I recently analyzed every chapter of the Bible in the KJV for how many words there were per verse in the chapter. Based on that analysis, I compiled the top 30 Bible chapters by words per verse in two categories: (1) Most Words per Verse; and (2) Fewest Words per Verse.
The charts below show the top 10 chapters in both categories. My chart, Top 30 Bible Chapters by Words Per Verse, presents the data for all 30 top chapters in each category.
Most Words per Verse
| Most Words Per Verse | ||||
| Chapter | Words | Verses | Words/Verse | |
| 1 | Jer 40 | 681 | 16 | 42.56 |
| 2 | Ezr 3 | 547 | 13 | 42.08 |
| 3 | 2 Ki 7 | 824 | 20 | 41.20 |
| 4 | 1 Chr 28 | 864 | 21 | 41.14 |
| 5 | Ezr 9 | 617 | 15 | 41.13 |
| 6 | Jer 44 | 1228 | 30 | 40.93 |
| 7 | Lam 2 | 883 | 22 | 40.14 |
| 8 | 2 Ki 23 | 1477 | 37 | 39.92 |
| 9 | Jos 22 | 1321 | 34 | 38.85 |
| 10 | 1 Sam 29 | 421 | 11 | 38.27 |
Fewest Words per Verse
| Fewest Words Per Verse | ||||
| Chapter | Words | Verses | Words/Verse | |
| 1 | 1 Chr 8 | 491 | 40 | 12.28 |
| 2 | 1 Chr 1 | 683 | 54 | 12.65 |
| 3 | Ps 120 | 92 | 7 | 13.14 |
| 4 | Ps 114 | 106 | 8 | 13.25 |
| 5 | Lam 3 | 876 | 66 | 13.27 |
| 6 | Lam 5 | 296 | 22 | 13.45 |
| 7 | Ps 136 | 353 | 26 | 13.58 |
| 8 | Ps 119 | 2445 | 176 | 13.89 |
| 9 | Ps 105 | 632 | 45 | 14.04 |
| 10 | Prov 2 | 309 | 22 | 14.05 |
Discussion
Unsurprisingly, the top 30 chapters in the Bible with the most words per verse are all in the OT. In fact, the top 158 chapters with the most words per verse are all in the OT. These findings confirm the general perception that the OT is harder to read than the NT because of more words per verse in the chapters of the OT.
I was surprised to find, however, that all but one of the top 30 chapters in the Bible with the fewest words per verse were also in the OT. Moreover, only two NT chapters rank in the top 100 Bible chapters with the fewest words per verse.
Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
