Did You Know?

* The Bible is still the world’s best seller. It is estimated that somewhere in the region of between 3 and 6 billion copies have been sold.

* Although the autographs (original writings) are no longer in existence, there remain over 5,000 manuscripts of the Bible in the form of copies, scraps of copies, Jewish scrolls and early translations into other languages. There are thousands of early letters, books, sermons and commentaries containing quotations from scripture.  Most of these translations, copies, sermons, etc., were produced before the year 300 AD. If all the Bibles in the world were destroyed, there are enough reliable manuscripts to completely reproduce the Holy Scriptures with an accuracy rate of 99.5%. The remaining 5% covers spelling or punctuation differences. This accuracy and authenticity is unmatched by any other book in the world!

* Scholars estimate that the 66 books of the King James Version of the Bible were written by some 40 different authors. It was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit over a period of about 1600 years dating from 1500 BC to about 100 years after Christ.

* The 39 books that make up the Old Testament (OT) point forward to the time when Jesus Christ would come into the world. The 27 books which make up the New Testament (NT) were written after Christ, the Son of God was born in Bethlehem.

* There are 1,189 chapters in our Bible – 929 in the OT and 260 in the NT.
There are 31,102 verses – 23,145 in the OT and 7,957 in the NT.
There are 788,280 words – 609,269 in the OT and 179,011 in the NT.
There are over 3.5 million letters in the Bible.

* The longest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 119 (176 verses, 2426 words – 4 full pages).
The shortest chapter is Psalm 117 (2 verses, 33 words).
The longest verse in the Bible is Esther 8:9 (90 words).
The shortest verses are found in John 11: 35, “Jesus wept” and in I Thessalonians 5: 16, “Rejoice evermore.”

* The two middle books in the Bible are Micah and Nahum.
The middle chapter in the Bible is Psalm 117.
The two middle verses in the Bible are Psalm 103:1-2. (NOT Psalm 118:8 as commonly suggested)

* The Bible's central theme is the work and Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. It gives all glory and honour to God, who indeed is Jesus Christ as hidden in the Old Testament and revealed in the New Testament.

* The Bible is the Book of Salvation and Jesus Christ is the Only Saviour under Heaven given to mankind in order that they might be reconciled to God.