
| Exodus | 40 |
| Leviticus | 27 |
| Numbers | 36 |
| Deuteronomy | 34 |
| Joshua | 24 |
| Judges | 21 |
| Ruth | 4 |
| 1 Samuel | 31 |
| 2 Samuel | 24 |
| 1 Kings | 22 |
| 2 Kings | 25 |
| 1 Chronicles | 29 |
| 2 Chronicles | 36 |
| Ezra | 10 |
| Nehemiah | 13 |
| Esther | 10 |
| Job | 42 |
| Psalms | 150 |
| Proverbs | 31 |
| Ecclesiastes | 12 |
| Song of Solomon | 8 |
| Isaiah | 66 |
| Jeremiah | 52 |
| Lamentations | 5 |
| Ezekiel | 48 |
| Daniel | 12 |
| Hosea | 14 |
| Joel | 3 |
| Amos | 9 |
| Obadiah | 1 |
| Jonah | 4 |
| Micah | 7 |
| Nahum | 3 |
| Habakkuk | 3 |
| Zephaniah | 3 |
| Haggai | 2 |
| Zechariah | 14 |
| Malachi | 4 |
| Old Testament total | 929 |
Chapter counts from the bundled ESV; the total is the sum of the listed books.
Psalms has the most chapters, with 150. Isaiah follows with 66, then Jeremiah with 52 and Genesis with 50. At the other end, Obadiah has one chapter and Haggai has two.
Those are rankings by chapters, not by words. The table gives no word counts, so it cannot establish which book would take you longest to read. Keep that distinction in mind when comparing books or deciding how much to place in a day's reading.
How many chapters are in each New Testament book?
The New Testament books listed below contain 260 chapters altogether. Matthew and Acts share the largest chapter count at 28 each. Philemon, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude each have one chapter.
| Book | Chapters |
|---|---|
| Matthew | 28 |
| Mark | 16 |
| Luke | 24 |
| John | 21 |
| Acts | 28 |
| Romans | 16 |
| 1 Corinthians | 16 |
| 2 Corinthians | 13 |
| Galatians | 6 |
| Ephesians | 6 |
| Philippians | 4 |
| Colossians | 4 |
| 1 Thessalonians | 5 |
| 2 Thessalonians | 3 |
| 1 Timothy | 6 |
| 2 Timothy | 4 |
| Titus | 3 |
| Philemon | 1 |
| Hebrews | 13 |
| James | 5 |
| 1 Peter | 5 |
| 2 Peter | 3 |
| 1 John | 5 |
| 2 John | 1 |
| 3 John | 1 |
| Jude | 1 |
| Revelation | 22 |
| New Testament total | 260 |
Chapter counts from the bundled ESV; adding 260 to the Old Testament's 929 gives 1,189.
A smaller chapter count can help you choose a book to read across fewer sittings. For example, assuming one chapter per sitting, Philippians would take four sittings and Mark would take sixteen. That is a scheduling choice, not a measure of how much either book has to say.
You can also use the table to check progress within a book. If you stop midway through a chapter, keep the verse reference rather than marking the whole chapter complete. The count is useful only if it reflects where you actually stopped.
How do Psalm 117 and Psalm 119 compare?
The clearest example of unequal chapter lengths sits within Psalms. Psalm 117 is the shortest chapter by verse count, with 2 verses. Psalm 119 is the longest, with 176 verses. Both add exactly one chapter to the Bible's total.
| Measure | Psalm 117 | Psalm 119 |
|---|---|---|
| Chapters counted | 1 | 1 |
| Verses | 2 | 176 |
In the bundled data, Psalm 117 is shortest and Psalm 119 is longest by verse count.
Dividing 176 by 2 gives 88. So Psalm 119 has 88 times as many verses as Psalm 117. That does not mean it takes exactly 88 times as long to read. Verses themselves differ in length, and your pauses matter too.
Here is the whole of Psalm 117:
1Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples!
2For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!
Psalm 117:1 calls all nations and peoples to praise the Lord. Psalm 117:2 gives the reason in terms of his steadfast love and enduring faithfulness. Its brief length does not leave it without a clear invitation and a reason for that invitation.
Now compare the opening of Psalm 119:
1Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord!
2Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,
Psalm 119:1-2 describes blessedness in terms of walking in the Lord's law, keeping his testimonies, and seeking him wholeheartedly. These verses begin the chapter; they are not the whole psalm. When comparing the passages, remember that you have read all of Psalm 117 but only the opening of Psalm 119.
The useful lesson is modest: chapter totals measure progress through numbered chapters, not equal portions of text. Neither chapter's length tells you how quickly to move past it.
Can you use chapter counts to plan your reading?
Yes, as long as you accept uneven reading lengths. Assuming you read every chapter once, in order, with no skipped days, one chapter a day takes 1,189 days. At three chapters a day, the same count takes 397 reading days, with one chapter left for the final day.
Those calculations describe a schedule, not a promise. They allow no extra days for rereading or pauses. They also treat Psalm 117 and Psalm 119 as equal units, even though their verse counts show why the daily reading will vary.
Try using the count in this way:
- Choose a daily chapter target as a starting point.
- Look at the day's actual passage before deciding whether the amount fits.
- Keep your place if you stop within a chapter.
- Leave room to return to a question rather than treating the total as a deadline.
If your main question is about minutes rather than chapters, see how long it takes to read the Bible. A time estimate needs word counts and an assumed reading pace. The chapter totals here cannot supply those on their own.
What should you keep from these numbers?
Keep the total and its limits together: 1,189 chapters, made up of 929 Old Testament chapters and 260 New Testament chapters, for the books listed here. The tables help you find a book's size by chapters and make a rough plan.
Then let the passage itself set the pace for a particular sitting. You might read Psalm 117 and return to its reason for praise in Psalm 117:2. You might begin Psalm 119 and pause over its description of seeking God in Psalm 119:1-2. Either choice gives attention to the text rather than only to the count.
You do not need to memorize every row. Keep the list nearby when it helps, note where you stop, and return to the next passage when you are ready.