The books of the Bible in order
This page lists the books of the Bible in order, with the number of chapters in each, grouped into the Law, history, wisdom and poetry, prophets, Gospels, Acts, letters and Revelation. Switch between the Protestant Bible of 66 books (the order of the King James Version and most English Bibles), the Catholic Bible of 73 books, and the Eastern Orthodox Old Testament in its Greek (Septuagint) order. Then learn the order with a quick quiz.
The New Testament has the same 27 books in the same order in all three. The differences are in the Old Testament, and the page marks them neutrally: books that Catholic and Orthodox Christians call deuterocanonical, and that many Protestant Bibles print as the Apocrypha or leave out; books in the Orthodox canon only; and books with Greek additions.
How to use the Books of the Bible — List & Order Quiz
- Choose Protestant, Catholic or Orthodox, and the whole Bible or one Testament.
- Read the list by section, with chapter counts on the right; the totals are above it.
- Press Copy the list for a numbered list to paste into notes or a worksheet.
- In the quiz, choose Which book comes next? or Which comes first?, and the books to practise.
- Answer ten questions; press 1–4 on a keyboard and Enter for the next one.
Books of the Bible — List & Order Quiz features
Three canons
Protestant (66), Catholic (73) and Eastern Orthodox lists, each in its own printed order.
Chapter counts
From the World English Bible, with 1,189 chapters in the 66-book Bible.
Neutral labels
Deuterocanonical, Orthodox-only and appendix books are tagged, not ranked.
Order quiz
Two question types, Old or New Testament or both, with your best score saved.
Why Bibles have different numbers of books
All Christians share the 39 books of the Hebrew Bible and the 27 of the New Testament. Catholic Bibles also include Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach and Baruch, and longer forms of Esther and Daniel, as defined at the Council of Trent; Orthodox Bibles include these and 1 Esdras, 3 Maccabees, the Prayer of Manasseh and Psalm 151, with 4 Maccabees in an appendix. Protestant Bibles follow the Hebrew canon for the Old Testament, though some editions print the extra books between the Testaments as the Apocrypha.
Chapter numbering also varies a little: Bibles that follow the Hebrew numbering give Joel four chapters and Malachi three, and Orthodox Bibles use Septuagint names such as 1–4 Kingdoms for Samuel and Kings.
| Canon | Old Testament | New Testament | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protestant | 39 | 27 | 66 |
| Catholic | 46 | 27 | 73 |
| Eastern Orthodox (Greek) | 49, plus 4 Maccabees in an appendix | 27 | 76 (+1) |
Tips for memorising the books
- Learn the books section by section: five books of the Law, twelve of history, five of poetry, five major and twelve minor prophets.
- In the New Testament, the four Gospels and Acts come first, then Paul’s letters from the longest (Romans) to the shortest (Philemon), then Hebrews and the general letters.
- Say the minor prophets as a rhythm — Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi — and sing or chant longer runs, as many Sunday-school classes do.
- Practise the order with the quiz a few minutes a day, then try the Bible trivia quiz.
- For the order in which events happened, the Bible reading plan generator has an approximate chronological plan.
Books of the Bible — List & Order Quiz FAQ
How many books are in the Bible?
The Protestant Bible has 66 books (39 + 27), the Catholic Bible 73 (46 + 27), and Eastern Orthodox Bibles 76 or more, depending on the church and edition.
Are the books of the Bible in order the same in the KJV?
Yes. The King James Version uses the Protestant order shown here; its 1611 edition also printed the Apocrypha between the Testaments.
What are the books of the Bible in chronological order?
Scholars date the books differently, so there is no single chronological order. This page shows the canonical order; the Bible reading plan generator offers an approximate chronological reading plan.
What are the deuterocanonical books?
Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach and Baruch, with the Greek parts of Esther and Daniel. Catholic and Orthodox Christians include them in the Old Testament.
Which is the longest book of the Bible?
Psalms, with 150 chapters (151 in Orthodox Bibles). The longest New Testament book by chapters is Matthew, with 28.