The Bible is a library of 66 books, 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New, arranged not by date but by type. Knowing the order and the groupings turns the table of contents from a wall of names into a map. Every book below links to its first chapter on theBible, where you can read it in the Berean Standard Bible or switch to the King James Version and other translations.

Chapter counts are for the standard English Bible. The Old Testament has 929 chapters, the New Testament 260, for a total of 1,189.

Old Testament (39 books)

The Law (5 books)

Also called the Pentateuch or the Torah. Traditionally attributed to Moses, these books run from creation to the edge of the promised land.

# Book Chapters What it is about
1 Genesis 50 Creation, the flood, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph
2 Exodus 40 Slavery in Egypt, Moses, the exodus, the Ten Commandments
3 Leviticus 27 Laws for worship, sacrifice, and holiness
4 Numbers 36 Forty years in the wilderness
5 Deuteronomy 34 Moses's farewell speeches and restatement of the law

History (12 books)

The story of Israel from entering the land to returning from exile, roughly 1400 to 400 BC.

# Book Chapters What it is about
6 Joshua 24 Conquest and settlement of the land
7 Judges 21 Cycles of rebellion and rescue under leaders like Gideon and Samson
8 Ruth 4 A loyal foreigner who becomes David's great-grandmother
9 1 Samuel 31 Samuel, Saul, and the rise of David
10 2 Samuel 24 David's reign, triumph, and failure
11 1 Kings 22 Solomon, the temple, the divided kingdom, Elijah
12 2 Kings 25 Elisha, the fall of Israel and then Judah
13 1 Chronicles 29 Genealogies and David's reign, retold with a focus on worship
14 2 Chronicles 36 Solomon and the kings of Judah to the exile
15 Ezra 10 Return from exile and rebuilding the temple
16 Nehemiah 13 Rebuilding Jerusalem's walls and renewing the covenant
17 Esther 10 A Jewish queen in Persia saves her people

Poetry and Wisdom (5 books)

# Book Chapters What it is about
18 Job 42 Suffering, and the question of why
19 Psalms 150 Israel's prayers and songs; the longest book
20 Proverbs 31 Wisdom for daily life
21 Ecclesiastes 12 The search for meaning "under the sun"
22 Song of Solomon 8 Love poetry

Major Prophets (5 books)

"Major" refers to length, not importance. Lamentations is placed here because it is attributed to Jeremiah.

# Book Chapters What it is about
23 Isaiah 66 Judgment and comfort; the suffering servant
24 Jeremiah 52 Warnings before the fall of Jerusalem; the new covenant
25 Lamentations 5 Grief over the destroyed city
26 Ezekiel 48 Visions in exile; the valley of dry bones
27 Daniel 12 Faithfulness in Babylon; visions of the future

Minor Prophets (12 books)

Twelve shorter books, counted as a single book in the Hebrew Bible.

# Book Chapters What it is about
28 Hosea 14 God's faithful love for an unfaithful people
29 Joel 3 A locust plague and the day of the LORD
30 Amos 9 Justice for the poor
31 Obadiah 1 Judgment on Edom; the shortest Old Testament book
32 Jonah 4 A reluctant prophet and a repentant city
33 Micah 7 "Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly"
34 Nahum 3 The fall of Nineveh
35 Habakkuk 3 A prophet argues with God and ends in trust
36 Zephaniah 3 Judgment and a God who sings over his people
37 Haggai 2 Rebuild the temple
38 Zechariah 14 Visions of restoration and a coming king
39 Malachi 4 The last word before four centuries of silence

New Testament (27 books)

The Gospels (4 books)

Four accounts of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

# Book Chapters What it is about
40 Matthew 28 Jesus as the promised king; the Sermon on the Mount
41 Mark 16 The shortest and fastest Gospel
42 Luke 24 The most detailed; the Christmas story, the prodigal son
43 John 21 "The Word became flesh"; John 3:16

History (1 book)

# Book Chapters What it is about
44 Acts 28 The early church, from Jerusalem to Rome

Paul's Letters (13 books)

Arranged roughly from longest to shortest: first nine letters to churches, then four to individuals.

# Book Chapters What it is about
45 Romans 16 The fullest statement of the gospel
46 1 Corinthians 16 Problems in a divided church; the love chapter
47 2 Corinthians 13 Paul defends his ministry; strength in weakness
48 Galatians 6 Freedom from the law through faith
49 Ephesians 6 The church as Christ's body; the armor of God
50 Philippians 4 Joy from prison
51 Colossians 4 The supremacy of Christ
52 1 Thessalonians 5 Encouragement and the return of Christ
53 2 Thessalonians 3 Standing firm until he comes
54 1 Timothy 6 Instructions for a young pastor
55 2 Timothy 4 Paul's last letter
56 Titus 3 Order in the churches of Crete
57 Philemon 1 A plea for a runaway slave

General Letters (8 books)

Letters by other apostles and leaders, named for their authors rather than their recipients.

# Book Chapters What it is about
58 Hebrews 13 Christ as the better priest and sacrifice
59 James 5 Faith that works
60 1 Peter 5 Hope under persecution
61 2 Peter 3 Warnings against false teachers
62 1 John 5 God is love; assurance of eternal life
63 2 John 1 Walking in truth and love
64 3 John 1 Hospitality to fellow workers
65 Jude 1 Contend for the faith

Prophecy (1 book)

# Book Chapters What it is about
66 Revelation 22 Visions of Christ's victory and the new creation

How Catholic and Orthodox Bibles differ

Catholic Bibles contain 73 books. The seven additional ones, called deuterocanonical, are placed among the Old Testament books: Tobit and Judith after Nehemiah, 1 and 2 Maccabees after Esther, Wisdom and Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) after the Song of Songs, and Baruch after Lamentations, plus additional passages in Esther and Daniel. Orthodox Bibles include these and a few more, such as 1 Esdras, the Prayer of Manasseh, and 3 Maccabees. These books were part of the Greek Old Testament used by many early Christians; Protestant Bibles, following the Hebrew canon, omit them or print them in a separate section. The 27 New Testament books are identical in every tradition. Some translations on theBible include the deuterocanonical books, and the reader lists them where a translation has them.

The Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh) contains the same books as the Protestant Old Testament but counts them as 24 and orders them differently: the Law, the Prophets (which include Joshua through Kings), and the Writings (which end with Chronicles). Jesus referred to this arrangement when he spoke of "the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms" (Luke 24:44).

A quick way to learn the order

Learn the groups, not the list. Five sections in the Old Testament (Law 5, History 12, Poetry 5, Major Prophets 5, Minor Prophets 12) and five in the New (Gospels 4, Acts 1, Paul 13, General Letters 8, Revelation 1). Once the groups are fixed, the books inside each fall into place: the Law is one story in order; the history books follow the timeline; Paul's letters run from longest to shortest. Say each group aloud a few times a day for a week, using the method in our memorization guide, and the whole table of contents will be yours.

For where to start reading, see How to start reading the Bible; for who wrote each book, see Who wrote the Bible?.

FAQ

How many books are in the Bible?

66 in Protestant Bibles: 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New. Catholic Bibles have 73, adding seven deuterocanonical books; Orthodox Bibles include a few more. The New Testament is the same 27 books in every tradition.

What is the longest book of the Bible?

Psalms, with 150 chapters. Isaiah is second with 66, then Jeremiah with 52 and Genesis with 50. By word count, Jeremiah is the longest book in the original languages.

What is the shortest book of the Bible?

By chapters, several books have only one: Obadiah, Philemon, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude. By word count, 3 John is the shortest, with 2 John close behind.

Are the books of the Bible in chronological order?

No. They are grouped by type: law, history, poetry, prophecy, Gospels, letters. Within the history books the order is roughly chronological, and Paul's letters are arranged by length. A chronological reading plan rearranges them by date; see How to read the Bible in a year.

How many chapters are in the Bible?

1,189: 929 in the Old Testament and 260 in the New. Psalms alone has 150; Obadiah, Philemon, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude have one each.