Strata: How Many?

How many words are in the shortest verse of the New Testament?

Answer: Two

The shortest verse in the New Testament, John 11:35, reads “Jesus wept” in most English translations. While the original Greek actually consists of three words (Edákrusen ho lēsous; ἐδάκρυσεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς), it has traditionally been rendered in English with just two words—albeit with a few exceptions. For example, the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) translates it as “Jesus began to weep” and the Common English Bible (CEB) as “Jesus began to cry.”

The shortest verse in the Hebrew Bible, Job 3:2, is also usually translated with two words in English: “Job said.” Similar to John 11:35, however, there are three words in the Hebrew text (Hebrew: ויען איוב ויאמר). (What Job said follows in verse 3.)

According to their English renderings, both of these “shortest” verses are 88 words shorter than the longest verse in the Bible, Esther 8:9, which has 90 words in the Jewish Publication Society’s (JPS) translation and 43 in the original Hebrew. The length in English of this verse from Esther varies from translation to translation, with the NRSV coming in at 83 words, the English Standard Version (ESV) at 80 words and the New International Version (NIV) at 71.