66 Short Bible

Verses Perfect
for Kids to
Memorize
(1 from Every Book!)
 66 Short Bible Verses
Perfect for Kids to Memorize
(1 from Every Book!)
It’s fantastic that today we can have the Bible with us at all times.

Even though our phones serve up every word of Scripture in multiple translations, memorizing
the Bible still has tremendous value for adults and kids. Think of the Bible passages we
memorize as the Holy Spirit’s vocabulary. When He wants to bring comfort or direction, His
native tongue is the Bible.

The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things,
and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. (John 14:26 NASB)

And Bible memory doesn’t need to be intimidating. Start small, with some of the short Bible
verses we’ve collected here.

Martin Luther had so much of the Bible memorized that, when God opened his eyes to
justification by faith alone (see Romans 1:17), Luther was able to confirm what he had found
without turning to anther page. “Thereupon I ran through the Scriptures from memory,” he later
wrote.

Memorized verses are the rails the Spirit’s instructions run on. How much track have we laid?

Why not encourage your kids to memorize a short Bible verse from each of the 66 books?
These verses can serve as “hooks” to remember the main themes of each book.

Memorizing from each book has the added benefit of helping kids become more comfortable
and fascinated with the whole Bible—a wonderful foundation for a lifelong walk with God.

To make this project even more fun for the kids you lead, we’ve included a Did you know? fact
about each book in the Bible.
 Short Bible Verses from
the Old Testament
Genesis 1:1 Deuteronomy 6:5
In the beginning God created the heavens Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
and the earth. (NIV) all your soul, and all your strength. (NCV)

Did you know? Did you know?

Genesis is the most famous book about the Deuteronomy tells the story of how Moses
beginning of the world. wasn’t allowed to enter the Promised Land.
He’d led his people to the edge of it, but
God only let Moses go up on a hill and look
into the land before he died.
Exodus 14:14
“The Lord will fight for you. All you have to
do is keep still.” (NLV)

Did you know? Joshua 1:5

“No one will be able to defeat you all your
The grossest plagues in the Bible are in
life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be
Exodus—including a plague of frogs that
with you. I will not leave you or forsake
climbed into ovens and people’s beds.
you.” (NCV)

Did you know?

Joshua has the story of how, when God’s
Leviticus 19:18 people shouted in faith, the mighty walls of
“Stop being angry and don’t try to take
a fortress came crashing down and God’s
revenge. I am the LORD, and I command
people conquered the city easily.
you to love others as much as you love
yourself.” (CEV)

Did you know? Judges 6:12

Leviticus is full of rules and laws that sound
When the angel of the Lord appeared to
strange to us—like how God’s people long
Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you,
ago were allowed to eat grasshoppers but
mighty warrior.” (NIV)
not lobster.
Did you know?
Judges includes the story of how Samson
killed a lion with his bare hands.
Numbers 6:24
“May the Lord bless you and protect you.”
(NCV)

Did you know?

In the book of Numbers is where you’ll find
the story of a talking donkey (before Shrek).
Ruth 3:11 1 Kings 18:21
“Now my daughter, do not be afraid. I will Elijah approached the people and said,
do for you whatever you ask. For all my “How long will you not decide between
people in the city know that you are a good two choices? If the Lord is the true God,
woman.” (NLT) follow him, but if Baal is the true God,
follow him!” But the people said nothing.
Did you know? (NCV)
Boaz was willing to pay the price for Ruth’s
safety and well-being—even though he Did you know?
didn’t have to. It’s kind of like how Jesus In 1 Kings, we see Elijah put God up
pays the price of eternal life for us. AND against 450 priests of a false god to see
Ruth and Boaz are part of Jesus’ family which one will send fire down from heaven.
tree! Guess who wins.
Think of the Bible verses we memorize as
the Holy Spirit’s vocabulary.
2 Kings 6:16
“Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there
1 Samuel 17:47 are more on our side than on theirs!” (NLT)
“And everyone assembled here will know Did you know?
that the Lord rescues his people, but not In 2 Kings, there is the story of an invisible
with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s army that a man can suddenly see—horses
battle, and he will give you to us!” (NLT) and chariots and warriors all over the
Did you know? mountains.
This book is where you’ll find the story of
David and Goliath, the giant David killed
with a sling. 1 Chronicles 16:11
Depend on the Lord for strength. Always go
to him for help. (ERV)
2 Samuel 7:22 Did you know?
“Lord God, this is why you are so great! In 1 Chronicles, we see the story of when
There is no one like you. There is no god King David dressed like a priest and
except you! We know that because of what danced and jumped for joy to God … but
we ourselves have heard about what you his queen thought he was bad for doing it.
did.” (ERV)

Did you know?

This book tells what a fantastic (and at 2 Chronicles 15:2
times terrible) job David did as king. Azariah went out to meet Asa and said to
him, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and
Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you
are with Him. If you look for Him, He will
let you find Him. But if you leave Him, He
will leave you.” (NLV)

Did you know?

In 2 Chronicles, we see the story of a boy
who became king when he was only 7.
Ezra 7:28 Job 5:17–18
The Lord has shown me, Ezra, his love in “The person whom God corrects is happy.
the presence of the king, those who advise So do not hate being corrected by God
the king, and the royal officers. Because All-Powerful. God hurts, but he also
the Lord my God was helping me, I had bandages up. He injures, but his hands
courage, and I gathered the leaders of also heal.” (ICB)
Israel to return with me. (NCV)
Did you know?
Did you know? Ever wonder why bad things happen to
Ezra tells how the Jews returned from good people? Job wondered that too. In
captivity in Babylon and found Jerusalem the Book of Job, you can read God’s reply.
and the Temple in ruins.

Psalm 55:16
Nehemiah 1:11 As for me, I will call on God and the Lord
“O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen will save me. (NLV)
to the prayers of those of us who delight
in honoring you. Please grant me success
Did you know?
The book of Psalms teaches us to seek
today by making the king favorable to me.
God, tell Him the truth about everything,
Put it into his heart to be kind to me.” In
and worship Him because of who He is—
those days I was the king’s cup-bearer.
not just because of what He gives us.
(NLV)

Did you know?

While the Jews rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem
against their enemies, they had to hold their
Proverbs 31:8
Speak up for people who cannot speak for
tools in one hand and their swords in the
themselves. Help people who are in trouble.
other.
(ERV)

Did you know?

Proverbs contains advice from the wisest
Esther 4:14 man who has ever lived.
“If you keep quiet now, help and freedom
for the Jews will come from another place.
But you and your father’s family will all die.
And who knows, maybe you have been Ecclesiastes 5:18
chosen to be the queen for such a time I have seen what is best for a person
as this.” (ERV) to do here on earth. He should eat and
drink and enjoy his work. This is because
Did you know?
the life God has given him on earth is short.
Queen Esther knew the penalty for coming
(ICB)
to the king’s throne room without being
invited was probably death, but she risked Did you know?
her own life to try to save all of her people Like a scientist, King Solomon experiments
from being killed. with all ways of living to find the best one.
Song of Solomon 6:3 Ezekiel 36:26
“I belong to my love, and he belongs to “I will give you a new heart and put a new
me. He’s eating among the lilies.” (NIRV) spirit within you; I will remove your heart of
stone and give you a heart of flesh.” (CSB)
Did you know?
This book may be the script for a musical Did you know?
play that was performed at King Solomon’s Ezekiel contains a vision of a valley full of
wedding. skeletons coming to life and forming an
army back from the dead.

Isaiah 6:8
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking: Daniel 2:28
Who should I send? Who will go for us? I . . . “but there is a God in heaven who
said: Here I am. Send me.” (CSB) reveals mysteries. He has shown King
Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days
Did you know? to come. Your dream and the visions that
Isaiah spent his life giving God’s messages
passed through your mind as you were
to the Jewish people—but God had told
lying in bed are these” (NIV)
him in advance that they wouldn’t listen.
Did you know?
Daniel is thrown into a pit of lions, and
Daniel’s friends are thrown into a blazing
Jeremiah 1:5 oven—and God saves them all.
“Before I made you in your mother’s womb,
I knew you. Before you were born, I chose
you for a special work. I chose you to be a
prophet to the nations.” (ERV) Hosea 14:9
Let those who are wise understand these
Did you know? things. Let those with discernment listen
God’s people hated being in captivity in
carefully. The paths of the Lord are true
Babylon, but Jeremiah told them to work for
and right and righteous people live by
the good of Babylon, because it would be
walking in them. But in those paths sinners
their home for 70 years.
stumble and fall. (NLT)

Did you know?

God told Hosea to marry a woman who
Lamentations 3:23 didn’t love him … as a way of saying that
“His great love is new every morning.
God loved His people even though they
Lord, how faithful you are!” (NIRV)
didn’t love Him back.
Did you know?
Lamentations is the sad cry of God’s
people because their temple is destroyed,
and they are being taken into captivity in a
faraway land.
Joel 2:32 Micah 6:8
“And everyone who calls on the name of The Lord has told you what is good. He has
the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion told you what he wants from you: Do what
and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, is right to other people. Love being kind
as the Lord has said, even among the to others. And live humbly, trusting your
survivors whom the Lord calls.” (NIV) God. (ICB)

Did you know? Did you know?

Joel is about a giant cloud of bugs (locusts) Micah predicts that the Savior would be
that invade the land and eat all the crops. born in Bethlehem—and He was … 700
years later.

Amos 5:4
This is what the Lord says to Israel: “Seek Nahum 1:7
me and live” (NIV) The Lord is good. He is a safe place to
go to in times of trouble. He takes care of
Did you know? those who trust him. (ERV)
Amos tells the story of how God sent His
people into captivity because of how badly Did you know?
they treated the poor and helpless in the Exactly one hundred years after Jonah
land. preached to the city of Nineveh, Nahum
told Nineveh that God was going to destroy
the city for their sins. And He did.  

Obadiah 1:15
“The day is coming when I, the Lord, will
judge the nations. And, Edom, you will pay Habakkuk 3:19
in full for what you have done.” (CEV) The Lord God is my strength. He makes me
like a deer that does not stumble so I can
Did you know? walk on the steep mountains. (NCV)
Obadiah is only 1 chapter long, and the
prophet (Obadiah) is really mad the whole Did you know?
time. In Habakkuk, God uses one country to
punish another—the country of His own
people—for disobeying Him.

Jonah 2:2
“When I was in danger, I called to
the Lord, and he answered me. I was Zephaniah 3:17
about to die, so I cried to you, and you The Lord your God is in your midst—a
heard my voice.” (NCV) warrior bringing victory. He will create calm
with his love; he will rejoice over you with
Did you know? singing. (CEB)
Jonah got thrown overboard, swallowed by
a giant fish, and then vomited up onto dry Did You Know?
land. Zephaniah tried to give God’s people one
more chance to stop sinning, because if
they didn’t, they would be taken away to
captivity. They didn’t stop sinning.
Haggai 2:5 Malachi 2:10
“When you came out of Egypt, I promised Don’t we all come from one Father? Aren’t
that I would always be with you. I am still we all created by the same God? So why
with you, so do not be afraid.” (GNT) can’t we get along? Why do we desecrate
the covenant of our ancestors that binds us
Did you know? together? (MSG)
Haggai teaches us that God will be good
to His children in the future, even if disaster Did you know?
comes first. After Malachi hears from God, heaven
goes silent for 400 years … until the time of
Jesus.

Zechariah 4:6 When the Holy Spirit wants to bring comfort

So the angel explained that it was or direction, His native tongue is the Bible.
the following message of the Lord to
Zerubbabel: I am the Lord All-Powerful.
So don’t depend on your own power or
strength, but on my Spirit. (CEV)

Did you know?

Zechariah predicted that Jesus would ride
into Jerusalem on a donkey, that He would
be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver, and that
He would be stabbed, all of which came
true … 500 years later.
 Short Bible Verses from
the New Testament
Matthew 11:28 John 16:33
If you are tired from carrying heavy “I told you these things so that you can
burdens, come to me and I will give you have peace in me. In this world you
rest. (CEV) will have trouble. But be brave! I have
defeated the world!” (ICB)
Did you know?
When Jesus called Matthew, a tax collector, Did you know?
to be one of His close followers, it must’ve John’s gospel uses the most poetic
surprised a lot of people, who thought that language of all the gospels, calling Jesus
tax collectors were always bad guys. the word, the light, the door, the bread of
life, the resurrection, the good shepherd,
and the truth.

Mark 8:36
“What will you gain, if you own the whole
world but destroy yourself?” (CEV) Acts 4:12
“No one else can save us. Indeed, we can
Did you know? be saved only by the power of the one
Bible scholars think Mark’s book was the
named Jesus and not by any other person.”
very first gospel (story of the life of Jesus)
(GW)
ever written down, and that Mark got all his
information from his teacher: the disciple Did you know?
named Peter. Like the four gospels, Acts is the story of
Jesus and the first Christians—but Acts
starts where the gospels end; it shows how
the church grew and spread.
Luke 19:10
“For the Son of Man came to seek and save
those who are lost.” (NLT)

Did you know? Romans 8:1

Those who belong to Christ Jesus are no
Luke was a doctor—almost a scientist,
longer under God’s judgment. (NIRV)
even—who was so careful to get his
dates and facts right in his gospel that he Did you know?
has been called one of “the greatest of Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome is
historians.” considered by many to be the mountain
peak of the entire Bible, the place where the
meaning of life, Jesus, and everything else
come together.
1 Corinthians 3:16 Ephesians 2:10
You should know that you yourselves are God has made us what we are. In Christ
God’s temple. God’s Spirit lives in you. Jesus, God made us to do good works,
(ERV) which God planned in advance for us to live
our lives doing. (NCV)
Did you know?
The church in Corinth needed four letters Did you know?
from Paul to get them to live right. Two In this letter, Paul describes a Christian’s
letters have been lost over time, but wow, “armor”—helmet, sword, shield, etc.—
this church needed lots of help! based on the armor worn by the Roman
soldiers who guarded the prison cell Paul
was in at the time.

2 Corinthians 12:9
But he replied, “My kindness is all you
need. My power is strongest when you Philippians 4:6
are weak.” So if Christ keeps giving me his Don’t worry about anything, but pray about
power, I will gladly brag about how weak I everything. With thankful hearts offer up
am. (CEV) your prayers and requests to God. (CEV)

Did you know? Did you know?

Paul’s third letter (now lost) to the church Paul, in jail when he wrote this letter,
at Corinth was strong enough to get the was almost positive he was going to be
Christians there to stop following false executed by his Roman guards at any
teachers, and this letter shows Paul’s relief moment. Instead, he was released. But he
and joy. really was ready to go be with Jesus.

Galatians 5:1 Colossians 2:14

We have freedom now, because Christ He canceled the record of the charges
made us free. So stand strong in that against us and took it away by nailing it to
freedom. Don’t go back into slavery again. the cross. (NLT)
(ERV)
Did you know?
Did you know? Paul told the Christians in Colossae to read
False teachers were telling the Christians in this letter to the church but then to take it to
Galatia that just believing in Jesus wasn’t all the surrounding towns and read it in all
enough and that they had to start obeying those churches too. It has great advice for
the pre-Christian rules again, so Paul had to all Christians.
correct them before it was too late.
1 Thessalonians 5:15 2 Timothy 2:25–26
See that no one pays back evil for evil, but Be humble when you correct people who
always try to do good to each other and to oppose you. Maybe God will lead them to
all people. (NLT) turn to him and learn the truth. They have
been trapped by the devil, and he makes
Did you know? them obey him, but God may help them
This isn’t the first book you’ll find in the New
escape. (CEV)
Testament, but it may actually be the very
first one written. Did you know?
Paul wrote this letter (which may have been
his last one) from a Roman prison that
might have been a hole in the ground with
2 Thessalonians 3:16 a metal grate over it. He was executed in
May the Lord of peace give you His
Rome soon after.
peace at all times. The Lord be with you
all. (NLV)

Did you know? Titus 1:15

Paul wrote this letter because the Christians
To those who are pure, all things are
in Thessalonica had been scared by false
pure. But to those who are full of sin
teaching that Jesus had already returned
and do not believe, nothing is pure. The
and taken all the other Christians to heaven,
thinking of those people has become evil
leaving them behind.
and their knowledge of what is right has
been ruined. (ICB)

Did you know?

1 Timothy 6:9 Paul wrote this letter to Titus, a student of
But men who want lots of money are
Paul’s, whom Paul had left on the island of
tempted. They are trapped into doing all
Crete to be in charge of all the churches on
kinds of foolish things and things which
the island.
hurt them. These things drag them into sin
and will destroy them. (NLV)

Did you know? Philemon 1:4

Paul was an old man when he wrote this
I always thank my God when I remember
letter to his “son” and friend, Timothy.
you in my prayers. (NIRV)
Paul hoped Timothy would take his place
in doing the work Paul had been doing to Did you know?
spread the church. Paul wrote this to his friend Philemon to ask
him to be kind and not punish his runaway
slave, Onesimus, who had become a
Christian and who Paul was sending back
to his master.
Hebrews 4:16 2 Peter 3:9
So let us step boldly to the throne of grace, The Lord isn’t slow to do what he promised,
where we can find mercy and grace to help as some people think. Rather, he is patient
when we need it most. (VOICE) for your sake. He doesn’t want to destroy
anyone but wants all people to have an
Did you know? opportunity to turn to him and change the
Hebrews is the only book in the New
way they think and act. (GW)
Testament that we don’t know who wrote.
There are many theories, but all we know Did you know?
is that he (or she!) knew a lot about the Peter knows he’s going to be executed
Temple and priestly things. soon by the Romans, so he writes one last
letter, and in it, he remembers being there
when Jesus was transformed (transfigured)
and God spoke out loud.
James 1:3
. . . for when the way is rough, your
patience has a chance to grow. (TLB)

Did you know? 1 John 5:14–15

And this is the confidence that we have in
This letter was written by James, who
him: if we ask for anything according to
was Jesus’s brother. At first, James
his will, he listens to us. And if we know
didn’t believe Jesus was from God, but
that he listens to our requests, we can be
later he became a leader of the Christian
sure that we have what we ask him for.
movement.
(ISV)

Did you know?

From John’s first letter, we learn that
1 Peter 3:18 Christians aren’t perfect and will still sin
Christ himself died for you. And that
sometimes. We can’t be perfect, but we can
one death paid for your sins. He was not
show God’s love.
guilty, but he died for those who are guilty.
He did this to bring you all to God. His body
was killed, but he was made alive in the
spirit. (ICB) 2 John 1:6
Love means that we do what God tells us.
Did you know? And from the beginning, he told you to love
Peter, who wrote this letter, was the most
him. (CEV)
famous of Jesus’s disciples. He was
definitely not a perfect guy, but that’s part of Did you know?
why people love to read about him today. John’s second letter is very short. Its one
and only chapter teaches Christians to
oppose false teachers who lead Christians
astray.
3 John 1:11 If you liked this guide, you may want to check out
Dear friend, never imitate evil, but imitate the free resources section of MinistrySpark.com
good. The person who does good is from and grab what you need!
God. The person who does evil has never David C Cook has short Bible verse memory
seen God. (GW) resources for kids—and so much more. Try these
Did you know? to start:
This third letter of John is the shortest book
• Bible Memory Poster Pack
in the entire Bible.
• HeartShaper Bible Storybook

• Seeds Worship Songs Videos

Jude 1:21
And keep in step with God’s love, as you • The Action Bible Heroes Card Collection
wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to show how
kind he is by giving you eternal life. (CEV)

Did you know?

Jude is a 1-chapter letter written by another
brother of Jesus. How strange to become
convinced that your own brother is the Son
of God! But that’s what happened with
Jude.

Revelation 21:4
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes,
and there will be no more death or sorrow
or crying or pain. All these things are gone
forever.” (NLT)

Did you know?

John saw a vision from God about the end
of the world. It has dragons and creatures
and plagues and a lake of fire. But it shows
that, no matter how bad things get in our
world, God will bring Christians to a happy
ending.
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