The Bible contains 1,189 chapters across its 66 books. While most chapters contain dozens or hundreds of verses, the shortest chapter in the Bible has just one verse. This shortest chapter is Psalm 117.
Psalm 117 reads in its entirety:
“Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples!” (Psalm 117:1 ESV)
At just one verse and 25 words long in English, Psalm 117 is the shortest of the Bible’s 1,189 chapters.
Some key details on Psalm 117:
– It is the 595th chapter when the Bible is ordered canonically, coming near the end of the book of Psalms.
– As a psalm, it is a song or hymn used in ancient Israelite worship. The psalms are collected together as the 19th book of the Old Testament.
– Psalm 117 calls all people everywhere to praise God. It anticipates the global reach of God’s kingdom.
– This psalm is attributed to King David. David likely wrote it approximately 1000 years before Christ.
– Psalm 117 is quoted in the New Testament book of Romans to demonstrate that God’s plan has always been to save all nations.
– Being just one verse, Psalm 117 is easy to memorize and quick to recite in worship. It reminds God’s people of the global scope of praising Him.
– This short psalm emphasizes God’s eternal attributes – specifically His steadfast love and faithfulness. His praises shall endure forever.
– Psalm 117 is the middle chapter of the Bible. If the Bible’s 1,189 chapters were placed in order, Psalm 117 would be chapter 595.
– As the shortest chapter, Psalm 117 illustrates how the psalms use few words to convey deep theological truths. The psalms’ poetry powerfully expresses great truths with brevity and care.
– Some Bible scholars speculate that this psalm may have originally been joined together with Psalm 116 or Psalm 118 when used liturgically in ancient Israel.
Beyond being the shortest, Psalm 117 has some other distinctions among Bible chapters:
– It is the shortest psalm and shortest chapter in the Old Testament.
– With just 25 words in English, it contains the fewest words of any Bible chapter.
– Psalm 117 has the fewest number of verses of any chapter at just 1 verse.
– Among Bible chapters, it has one of the highest verse-to-chapter ratios at 1:1.
– Psalm 117 may be the middle chapter of the Bible, but Psalm 118 is the middle chapter in terms of verses.
So in summary, the shortest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 117, the 595th of 1,189 chapters. This one-verse psalm calls all peoples everywhere to praise the eternal, faithful, loving God. Its brevity highlights the power and resonance of the ancient Hebrew psalms. As the center chapter, Psalm 117 illustrates God’s plan to be praised by all nations, a theme affirmed in Romans 15 in the New Testament. That makes this tiny 25-word psalm both the shortest and one of the most globally-focused chapters in all of Scripture!
While Psalm 117 is easily the shortest, several other Bible chapters are also quite brief:
Shortest Chapters in the Old Testament
– Psalm 117 – 1 verse
– Obadiah – 1 chapter (21 verses)
– Jonah 3 – 10 verses
– Jonah 4 – 11 verses
– Haggai 1 – 15 verses
Shortest Chapters in the New Testament
– 2 John – 1 chapter (13 verses)
– 3 John – 1 chapter (15 verses)
– Jude – 1 chapter (25 verses)
– Philemon – 1 chapter (25 verses)
So Psalm 117’s one verse stands out as exceptionally brief, even among other short Bible chapters. The brevity of Psalm 117 suits its focused message – a simple but profound call to global worship.
Beyond these objective measures of chapter length, some Bible chapters feel subjectively shorter or longer to different readers based on content, writing style, and themes. For example, Genesis 1 packs a sweeping overview of creation into 31 verses. It covers the origins of the cosmos and life over 6 days. The magnitude of that content makes it feel broader than its word count.
By contrast, many find the legal details in parts of Exodus or Leviticus plod along slowly verse-by-verse. So while not objectively the shortest, their meticulous descriptions can feel slower to read compared to punchier psalms or parables in the shorter chapters noted above.
Ultimately chapter and verse breakdowns were added for convenience and navigation. They aid finding passages, but were not part of the original manuscripts. The shortest or longest chapters mainly help find content faster. The important thing is that all Scripture – long or short chapters – reveals God’s truth and equips us for sharing the gospel.
The Bible’s diversity in writing styles serves its purpose to transform hearts and minds. The 31 verses of Genesis 1 paint a sweeping panorama of cosmic history. The 3 verses of 2 John convey a personal message of truth and love. The 1 verse of Psalm 117 calls all humanity to exalt God through worship.
God inspired the Bible’s form and content so that all its parts work together for His purposes. The shortest chapter, Psalm 117, models praising God simply and succinctly, a habit useful for all who seek Him.
