Which Bible verses are the shortest in God’s Word?
I define “shortest Bible verses” to be those verses with the smallest quantity of English words or letters , and to maintain consistency, I’ll use the English translation of the Bible rather than looking into the Original Greek, Hebrew Text or Aramaic languages.
In the English translation of the Bible, specifically the King James Version, we have two verses that contain two words, with the smallest of those verses only containing 9 English letters.
Short Bible Verses In New Testament By Word Count & Letter Count
The only two verses in the English Bible containing 2 words in each verse are found in the New Testament.
The first is of the Lord Jesus Christ when he saw those mourning at the grave of Lazarus in John 11:35 and simply states, and this verse is also the shortest by number of letters (9):
Jesus wept.
John 11:35
The second shortest verse is penned by the apostle Paul to the church at Thessalonica in 1 Thessalonians 5:16 and states and is equal fourth shortest by letter count (15):
Rejoice evermore.
1 Thessalonians 5:16
Short Verses In Old Testament By Word Count & Letter Count
When it comes to finding the shortest verse in the English Bible in the Old Testament you will find that there are 36 verses containing 3 words. Here’s the list:
- 1 Chronicles 1:1 – Adam, Sheth, Enosh,
- 1 Chronicles 1:2 – Kenan, Mahalaleel, Jered,
- 1 Chronicles 1:3 – Henoch, Methuselah, Lamech,
- 1 Chronicles 1:24 – Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah,
- 1 Chronicles 1:25 – Eber, Peleg, Reu,
- 1 Chronicles 1:26 – Serug, Nahor, Terah,
- Ezra 10:35 – Benaiah, Bedeiah, Chelluh,
- Ezra 10:36 – Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,
- Ezra 10:40 – Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,
- Nehemiah 10:2 – Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,
- Nehemiah 10:3 – Pashur, Amariah, Malchijah,
- Nehemiah 10:4 – Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,
- Nehemiah 10:5 – Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,
- Nehemiah 10:6 – Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,
- Nehemiah 10:7 – Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,
- Nehemiah 10:11 – Micha, Rehob, Hashabiah,
- Nehemiah 10:12 – Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,
- Nehemiah 10:13 – Hodijah, Bani, Beninu.
- Nehemiah 10:15 – Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,
- Nehemiah 10:16 – Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
- Nehemiah 10:17 – Ater, Hizkijah, Azzur,
- Nehemiah 10:18 – Hodijah, Hashum, Bezai,
- Nehemiah 10:19 – Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,
- Nehemiah 10:20 – Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,
- Nehemiah 10:21 – Meshezabeel, Zadok, Jaddua,
- Nehemiah 10:22 – Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,
- Nehemiah 10:23 – Hoshea, Hananiah, Hashub,
- Nehemiah 10:24 – Hallohesh, Pileha, Shobek,
- Nehemiah 10:25 – Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,
- Nehemiah 10:27 – Malluch, Harim, Baanah.
- Nehemiah 11:33 – Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim,
- Nehemiah 11:34 – Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat,
- Nehemiah 12:2 – Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,
- Nehemiah 12:3 – Shechaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,
- Nehemiah 12:4 – Iddo, Ginnetho, Abijah,
- Nehemiah 12:5 – Miamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,
From this list, the shortest by letter count is the fifth verse in the list above, with 12 letters, is 1 Chronicles 1:25.
Shortest Verses In The Bible
The shortest verse in the Bible is found in John 11:35. A verse that contains only 2 words and 9 letters.
The second shortest verse in the Bible by letter count is found in 1 Chronicles 1:25 and contains 3 words with a total of 12 letters.
The third shortest verse in the Bible by letter count is found in the same chapter of 1 Chronicles 1 verse 1 with a total of 14 letters.