What is the middle verse of the Bible? We counted all 31,102 verses

The middle verse of the Bible is not Psalm 118:8, despite the popular claim. The King James Version has 31,102 verses, an even number, so there are two middle verses: Psalm 103:1 and Psalm 103:2, with 15,550 verses before them and 15,550 after. The middle chapter of the Bible is Psalm 117, with 594 chapters on each side.

Psalm 118:8 is a wonderful verse, but by our count it's verse number 15,878, which puts it 327 verses past the true middle. The famous claim gets one number right and attaches it to the wrong psalm.

We counted every chapter and verse in the KJV text used in the Bible Academy app. Here is what we found, where the myth goes wrong, and the middle of the Old and New Testaments too.

The Psalm 118:8 claim, and what's wrong with it

A version of this "Bible fact" is copied across many websites and social posts. It usually runs like this:

1. Psalm 117 is the shortest chapter in the Bible.
2. Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible.
3. Psalm 118 is the middle chapter, with 594 chapters before it and 594 after.
4. 594 + 594 = 1,188, so Psalm 118:8 is the middle verse of the Bible.
5. And that middle verse sums up the whole message: trust God, not people.

Here's how each claim holds up against an actual count of the KJV:

The "594 chapters" figure is real, but it belongs to Psalm 117: there are 594 chapters before Psalm 117 and 594 after it (594 + 1 + 594 = 1,189). Move one psalm over and the symmetry breaks.

The jump from "1,188" to "118:8" is a number trick, not a count. Adding chapter totals tells you nothing about where a verse falls, because chapters have very different lengths. Psalm 117 has 2 verses; Psalm 119 has 176. You can only find the middle verse by counting verses.

If you like checking claims like this for yourself, the app's quizzes are built the same way: every answer comes with the verse it's based on, so you're never asked to take a "fact" on trust.

How we found the real middle verse

The method is simple enough to repeat with any Bible that has standard numbering:

1. List every verse of the 66 books in order, from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21.
2. Count them. The KJV has 31,102.
3. Because 31,102 is even, there's no single middle verse. The middle falls between verse 15,551 and verse 15,552.
4. Find those two verses in the list.

Verse 15,551 is Psalm 103:1 and verse 15,552 is Psalm 103:2. That leaves 15,550 verses before Psalm 103:1 and 15,550 after Psalm 103:2. In the KJV text we counted, verse 1 opens with the psalm's title, "A Psalm of David," and then says: "Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name." Verse 2 follows:

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

If you wanted a verse to sit at the center of the Bible, it's hard to imagine a better pair. "Bless the Lord, O my soul... and forget not all his benefits." Psalm 103 goes on to list those benefits: forgiveness, healing, redemption, and a mercy as great as "the heaven is high above the earth" (Psalm 103:11).

Where Psalm 118:8 actually falls

So Psalm 118:8 is in the right neighborhood (the Psalms), but 327 verses past the true middle. In a Bible of 31,102 verses that's close, but "close" isn't what the claim says.

None of this takes anything away from the verse itself:

It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.

Psalm 118 is one of the most quoted psalms in the New Testament. Its "stone which the builders refused" (Psalm 118:22) is applied to Jesus in Matthew 21:42 and Acts 4:11, and the crowds on Palm Sunday sang from it (compare Psalm 118:26 with Matthew 21:9). It deserves attention for what it says, not for a position it doesn't have.

The middle chapter of the Bible: Psalm 117

The Protestant Bible has 1,189 chapters. That's an odd number, so there's exactly one middle chapter: number 595, which is Psalm 117.

It's a happy coincidence that the middle chapter is also the shortest chapter, and that its message is for everyone: "O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people" (Psalm 117:1). Paul quotes it in Romans 15:11 as proof that the gospel was always meant for the whole world. Our article on the longest chapter in the Bible covers Psalm 117 and its giant neighbor, Psalm 119.

The middle word, book and testaments

People also ask about the middle of the Bible in other ways. Here's what our count gives for each.

The middle by words is the shakiest of these. It depends on how you count hyphenated names and whether you include the titles printed above many psalms (our count includes them, along with the notes at the end of Paul's letters). Change the rules and the middle word can move. In the ASV, by the same method, the middle word falls in Psalm 63:5.

Notice that by books, the middle of the Bible isn't in the Psalms at all. Because the Old Testament books are generally much longer than the New Testament ones, the middle by verses comes much earlier (in Psalms, the 19th book) than the middle by books.

Does the translation change the middle verse?

For the KJV and most English Bibles that keep the standard numbering, no: there are 31,102 verse numbers, and the middle is Psalm 103:1-2.

It can shift a little in other cases:

• Blank verses. The ASV keeps the same 31,102 verse numbers, but 16 New Testament verses are blank (for example Acts 8:37) because its translators followed older Greek manuscripts. If you count only verses that contain text (31,086 in the ASV), the middle moves back to Psalm 102:21-22.
• Different divisions. A few modern translations split or join verses differently, which nudges the total up or down by a verse or two.
• Hebrew numbering. Hebrew Bibles often number psalm titles as their own verse and divide some books differently, so their verse totals and middle differ.
• Larger canons. Catholic and Orthodox Bibles include additional books, which moves the middle again.

So any honest answer needs a "which Bible?" attached. For the standard KJV numbering used by most English readers, the answer is Psalm 103:1-2. You can see the per-book counts behind all of this in our guide to how many chapters and verses are in the Bible.

Why this kind of myth spreads

The Psalm 118:8 claim spreads because it feels too neat to be an accident, and because the verse it lands on is genuinely good. That combination makes people want it to be true.

But Christians should care about accuracy, especially about the Bible. Paul praised the Bereans because they "searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so" (Acts 17:11). Checking a viral fact is a small, practical way to do the same. It also protects your credibility: if you share a claim that a friend can disprove in five minutes, it's harder for them to trust you on things that matter more.

If you enjoy separating Bible fact from Bible folklore, try our true or false Bible quiz and our collection of interesting Bible facts, each with its verse.

Test yourself on the Psalms

Here are three questions from the app's Psalms quiz:

Quick quiz: Psalms

Which word opens the first psalm?

BlessedPraiseWhyHear

Which psalm begins with “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want”?

Psalm 1Psalm 91Psalm 23Psalm 121

Which psalm begins with “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name”?

Psalm 100Psalm 103Psalm 34Psalm 145

Continue the quiz

There are many more questions like these in Bible Academy, each with its explanation and verse. Start free, no card needed.

For more, take the full Psalms quiz, browse every book on the Bible quiz hub, or read the Psalms overview. In the app, the quiz path adapts to your level and explains every answer with its verse.

Frequently asked questions

What is the middle verse of the Bible?

In the King James Version, which has 31,102 verses, the middle falls between two verses: Psalm 103:1 and Psalm 103:2. There are 15,550 verses before Psalm 103:1 and 15,550 after Psalm 103:2. The popular claim that Psalm 118:8 is the middle verse is not supported by an actual count.

Is Psalm 118:8 the middle verse of the Bible?

No. In the KJV, Psalm 118:8 is verse 15,878 of 31,102, with 15,877 verses before it and 15,224 after it. The true middle is Psalm 103:1-2. The claim seems to come from mixing up the middle chapter (Psalm 117) with Psalm 118 and then turning the number 1,188 into the reference 118:8.

What is the middle chapter of the Bible?

Psalm 117 is the middle chapter of the Bible. The Protestant Bible has 1,189 chapters, and Psalm 117 is chapter 595, with 594 chapters before it and 594 after it. It is also the shortest chapter in the Bible, with only 2 verses. Psalm 118 has 595 chapters before it and 593 after.

What is the middle book of the Bible?

The Protestant Bible has 66 books, an even number, so there is no single middle book. The middle falls between Micah, the 33rd book, and Nahum, the 34th. Both are among the twelve Minor Prophets near the end of the Old Testament, which holds 39 of the Bible's 66 books.

What is the middle verse of the New Testament?

In the KJV, the New Testament has 7,957 verses, so the middle verse is the 3,979th: Acts 7:7, in Stephen's speech before the council. The middle of the Old Testament, which has 23,145 verses, is 2 Chronicles 18:30. The middle chapters of the New Testament are Romans 13 and 14.