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I Tried It: How Many Verses Are in the Bible?

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I got this question at a family cookout. “So, how many verses are in the Bible?” Easy, right? I said, “31,102,” like a champ. Then my cousin pulled out her phone and said, “My NIV skips some verse numbers.” And that’s when my neat answer kind of melted.
For a quick look at chapter and verse totals across translations, I later checked the concise table over at Bible Memory Goal, which lines up almost exactly with my 31,102 estimate.
(If you want the full blow-by-blow, I later chronicled the experiment in “I Tried It: How Many Verses Are in the Bible?”.)

So I did what I do. I tested it, hands-on, like a little field study. Bibles on the table. Apps on my phone. Coffee getting cold. Here’s what I found.

My Go-To Count (KJV)

When people ask for one number, I use the King James Version. It’s the cleanest count I’ve tested.

  • Total verses (KJV): 31,102
  • Old Testament: 23,145
  • New Testament: 7,957

How did I check? I used my old Thompson Chain-Reference KJV, plus the verse count lists inside Blue Letter Bible and Logos. I also spot-checked in a spreadsheet because I got nerdy for a hot minute. The number held steady. One classic FAQ page, hosted by NeverThirsty, backs up the KJV total and even breaks it down by individual words—worth a peek if you love granular stats.
Of course, I also kept an Open Bible NKJV nearby—living with that edition for six months showed me how layout choices can nudge the way you notice verse numbers.

Honestly, it felt nice to have a solid anchor.

Wait—Why Do Other Bibles “Miss” Verses?

Here’s the twist. Some newer translations group a couple lines together, or they leave a verse number out and add a footnote. The text is still there in the notes or nearby. But the number might be skipped.

Real examples I saw on my phone (ESV and NIV apps, 2011 and later):

  • Matthew 18:11 is skipped in the text, with a note.
  • Acts 8:37 is skipped, with a note.
  • John 5:4 is in a footnote.
  • Mark 16:9–20 is marked as a later section.

So if you only count printed verse lines, those editions can show fewer than 31,102. If you count the numbering system itself, the count stays close to KJV. Tricky? Yep. But it makes sense once you see the notes.

Different Traditions, Different Totals

My Douay-Rheims (Catholic) has more books than my KJV. That means more verses. The same idea goes for most Orthodox study Bibles too. So there isn’t one single “Bible verse count” for every tradition. The KJV number is best for the 66-book Protestant set.

You know what? It’s kind of like pizza sizes. Same “pizza,” but more slices if you add more toppings.

I also stumbled across a handy visual breakdown at Barnabas.net that lines up the different canons side-by-side, and it cleared up a ton of my confusion.

Fun Checks I Did (And Liked)

These helped me sanity-check the numbers:

  • Longest chapter: Psalm 119 (176 verses). I once tried to read it in one sitting. I needed a snack break.
  • Shortest chapter: Psalm 117 (2 verses). Cute and punchy.
  • Shortest verse in many English Bibles: John 11:35 — “Jesus wept.” Two words. But it hits hard.
  • Longest verse: Esther 8:9. It’s a mouthful. I read it out loud and ran out of air.

Also, that “middle verse of the Bible” thing? Folks say it’s Psalm 118:8. It isn’t. There are 31,102 verses in the KJV, so the middle falls between two verses. No single “exact” middle verse. Myth busted, gently.

Side note: when I spent thirty days straight reading Bible verses about hell, the numbering quirks showed up there, too—especially in Mark 9 where some translations skip verses 44 and 46.

What I Actually Used (And How It Felt)

  • My Thompson Chain-Reference KJV, print
    Pros: Reliable, clear verse markers
    Cons: Heavy; my wrists complained

  • ESV Study Bible app
    Pros: Notes explain the skipped verse numbers
    Cons: I had to tap a lot to see footnotes

  • NIV app (2011)
    Pros: Easy to read
    Cons: Missing verse numbers can spook new readers

  • Blue Letter Bible and Logos on desktop
    Pros: Quick lookups; verse counts by book
    Cons: I fell into rabbit holes and forgot my coffee

Small gripe: jumping from verse 36 to 38 (like in Acts 8) feels odd. But the footnotes do a decent job.

A Couple Real-Life Tips

  • If someone asks “how many,” ask back, “Which Bible?”
  • For a simple answer, give the KJV count: 31,102.
  • If they use NIV or ESV, warn them about the skipped numbers and where to find the notes.
  • Teaching kids? Psalm 117 is a great “we can read a chapter” win. I even field-tested a whole batch of passages with my own crew and shared what bombed and what stuck in this kid-friendly experiment.

So, What’s My Take?

If you need one clean number, use the KJV total: 31,102 verses. It’s the version most lists use for that stat. But if you’re reading a modern translation, don’t panic when a number jumps. The editors aren’t hiding verses in a drawer. They’re flagging notes and sources, and sometimes that means a skip.

Sometimes I need a break from the number crunch and just want to bounce quirky Bible-trivia questions off real people in real time. For that, I pop into hobby-focused chat rooms—faith discussions, book-nerd circles, even spaces that celebrate body positivity among believers. One surprisingly friendly spot is InstantChat’s BBW lounge where you can strike up an instant conversation, meet welcoming new friends, and swap insights without any judgment.

When I’m instead craving a quick mental detour closer to home, I’ll scroll through Bedpage Christiansburg—a local listings board that surfaces everything from late-night diner suggestions to used-book giveaways, perfect for recharging before diving back into concordances.

Is the Bible big? Yes. Messy in spots? Also yes. But it’s steady. And honestly, counting it made me read it more—much like the time I focused on Bible verses about new beginnings during a January reset. Kind of funny how that works.

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