P R O O F   T O   C O M P L E T E N E S S   O F
T H E   H O L Y   B I B L E

Norbert Suedland, Otto-Schott-Strasse 16, 73431 Aalen, GERMANY
©  1994 – 2024

Summary
Today there are several editions of the Holy Bible, containing different grouping of verses or chapters, thus it is evident to know, which of these groupings is to be used that a Bible text actually can be found by giving a cite only.

A special discovery is that the Bible text itself gives a useful answer to this question. Thereby turns out that the Holy Scripture is complete and can be grouped unequivocally: the whole Bible text has got a strict order, similar to a composition of baroque music in five large blocks. Beyond this the Bible has got 66  books, 1191  chapters, and 31169  verses, which is a data format fitting for computer.

1. Motivation
The reason to such an analysis is given by our Lord Christ Jesus himself, by saying (Matthew  5:17–18):

17  Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
18  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

There is no guarantee in line breaks, but in ”tittles” (titles).

Especially the translations of the 20th  century are stamped by a destruction of this order. Not only the word ”tittle” (title) has been replaced by another one, but also the grouping of verses and chapters has been changed.

Because of the following cite, the definiteness of the chapter and verse grouping is an important concern (Proverbs  20:10):

10  Divers weights, [and] divers measures, both of them [are] alike abomination to the LORD.

If a Bible cite is given (e.g. Isaiah  61:2), the Lord himself gives an example (Luke  4:19) of the possibility of an incomplete cite of a verse.

The grouping of the Holy Bible into chapters and verses especially can be seen in Psalm  119 or in the Lamentations of Jeremiah. Therefore, this grouping has not been given subsequently, but is the numbering of sentences or sentence parts since Théodore de Béze.
All paragraphs of the Bible text are fixed by the verse grouping. The Bible get-up in two columns printed on the paper, is a sensible consequence to avoid waste of paper and to stress clearness.

In the Word of God, the check number of completeness mainly happens to be number Seven (Psalms  12:7):

7  The words of the LORD [are] pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

Also number Fourteen plays a role to proof perfection (Matthew  1:17):

17  So all the generations from Abraham to David [are] fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon [are] fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ [are] fourteen generations.

Now at least the Lutheran Bible from before 1850 has got an unequivocal grouping of chapters and verses, however looking strange. One particularity is that the verse grouping of 1  Chronicles  5 starts at verse  24 and ends after verse  43. Also Habakkuk  3 starts at verse  5 and ends after verse  20. This Bible has got 1191  chapters, while later (and today’s) editions group the chapters based on the verse grouping, thus containing 1189  chapters.

These particularities around the grouping of chapters and verses can also be taken as a hint that especially this and no other structure of the Bible is to be aimed. Namely, an interpretation of the chapter sums 1189 and 1191 as Bible cites in both cases leads to the following texts of the Psalms only:

Psalm  118:9:
9  [It is] better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.

Psalm  119:1:
1  Blessed [are] the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD.

It is remarkable that the Authorized King James (a prince!) Version of the Holy Bible contains 1189  chapters.

2. Method and Result
Now is to be shown that the old Lutheran Bible contains the complete text – also the inspired (given by God’s Holy Spirit) grouping:

To that is listed, which of the Bible books contains the cite ”chapter  7:14” and ”chapter  14:7”. Hereby, the Epistle to the Hebrews and the Epistle of James are listed at the position, where they have been (and stay) before Luther gave them another position.

Book	Chapter 7:14	Chapter 14:7	
Genesis	7:14	14:7	
Exodus	7:14	14:7	
Leviticus	7:14	14:7	
Numbers	7:14	14:7	
Deuteronomy	7:14	14:7	
Joshua	7:14	14:7	
Judges	7:14	14:7	
Ruth			
1. Samuel	7:14	14:7	
2. Samuel	7:14	14:7	
1. Kings	7:14	14:7	
2. Kings	7:14	14:7	
1. Chronicles	7:14	14:7	
2. Chronicles	7:14	14:7	
Ezra	7:14		
Nehemiah	7:14		
Esther			
Job	7:14	14:7	
Psalms	7:14	14:7	
Proverbs	7:14	14:7	
Ecclesiastes	7:14		
The Song of Solomon			
Isaiah	7:14	14:7	
Jeremiah	7:14	14:7	
Lamentations			
Ezekiel	7:14	14:7	
Daniel	7:14		
Hosea	7:14	14:7	
Joel			
Amos	7:14		
Obadiah			
Jonah			
Micah	7:14		
Nahum			
Habakkuk			
Zephaniah			
Haggai			
Zechariah	7:14	14:7	
Malachi			
Matthew	7:14	14:7	
Mark	7:14	14:7	
Luke	7:14	14:7	
John	7:14	14:7	
The Acts	7:14	14:7	
Epistle to the Romans	7:14	14:7	
1. Corinthians	7:14	14:7	
2. Corinthians	7:14		
Galatians			
Ephesians			
Philippians			
Colossians			
1. Thessalonians			
2. Thessalonians			
1. Timothy			
2. Timothy			
Titus			
Philemon			
To the Hebrews	7:14		
The Epsitle of James			
1. Peter			
2. Peter			
1. John			
2. John			
3. John			
Jude			
Revelation	7:14	14:7	

The 66  books of the Holy Bible also contain 66  positions, either named ”chapter  7:14” or ”chapter  14:7”. By this the number of the Bible books is confirmed.

Beyond this the Bible text has got five large blocks, which can be called ”Books of History”, ”Books of Kings”, ”Teaching Books”, ”Prophets”, and ”The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ”.

Within this formation there are seven blocks containing seven (grey background) or fourteen (italic and underlined) Bible cites, whereby the 7th  block is a block of lacks (pauses), thus being a link to the seventh day of creation (Genesis  2:3).

Isaiah  40:28:
28  Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, [that] the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? [there is] no searching of his understanding.

3. Consequences
By the proof of the completeness of the Bible text, the following statements are confirmed:

1.	The Book of Malachi cannot be the last book of the Holy Bible.
2.	The Revelation of Jesus Christ finishes the Holy Bible.
3.	The five books of Moses, the five parts of the Psalms, and the five chapters of the Lamentations of Jeremiah correspond to the five large blocks of the Holy Scripture.
4.	The number of chapters of each block leads to a strict symmetrical baroque composition: 236 , 201 , 243 , 251 , 260. Here in the second and fourth block, there is the speciality of chapter grouping, where in each case one chapter does not start with the first verse (underlined).
5.	The number of verses emphasizes the same baroque symmetry much more beautiful: 7213, 5659, 4851, 5490, 7956.

All books not being member of the listing showed above, do not belong to the Holy Bible.

Thus the Holy Scripture consists of 5  parts, 66  books, 1191  chapters, and 31169  verses. These properties are independent of the translation into another language.

The numbers of verses of each chapter are shown in a further listing, also the complete listing of all Bible verses, which is intended to help with learning the text by heart. Remarkable is the fact that each of these tables fit without any rest to the page.

Now it seems to be sensible to correct the grouping of verses and chapters, where it deviates from the counting of the old Lutheran Bible. By this the formal completeness of the Bible text is evidently shown.

4. The Sense of Definiteness
The definiteness of the chapter and verse grouping of the Holy Scripture has got the property that also children find their way within quite quickly and surely.

The reading of chapter 7:14 and chapter 14:7 also thoroughly yields important main statements of the Holy Bible. Likewise in the New Testament there is an important statement at each chapter 3:16. Further ponies seem to be possible to quickly and surely find important cites.

The Holy Bible has got the best tradition of all literature. The original grouping of verses and chapters can be reconstructed and understood in spite of partially disturbing deviations in today’s Bible editions.

It is not advisable to group the Bible text on one’s own, because this would destroy the compositional order. The Holy Scripture is holy, which means that a person should also meet its text sequence  with respect.

This respect has been a special property of the translator Luther, thus even differences between the translation and the theology of Luther can be localized. His self-willed change of the position of James in the order of the biblical books has taken place in spite of all respect that he had to God’s word, but now this change has to be undone.

In 1528, Luther has described his concept, which is due to the words of Christ Jesus (Matthew  10) in his song: ”A stronghold sure is God our Lord” ([3], CD1, BWV  80, No.  14, page  88):

4. The Word of God will firm abide
Against out foes assailing,
For He will battle on our side,
An ally never failing.
Tho‘ they take from me here
All that I hold dear
I will not complain,
Their vantage will be vain,
God’s might is allprevailling.

Literature
[1] Die Bibel oder die ganze Heilige Schrift Alten und Neuen Testaments nach der deutschen Übersetzung Dr. Martin Luthers, revised and checked for completeness in 1751 by Dr. Johann Philipp Fresenius, printed and published by Heinrich Ludwig Brönner, Frankfurt am Main, (1841).
[2] Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible, Oxford University Press, (1994)
[3] N. Harnoncourt, G. Leonhardt: Johann Sebastian Bach, Sacred Cantatas, Vol.  5: BWV  79-99, Teldec Classics International GmbH, (1994)