Record
The longest verse in the Bible
The longest verse in standard English translations is Esther 8:9, which describes a single act of decree-writing in 87 to 90 words depending on the translation. The verse is part of a Persian-court bureaucratic narrative that lists languages, peoples, and provinces.
The finding
Esther 8:9
Esther 8:9
The full text
At that time — on the twenty-third day of the third month, the month of Sivan — the royal scribes were summoned. They wrote out all of Mordecai's orders to the Jews and to the satraps, governors, and princes of the 127 provinces from India to Cush — writing to each province in its own script, to every people in their own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language.
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.
Nuance
Esther 8:9 is the longest verse in standard English translations and in the underlying Hebrew Masoretic Text. Word counts vary by translation: the KJV has approximately 90 words, the BSB approximately 80, the NIV approximately 78. In the Hebrew, the verse contains 43 words. The verse is long because it is written in the bureaucratic style of Persian royal documents — listing every category that needed to be addressed (provinces, peoples, languages, scripts, officials) within a single narrative sentence.
The verse in context
Esther 8:9 sits within the climactic chapter of the book of Esther. After the queen has revealed Haman’s plot, Haman has been executed, and Mordecai has been elevated to second place in the Persian court, the king’s earlier decree against the Jews must be countered. Verse 9 records the day the counter-decree was written.
The full immediate context (Esther 8:8–10, BSB):
8 Now you may write in the king’s name as you please regarding the Jews, and seal it with the royal signet ring. For a decree that is written in the king’s name and sealed with the royal signet ring cannot be revoked. 9 At that time — on the twenty-third day of the third month, the month of Sivan — the royal scribes were summoned. They wrote out all of Mordecai’s orders to the Jews and to the satraps, governors, and princes of the 127 provinces from India to Cush — writing to each province in its own script, to every people in their own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language. 10 Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes and sealed the dispatches with the royal signet ring. Then he sent them by mounted couriers riding fast horses bred from the royal stud.
Why the verse is so long
The book of Esther is set in the Persian court of Xerxes I (Hebrew: Ahasuerus). The narrative goes out of its way to depict Persian administrative procedure in elaborate detail — perhaps as period color, perhaps for narrative effect. Verse 9 is written in the bureaucratic register of Persian royal correspondence: every category that the decree had to address is named within a single sentence.
The Hebrew is similarly long. In the Masoretic Text, verse 9 contains 43 words, which is also the longest verse count in the Hebrew Bible.
Word counts across translations
The “longest verse” depends on the translation:
| Translation | Approximate word count |
|---|---|
| KJV (1769) | ~90 words |
| BSB | ~80 words |
| NIV | ~78 words |
| ESV | ~85 words |
The Hebrew (Masoretic Text) contains 43 words.
Other contenders
In some discussions, Jeremiah 21:7 and Joshua 8:33 are mentioned as contenders, but Esther 8:9 is consistently the longest by both Hebrew word count and English translation word count in major editions. The shortest verse in the Bible — covered in our entry on the shortest verse — is John 11:35: “Jesus wept.”
Related curiosities
The only book in the Bible that never mentions God
The book of Esther never mentions God in the Hebrew Bible. The Greek Additions to Esther do. The Song of Solomon is a contested second case.
The shortest verse in the Bible
'Jesus wept.' — John 11:35. Two words in English. The Greek New Testament's shortest verse is 1 Thessalonians 5:16.
Balaam's talking donkey
Numbers 22. A non-Israelite prophet's donkey sees an angel her owner cannot see, and speaks. One of two non-human speakers in the Bible.