What is the longest verse in the Bible?
The longest verse in the Bible is Esther 8:9, a single sprawling sentence about scribes, provinces, and languages:
“Then were the king's scribes called at that time in the third month, that is, the month Sivan, on the three and twentieth day thereof; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded unto the Jews, and to the lieutenants, and the deputies and rulers of the provinces which are from India unto Ethiopia, an hundred twenty and seven provinces, unto every province according to the writing thereof, and unto every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and according to their language.”Esther 8:9 (KJV)
It is fitting that the Bible's longest verse is about writing. The book of Esther turns on documents: an irrevocable decree of death, and then this second decree — written "according to all that Mordecai commanded" — that grants the Jews the right to defend themselves. The verse's exhausting length mirrors the scale of the rescue: every province, every people, every language.
For comparison, the longest chapter is Psalm 119 (176 verses, an acrostic celebrating God's torah), and the shortest verse is John 11:35.
Read Esther 8 with study tools →Word studies behind this answer
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Verse text quoted from the King James Version. Study any passage free at Ekdia — no ads, no subscriptions.