Gospel Readings and Teachings

What Is The Shortest Verses In The Bible

What Is The Shortest Verses In The Bible

In the Bible, there are many short verses that have great meaning. Many of these verses are only two or three words long. Here are some examples:

John 11:35

  • Jesus wept. (John 11:35)
  • Jesus is not a cold, unfeeling person. He can feel and understand emotions, such as pain, sorrow and compassion.

Jesus wept.

As you may or may not know, there are many different ways to read the Bible. You can read it as a whole book in one sitting (I do this daily), or you could choose to break it up into sections and read them separately (this is what I do when I travel).

One way many people choose to break up the Bible is by verse length, which means they will try their best to find the shortest verses in each book. There are several websites that have made lists of which books have the shortest verses—including some great ones here, here, and here—but I’ve found that sometimes these sites don’t always agree on what makes a verse short enough for their list.

For example: If we take all of Matthew’s verses and sort them by length, we end up with 678 total verses! That sounds like a lot until you realize that most of those verses are long ones about Jesus’ birth story (see Matthew 1:18-25). If we take only those 28 short “Jesus said” phrases from Matthew 5-9 (that’s how far down our list goes), then suddenly his entire gospel has only 492 total words in it!

Psalm 117

Psalm 117 is the shortest psalm in the Bible. It consists of only eight words and seven verses:

1 The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul;the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;

2 The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening [the] eyes;

3 The fear of [the] LORD is clean, enduring for ever;the ordinances of [the] LORD are true and righteous altogether.

O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people.

Psalm 117 is the shortest verse in the Bible. It’s only two words long: “Praise the Lord.”

This psalm is a prayer to God, offering praise for his greatness and asking for protection from enemies. This psalm was sung in Jewish synagogues around Passover time each year as part of their worship, which makes it one of the most important pieces of scripture for Jewish people.

1 Chronicles 1:25 (KJV)

The name of the author: David

The name of the book: First Chronicles

The name of the Bible: Old Testament

The chapter number: 1

The verse number: 25

Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah, Abram.

The shortest verses in the Bible are found in Genesis 11:10-26. These are known as “the genealogy of Shem” and contain only 43 words. The first verse reads, “Now these are the generations of Shem.” This naming convention is also seen later with Jacob’s descendants as well:

  • Eber – Genesis 11:14-19 (8 names)
  • Peleg – Genesis 11:18-19 (3 names)
  • Reu – Genesiss 11:20-30 (11 names)
  • Serug – Genesis 11:27-29 (3 names)
  • Nahor – Genesiss 12:1-4 (2 names)
  • Terah –Genesis 12:5a, b

Luke 20:17-18

Jesus was asked to explain Psalm 118:22, which says that rejected stone is now the cornerstone. When Jesus answered this question, he used this verse to show that the kingdom of God is not established by human effort. He said that the kingdom of God is not a physical kingdom. The stone in his parable represents him and his teaching, so it would be foolish for us to try and take possession of it ourselves (Matthew 21:42). Instead, we should let him be our cornerstone and build our lives on his teachings instead of trying to make them work for us on our own.

And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

Jesus is the cornerstone, the rock, and everything you need to know about this is that He loves you.

Jesus is the cornerstone of His church.

Jesus was also a cornerstone of an Old Testament temple.

And if you’re going to be building something, it’s good to have someone who cares about what they’re doing guiding your hand when it comes time to fit together all those pieces into place with precision and care so that nothing goes wrong later on down the road when something needs fixing or replacing or repairing? This is one reason why Jesus being our guide makes sense; we need Him there every step of our journey through life because He knows exactly what he’s doing no matter how much experience we’ve got under our belts!

Matthew 17:20

“But if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)

Jesus is talking to his disciples in this verse and he is trying to explain the power of faith. He uses the example of a mustard seed being so small that it is barely visible, but when planted it grows into a tall tree! Similarly, if our faith is strong enough we can move mountains!

In order for us to believe in something strongly enough or with enough power we must first have an understanding of what it means and how powerful it could be. In order for us to understand what moving mountains means we should consider how big they are and how long they would take us if we had no help from anyone else!

And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Luke 17:5

And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

God will use whatever He has to use to reach us.

God will use whatever He has to use to reach us. Whether it’s a tragedy, a Scripture, your life, or even the smallest verse in the Bible—He can use it all and He will. The Bible is full of examples where God used something small to achieve His purpose:

Don’t forget about how Jesus was born into this world in a barn and then how He was baptized by John in the river Jordan. Both were humble beginnings for someone who would later be called King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

Even today in our generation we see how God works through some pretty unexpected things: For example, I remember being very touched when my friend told me that she had read my book after hearing about it from her son who was serving overseas (she found out about my book because she came across my blog as I was writing an article on meditation).

We hope this article has been helpful in your understanding of what the shortest verses in the Bible are and why they matter. God’s Word is powerful and we should always seek to learn more about it!

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