How many words are in the King James Bible?
How many words are in the King James Bible? 790,705 by our count, spread over 66 books and 31,102 verses, or roughly 25.4 words per verse. That is the King James word count for the standard 66 books, built from 12,681 different word forms. The table below gives the count for every book; for why other sources quote different totals, see how many words are in the Bible.
Word count of every book, Genesis to Revelation
All 66 books in Bible order, counted from the King James text without chapter headings:
| Book | Chapters | Verses | Words |
|---|---|---|---|
| Genesis | 50 | 1,533 | 38,323 |
| Exodus | 40 | 1,213 | 32,722 |
| Leviticus | 27 | 859 | 24,541 |
| Numbers | 36 | 1,288 | 32,931 |
| Deuteronomy | 34 | 959 | 28,373 |
| Joshua | 24 | 658 | 18,983 |
| Judges | 21 | 618 | 19,033 |
| Ruth | 4 | 85 | 2,583 |
| 1 Samuel | 31 | 810 | 25,115 |
| 2 Samuel | 24 | 695 | 20,659 |
| 1 Kings | 22 | 816 | 24,579 |
| 2 Kings | 25 | 719 | 23,576 |
| 1 Chronicles | 29 | 942 | 20,444 |
| 2 Chronicles | 36 | 822 | 26,114 |
| Ezra | 10 | 280 | 7,457 |
| Nehemiah | 13 | 406 | 10,500 |
| Esther | 10 | 167 | 5,633 |
| Job | 42 | 1,070 | 18,099 |
| Psalms | 150 | 2,461 | 42,709 |
| Proverbs | 31 | 915 | 15,038 |
| Ecclesiastes | 12 | 222 | 5,579 |
| Song of Solomon | 8 | 117 | 2,661 |
| Isaiah | 66 | 1,292 | 37,059 |
| Jeremiah | 52 | 1,364 | 42,717 |
| Lamentations | 5 | 154 | 3,411 |
| Ezekiel | 48 | 1,273 | 39,417 |
| Daniel | 12 | 357 | 11,617 |
| Hosea | 14 | 197 | 5,185 |
| Joel | 3 | 73 | 2,037 |
| Amos | 9 | 146 | 4,233 |
| Obadiah | 1 | 21 | 669 |
| Jonah | 4 | 48 | 1,325 |
| Micah | 7 | 105 | 3,155 |
| Nahum | 3 | 47 | 1,292 |
| Habakkuk | 3 | 56 | 1,475 |
| Zephaniah | 3 | 53 | 1,619 |
| Haggai | 2 | 38 | 1,130 |
| Zechariah | 14 | 211 | 6,446 |
| Malachi | 4 | 55 | 1,781 |
| Matthew | 28 | 1,071 | 23,689 |
| Mark | 16 | 678 | 15,179 |
| Luke | 24 | 1,151 | 25,964 |
| John | 21 | 879 | 19,104 |
| Acts | 28 | 1,007 | 24,287 |
| Romans | 16 | 433 | 9,423 |
| 1 Corinthians | 16 | 437 | 9,462 |
| 2 Corinthians | 13 | 257 | 6,068 |
| Galatians | 6 | 149 | 3,084 |
| Ephesians | 6 | 155 | 3,024 |
| Philippians | 4 | 104 | 2,183 |
| Colossians | 4 | 95 | 1,979 |
| 1 Thessalonians | 5 | 89 | 1,838 |
| 2 Thessalonians | 3 | 47 | 1,022 |
| 1 Timothy | 6 | 113 | 2,244 |
| 2 Timothy | 4 | 83 | 1,666 |
| Titus | 3 | 46 | 896 |
| Philemon | 1 | 25 | 430 |
| Hebrews | 13 | 303 | 6,897 |
| James | 5 | 108 | 2,304 |
| 1 Peter | 5 | 105 | 2,476 |
| 2 Peter | 3 | 61 | 1,554 |
| 1 John | 5 | 105 | 2,517 |
| 2 John | 1 | 13 | 298 |
| 3 John | 1 | 14 | 294 |
| Jude | 1 | 25 | 608 |
| Revelation | 22 | 404 | 11,995 |
Jeremiah is the longest single book at 42,717 words. Grouped by section, the biggest block is law and history (genesis to esther) with 361,566 words:
| Section | Words |
|---|---|
| Law and history (Genesis to Esther) | 361,566 |
| Poetry and wisdom (Job to Song of Solomon) | 84,086 |
| Prophets (Isaiah to Malachi) | 164,568 |
| Gospels and Acts (Matthew to Acts) | 108,223 |
| Letters and Revelation (Romans to Revelation) | 72,262 |
The 25 most common words in the King James Bible
Counting every word in the King James Bible gives a list dominated by small words, with the archaic ones of 1611 close behind:
| Word | Times in the KJV |
|---|---|
| the | 63,938 |
| and | 51,702 |
| of | 34,629 |
| to | 13,564 |
| that | 12,917 |
| in | 12,667 |
| he | 10,419 |
| shall | 9,840 |
| unto | 8,999 |
| for | 8,971 |
| i | 8,855 |
| his | 8,475 |
| a | 8,214 |
| lord | 7,840 |
| they | 7,376 |
| be | 7,013 |
| is | 6,994 |
| him | 6,662 |
| not | 6,598 |
| them | 6,429 |
| it | 6,130 |
| with | 6,012 |
| all | 5,621 |
| thou | 5,474 |
| thy | 4,603 |
How many words are in the King James Bible? How the count is made
The text comes from a public-domain edition of the King James Version, 66 books and exactly 31,102 verses. A word is any run of letters, with possessives and contractions such as God’s kept whole. Capital letters are ignored, and numbers and punctuation are skipped. That is why the total can differ from figures quoted elsewhere, which often count differently or include extra books. The same rules decide whether the Bible word checker marks your word green, so you can look up any single word, such as Christian, and see how often it appears. Some well-known religious words, like Trinityand rapture, never appear at all.
Frequently asked questions
How many words are in the King James Bible?
790,705 words by our count, in 66 books, 1,189 chapters, and 31,102 verses. Other sources often quote 783,137; the gap comes from counting rules, such as whether a hyphenated name like Beth-el is one word or two.
Does the King James Bible with the Apocrypha have more words?
Yes. The original 1611 King James Bible included the Apocrypha, a set of extra books printed between the Testaments, so a full 1611 edition has considerably more words. The figures on this page cover the 66 books found in standard KJV editions today.
How many unique words are in the King James Bible?
12,681 different word forms, ignoring capital letters. Forms like lord, lords, and Lord's are counted separately, which is the same rule the word checker on the home page uses.
How many words are in a King James Bible verse on average?
About 25.4 words per verse: 790,705 words divided across 31,102 verses.