What is the shortest book in the Bible? It depends on how you count
The shortest book in the Bible is 3 John by words, but 2 John by verses and letters. See our exact KJV counts and the 10 shortest books ranked.
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The shortest book in the Bible is 3 John if you count words: 294 words in the King James Version, by our count. But 2 John is shorter if you count verses (13 against 14) or letters (1,204 against 1,250). Both are one-chapter letters written by "the elder", and either one takes about two minutes to read.
That split is why you see both answers online. Neither is wrong; they measure different things. The most common answer, 3 John, comes from word counts. The verse count favors 2 John.
Below are our exact numbers, computed from the KJV text used in the Bible Academy app, plus the ten shortest books ranked, the shortest book in the Old Testament, and what these tiny letters actually say.
The shortest books in the Bible, ranked
Here are the ten shortest books by word count in the KJV. We counted every word in every verse of the app's KJV text with a short script. Letters means alphabetic characters only, without spaces or punctuation.
| Rank | Book | Chapters | Verses | Words (KJV) | Letters (KJV) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 John | 1 | 14 | 294 | 1,250 |
| 2 | 2 John | 1 | 13 | 298 | 1,204 |
| 3 | Philemon | 1 | 25 | 439 | 1,860 |
| 4 | Jude | 1 | 25 | 608 | 2,811 |
| 5 | Obadiah | 1 | 21 | 669 | 2,818 |
| 6 | Titus | 3 | 46 | 915 | 4,156 |
| 7 | 2 Thessalonians | 3 | 47 | 1,032 | 4,329 |
| 8 | Haggai | 2 | 38 | 1,130 | 4,400 |
| 9 | Nahum | 3 | 47 | 1,284 | 5,421 |
| 10 | Jonah | 4 | 48 | 1,320 | 5,087 |
A few things jump out:
- The top five are exactly the five one-chapter books.
- Obadiah has fewer verses than Philemon and Jude (21 against 25), yet more words. Its verses are longer.
- Jonah has fewer letters than Nahum but more words. Short words, lots of them.
That last point is the whole story in miniature: "shortest" changes with the ruler you use.
3 John vs 2 John: which one is really the shortest?
Put the two letters side by side and the race is almost a tie.
| Measure (KJV) | 2 John | 3 John | Shorter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chapters | 1 | 1 | Tie |
| Verses | 13 | 14 | 2 John |
| Words | 298 | 294 | 3 John |
| Letters | 1,204 | 1,250 | 2 John |
| Words in the ASV | 299 | 299 | Tie |
So which answer should you give at trivia night? 3 John is the answer most quizzes expect, because it has the fewest words. If someone says 2 John, they're right too, as long as they mean verses.
Translations shift the numbers a little. In the American Standard Version (ASV), also in the app, both letters come out at exactly 299 words by our count, and 2 John stays shorter in verses and letters. Other translations and the original Greek give slightly different totals again, so treat any word count as "for this translation".
Why do both letters end so quickly? John tells us himself. He had more to say but preferred to say it in person:
Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.
I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee: But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name.
Two thousand years later, that is still good advice for anyone about to send a long, heated message.
If you want to read both letters right now, they take about two minutes each, and the app's Bible reader has them in the KJV and ASV, offline.
What 2 John and 3 John are about
These letters are short, but they aren't filler. Each one is a real letter to real people, with a clear point.
2 John is written by "the elder" to "the elect lady and her children" (2 John 1:1). Christians read "the elect lady" in two ways: as a particular woman and her family, or as a picture of a local church and its members. The letter's message is love and truth held together: love one another (2 John 1:5), and don't give a platform to teachers who deny that Jesus Christ came in the flesh (2 John 1:7-10).
3 John is a personal note to a man named Gaius, "whom I love in the truth" (3 John 1:1). It praises Gaius for welcoming traveling Christian workers, warns about Diotrephes, "who loveth to have the preeminence" (3 John 1:9), and commends Demetrius (3 John 1:12). It also contains one of the warmest lines in the New Testament:
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
Who was "the elder"? Church tradition identifies him with John the apostle, the author of the Gospel of John and 1 John. Some scholars think it may have been another John, an elder in the church at Ephesus. The style and vocabulary of the three letters are very close, which is why they're grouped together.
The 3 John verse many people know best is 3 John 1:2, the wish that Gaius would "prosper and be in health". It's a greeting, the way people opened letters at the time, so it's best read as a friend's warm wish rather than a promise.
The shortest book in the Old Testament: Obadiah
The shortest book in the Old Testament is Obadiah: one chapter, 21 verses and 669 words in the KJV. It's the only one-chapter book in the Old Testament.
Obadiah is a prophecy against Edom, the nation descended from Esau, for its pride and for gloating when Jerusalem fell. Its opening lines sound like a verdict on every kind of arrogance:
The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord.
The book ends with hope: "the kingdom shall be the Lord's" (Obadiah 1:21). You can read a short overview on our Obadiah book page, with the BibleProject video for the book.
The next shortest Old Testament books are Haggai (38 verses, 1,130 words), Nahum (47 verses, 1,284 words), Jonah (48 verses, 1,320 words) and Habakkuk (56 verses, 1,475 words). Jonah is the surprise for most readers: a story they've known since childhood turns out to be only four short chapters.
Other "shortest" records worth knowing
Trivia questions often slice the Bible in different ways. Here are the shortest books in each group, from our KJV counts.
| Category | Shortest book | KJV size |
|---|---|---|
| Whole Bible (words) | 3 John | 294 words |
| Whole Bible (verses) | 2 John | 13 verses |
| Old Testament | Obadiah | 21 verses, 669 words |
| Gospels | Mark | 16 chapters, 678 verses, 15,166 words |
| Paul's letters | Philemon | 25 verses, 439 words |
| Law (first five books) | Leviticus | 27 chapters, 859 verses |
| Major Prophets | Lamentations | 5 chapters, 154 verses |
Mark is the shortest Gospel by every measure, and Philemon is the shortest letter Paul wrote. Philemon is also one of the most personal books in the Bible: Paul asks his friend to welcome back Onesimus, a runaway slave who has become a Christian, "not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved" (Philemon 1:16).
For the other end of the scale, see our guide to the longest book in the Bible. And if you like these records, the shortest verse in the Bible has its own surprise in the Greek.
Test yourself on the short books
A short book is the perfect place to try a quiz, because you can read the whole thing first and then see how much stuck. Here are three questions on 3 John from the app's question bank:
Quick quiz: 3 John
To whom is the third letter of John addressed?
“The elder unto the well-beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.” Diotrephes and Demetrius are merely mentioned in the letter. 3 John 1
What is the elder’s greatest joy?
“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” 3 John 4
Which man does the elder criticize because he “loveth to be first”?
“Diotrephes, who loveth to be first among them, receiveth us not.” Demas, Alexander, and Hymenaeus are named critically by Paul, not by the elder. 3 John 9
There are many more questions like these in Bible Academy, each with its explanation and verse. Start free, no card needed.
There are also full quizzes for 2 John, Jude and Philemon, or you can browse every book from the Bible quiz hub.
Reading the five one-chapter books in one sitting is a good weekend exercise: Obadiah, Philemon, 2 John, 3 John and Jude together are about 2,300 words in the KJV, roughly a 12-minute read at 200 words per minute. The app's quizzes then check what you remember, with each answer explained by its verse.
How we counted
Every number on this page comes from the KJV text inside the Bible Academy app (the same text you read in the app), counted with a short script. A few rules, so you can reproduce or challenge them:
- A word is any run of letters or digits. Hyphenated names and words with an apostrophe count as one word.
- Verse and chapter numbers are not counted as words.
- Letters are alphabetic characters only, so spaces, commas and periods don't count.
- Our KJV has 31,102 verses and 1,189 chapters in total, the standard counts for the Protestant Bible.
Printed editions vary slightly (spelling, punctuation, italic words), so another KJV word count may be off by a few words. The ranking of the shortest books doesn't change. For the full table of every book, see how many chapters and verses are in the Bible.
Frequently asked questions
What is the shortest book in the Bible?
The shortest book in the Bible is 3 John by word count, with 294 words in the King James Version. If you count verses instead, 2 John is shorter, with 13 verses against 14 for 3 John. Both are one-chapter letters from "the elder", traditionally identified as the apostle John, and each takes about two minutes to read.
What is the shortest book in the Old Testament?
Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament. It has one chapter, 21 verses and 669 words in the KJV, and it is the only one-chapter book in the Old Testament. It is a prophecy against Edom for its pride and for its violence against its "brother Jacob", and it ends with the promise that "the kingdom shall be the Lord's".
How many books of the Bible have only one chapter?
Five books have only one chapter: Obadiah in the Old Testament, and Philemon, 2 John, 3 John and Jude in the New Testament. They are also the five shortest books of the Bible by word count. Because they have no chapter divisions, they are usually cited by verse only or as chapter 1, for example Jude 1:24.
Is 2 John or 3 John shorter?
It depends on the measure. In the KJV, 3 John has fewer words (294 against 298), but 2 John has fewer verses (13 against 14) and fewer letters (1,204 against 1,250). In the ASV, both letters have 299 words. Most trivia quizzes accept 3 John as the shortest book.
What is the shortest Gospel?
Mark is the shortest of the four Gospels, with 16 chapters, 678 verses and 15,166 words in the KJV. Matthew has 28 chapters, Luke 24 and John 21. Many readers start with Mark for that reason: you can read the whole Gospel in well under two hours.