Bible reference
Books of the Bible in Order
Here's the full list of books in the Protestant Bible, in the order they appear — with a printable checklist you can use for Sunday school, homeschool, or a read-through.
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Old Testament (39 books)
Law
History
Wisdom / Poetry
Major Prophets
Minor Prophets
New Testament (27 books)
Gospels
History
Paul's Letters
General Letters
Prophecy
A note on the order
The order isn't strictly chronological by when each book was written — it's organized by category (law, history, poetry, prophecy) in the Old Testament, and roughly by length within category in Paul's letters. Some of Paul's shorter letters, for instance, were written before some of the longer ones that appear earlier in the list.
Related: who wrote the Bible and how many books are in the Bible.
Frequently asked questions
What are the books of the Bible in order?
The Protestant Bible runs Genesis through Malachi in the Old Testament (39 books, grouped as Law, History, Wisdom, Major Prophets, and Minor Prophets) and Matthew through Revelation in the New Testament (27 books, grouped as Gospels, Acts, Paul's letters, general letters, and prophecy).
How many books of the Bible are there in order?
66 in the Protestant canon: 39 Old Testament books followed by 27 New Testament books. Catholic Bibles insert the deuterocanonical books among the Old Testament for a total of 73.
Are the books of the Bible in chronological order?
No. They are arranged by category — law, history, poetry, prophecy — and Paul's letters are ordered roughly by length rather than by writing date. Several shorter letters were written before longer ones that appear earlier in the list.
Can I print a list of the books of the Bible?
Yes — use the “Print / Save as PDF” button on this page. It prints a clean one-page list with checkboxes, useful for Sunday school, homeschool, or tracking a read-through.
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