All the Books
The sixty-six, the fifteen the 1611 printed between the testaments, and 1 Enoch, grouped by what they are, with a line saying what each one holds.
Old Testament
Law
The beginning, and the rules that came with it.
GenesisStories of the world's beginning, a flood, and the family of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph in Egypt.ExodusMoses leads enslaved Israelites out of Egypt through plagues and a parted sea, then receives laws at Sinai.LeviticusInstructions given to Moses for priests: animal sacrifices, food rules, skin disease, cleanness and yearly festivals.NumbersIsrael's decades in the desert, head counts, rebellions against Moses, the spies' report, Balaam and his donkey.DeuteronomyMoses' farewell speeches on the edge of Canaan, restating the laws and the journey; ends with his death.
History
What happened, and who it happened to.
JoshuaIsrael under Joshua crosses the Jordan, takes Jericho and other towns, and divides the land among tribes.JudgesRepeating cycle of Israelite tribes losing to enemies and being rescued by leaders like Deborah, Gideon and Samson.RuthShort story of Ruth, a widow from Moab, gathering grain in Bethlehem and marrying Boaz.1 SamuelSamuel anoints Saul as Israel's first king, then David, whom Saul hunts across the countryside.2 SamuelDavid's reign: taking Jerusalem, his affair with Bathsheba, and his son Absalom's armed revolt.1 KingsSolomon builds the temple; the kingdom then splits in two, and Elijah confronts King Ahab and Jezebel.2 KingsElisha's deeds and a succession of kings, until Assyria takes Israel and Babylon burns Jerusalem.1 ChroniclesLong family lists from Adam onward, then a retelling of David's reign and his plans for the temple.2 ChroniclesRetells Solomon and the later kings of Judah, ending with exile and Cyrus's order to go home.EzraJews return from Babylon, rebuild the temple against opposition, and Ezra the scribe teaches the law.NehemiahNehemiah leaves the Persian court to rebuild Jerusalem's walls; the law is then read aloud to crowds.EstherEsther, a Jewish queen in Persia, and her cousin Mordecai undo Haman's plot to kill the Jews.
Poetry & Wisdom
Songs, arguments, and hard-won advice.
JobA wealthy man loses children, property and health; he and three friends argue in poetry, then God answers.PsalmsA collection of 150 songs and prayers (praise, grief, anger, thanks) many linked to David.ProverbsShort sayings, linked to Solomon, about work, money, speech, sex, drink and choosing friends.EcclesiastesA teacher's notes on death, labour, money and pleasure, repeating that everything passes and nothing lasts.Song of SolomonLove poems in which a woman and a man praise each other's bodies and search the city at night.
The Prophets
Warnings, promises, and the visions that carried them.
IsaiahPoems and stories warning Judah about Assyria and Babylon, promising return, and describing a suffering servant.JeremiahJeremiah's warnings as Babylon closes in on Jerusalem, his beatings and imprisonment, and his clashes with kings.LamentationsFive poems mourning Jerusalem's destruction, its burned buildings and its starving people.EzekielVisions and acted-out signs from a priest exiled in Babylon, including dry bones and a measured new temple.DanielTales of exiles at Babylon's court (a furnace, a lions' den) followed by visions of beasts and empires.HoseaHosea's marriage to an unfaithful woman stands for Israel worshipping other gods; poems of accusation and reunion.JoelA locust swarm and drought bring calls to mourn, with promises of a spirit poured out on everyone.AmosA shepherd from Judah accuses Israel's rich of crushing the poor and cheating with weights and courts.ObadiahA single chapter condemning the nation of Edom for gloating and looting when Jerusalem fell.JonahJonah runs from orders to warn Nineveh, is swallowed by a huge fish, and resents the city being spared.MicahPoems accusing landowners, judges and prophets of corruption, and naming Bethlehem as a future ruler's hometown.NahumThree chapters of poetry describing the coming fall of Nineveh, the Assyrian capital.HabakkukA prophet questions God about violence and the rising Babylonians, and receives answers; ends with a sung prayer.ZephaniahWarnings of a day of judgment on Judah and its neighbours, closing with a promise of restoration.HaggaiTwo chapters pressing returned exiles, with Zerubbabel and Joshua, to finish rebuilding the temple.ZechariahNight visions of horsemen, lampstands and a flying scroll, then oracles about a king riding a donkey.MalachiBack-and-forth arguments between God and the priests and people about offerings, divorce and unpaid tithes.
New Testament
The Gospels
Four accounts of one life.
MatthewJesus' life from his birth to his rising from the dead, including the Sermon on the Mount and many of his best-known parables.MarkA short, fast account of Jesus healing the sick, facing down the authorities, going to the cross, and leaving an empty tomb.LukeJesus' life told in order, with room for the poor, for women and for outsiders, ending with his rising and his return to God.JohnJesus shown through seven signs, from water into wine to raising Lazarus, and through long talks about who he is.
History
What happened, and who it happened to.
The Letters
Mail sent to young churches, kept ever since.
RomansPaul's letter to Christians in Rome, arguing that everyone sins and is put right through trusting Jesus.1 CorinthiansPaul answers a quarrelling church about factions, lawsuits, sex, meat from temples, worship and rising from death.2 CorinthiansPaul defends himself against rival teachers, lists his beatings and hardships, and asks for money for Jerusalem.GalatiansSharp letter from Paul telling non-Jewish believers they need not be circumcised or keep the Jewish law.EphesiansLetter on Jews and non-Jews joined in one body, with rules for households and a picture of armour.PhilippiansLetter written from prison thanking a church for a gift, including a poem about Christ giving up status.ColossiansLetter against rival teachers pushing rules and visions, describing Christ as above everything, plus household instructions.1 ThessaloniansPaul encourages a new church facing hostility and explains what happens to believers who have already died.2 ThessaloniansShort letter denying that the final day has already arrived, and telling idle members to work.1 TimothyInstructions to Timothy on false teachers, prayer, widows, slaves, and the qualities required of church officials.2 TimothyLetter presented as Paul's last words from prison, telling Timothy to hold his ground and expect opposition.TitusInstructions for appointing leaders on Crete and for how older men, women, young people and slaves should live.PhilemonOne-page letter asking Philemon to take back Onesimus, a slave who left, and treat him as a brother.HebrewsAnonymous sermon comparing Jesus with angels, Moses and priests, ending with a roll-call of people who trusted God.JamesPractical letter on controlling speech, treating rich and poor alike, and showing faith by what you do.1 PeterLetter to scattered believers under social pressure, on suffering, conduct, households and church elders.2 PeterLetter attacking teachers who deny a coming judgment and mock the delay in Christ's return.1 JohnLetter insisting Jesus came in a real human body, and that love and obedience mark real believers.2 JohnBrief note from 'the elder' warning a church against travelling teachers who deny Jesus came in the flesh.3 JohnBrief note from 'the elder' praising Gaius for housing travellers and faulting Diotrephes for turning them away.JudeOne chapter attacking teachers who joined the group, using old stories of angels, Sodom, Cain and Balaam.
Revelation
The last book, and the loudest.
The Apocrypha
The King James of 1611 printed these books between the testaments. Most printings dropped them in the nineteenth century. The translation did not change; the printing did. Fifteen here: the count is often given as fourteen, which folds the Epistle of Jeremiah into Baruch as its sixth chapter.
The Apocrypha
Printed in the King James of 1611, between the testaments.
1 EsdrasA retelling of Judah's exile and return, centred on Josiah, Zerubbabel's contest of riddles, and Ezra's reforms.2 EsdrasVisions given to Ezra, with an angel answering his questions about suffering, history, and the world's end.TobitA story in which blind Tobit's son Tobias travels with a disguised angel, drives off a demon, and marries Sarah.JudithA story in which a widow, Judith, enters an enemy camp and beheads the general Holofernes to save her town.Esther (Greek)The Esther story with added material: prayers by Esther and Mordecai, royal decrees, and a dream and its meaning.Wisdom of SolomonA poem-essay praising wisdom as God's companion, contrasting the fates of the just and unjust, and reviewing Israel's exodus.EcclesiasticusA long collection of sayings by Jesus son of Sirach on money, speech, friends, and family, ending with praise of Israel's ancestors.BaruchShort pieces linked to Jeremiah's scribe Baruch: a confession of national guilt, a poem on wisdom, and words of comfort to exiles.Epistle of JeremiahA letter warning Jews taken to Babylon that idols are powerless wood, silver and gold that cannot move or save.Song of the Three Holy ChildrenAdditions to Daniel: a prayer and a long hymn sung by three men inside the Babylonian king's furnace.SusannaA short trial story in which two elders falsely accuse Susanna of adultery and Daniel exposes their lies.Bel and the DragonTwo short stories in which Daniel proves the idol Bel is a fraud, kills a dragon, and survives a lions' pit.Prayer of ManassehA short prayer of confession placed in the mouth of Manasseh, a king of Judah, while a prisoner in Babylon.1 MaccabeesA history of the Jewish revolt against Greek rulers, following Mattathias and his sons Judas, Jonathan and Simon.2 MaccabeesA shorter account of the same revolt, with letters, the deaths of Eleazar and seven brothers under torture, and Judas's battles.
Outside the King James
1 Enoch was never in the King James, or in the Catholic or Orthodox Bibles. It is scripture in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and Jude quotes it: "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints" is 1 Enoch 1:9.
1 Enoch
Outside the King James. Quoted once inside it, at Jude 14.