How many chapters are in Esther?
Esther has 10 chapters and 167 verses. The King James Version text of Esther runs 5,633 words, about 24 minutes of reading at 238 words a minute. It is book 17 of the 66 books of the Bible (17th of the 39 Old Testament books) and the 34th longest by word count.
Verses in each chapter of Esther
The longest chapter is Esther 9 with 32 verses; the shortest is Esther 10 with 3.
Longest and shortest verse in Esther
Longest: Esther 8:9, 90 words in the KJV.
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.
Shortest: Esther 9:7, 6 words in the KJV.
And Parshandatha, and Dalphon, and Aspatha,
How Esther begins and ends
First verse, Esther 1:1
Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces:)
Now in the days of Ahasuerus (this is Ahasuerus who reigned from India even to Ethiopia, over one hundred twenty-seven provinces),
Last verse, Esther 10:3
For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.
For Mordecai the Jew was next to King Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted by the multitude of his brothers, seeking the good of his people, and speaking peace to all his descendants.
Esther in our topic collections
4 verses from Esther appear on our Bible verse topic pages, most often in these topics:
- Bible Verses About Fasting (1 from Esther)
- Bible Verses About Christmas (1 from Esther)
- Bible Verses About Orphans (1 from Esther)
- Bible Verses About Purpose (1 from Esther)
Esther: common questions
How many chapters are in the book of Esther?
Esther has 10 chapters. The longest chapter is Esther 9 with 32 verses; the shortest is Esther 10 with 3.
How many verses are in Esther?
Esther has 167 verses in the King James Version, and the same number in the World English Bible.
How long does it take to read Esther?
About 24 minutes at an average silent reading speed of 238 words a minute. The KJV text is 5,633 words and the World English Bible text is 5,415 words.
What is the longest verse in Esther?
Esther 8:9 is the longest verse in Esther, at 90 words in the King James Version. The shortest is Esther 9:7 (6 words): "And Parshandatha, and Dalphon, and Aspatha,"
Compare all 66 books on how many books are in the Bible, see the Bible by the numbers, or work out how long it takes to read the Bible at your own pace.
Counted by Bible Says About from the full public-domain text of the King James Version (1769 edition) and the World English Bible. Verse text only: headings and psalm titles are left out. A word is a run of letters: a hyphenated name like Beer-sheba counts as two, and an apostrophe stays inside its word (LORD'S is one). Matching ignores capital letters. Data compiled 2026-10-02.