A Poem to Help You Remember the Books of the Bible
The following is a rhyme that will give you a clue to the contents of each book of the Bible:
Pentateuch
In Genesis the world was made,
In Exodus the march was told;
Leviticus contains the law,
In Numbers are the tribes enrolled;
In Deuteronomy again
We’re urged to keep God’s law alone.
And these five books of Moses make
The oldest writings that are known.
Historical Books
Brave Joshua to Canaan leads,
In Judges oft the Jews rebel;
We read of David’s name in Ruth,
And First and Second Samuel;
In First and Second Kings we read
How bad the Hebrew state became;
In First and Second Chronicles,
Another history of the same.
In Ezra captive Jews return,
While Nehemiah builds the wall;
Queen Esther saves her race from death.
These books “Historical” we call.
Poetry Books
In Job we read of patient faith,
In Psalms are David’s songs of praise;
The Proverbs are to make us wise;
Ecclesiastes next portrays
How vain fleeting earthly pleasures are;
The Song of Solomon is all
About the love of God, and these
Five books “Poetical” we call.
Prophetic Books
Isaiah tells of Christ to come,
While Jeremiah tells of woe,
And in his Lamentations mourns
The Holy City’s overthrow.
Ezekiel speaks of mysteries,
While Daniel foretells kings of old;
Hosea calls men to repent;
In Joel, judgments are foretold.
Amos tells of wrath, and Edom
Obadiah is sent to warn,
While Jonah shows how Christ should rise,
And Micah where he should be born;
In Nahum, Nineveh is seen;
In Habakkuk, Chaldea’s guilt;
Zephaniah, Judah’s sins;
Haggai, the temple’s built.
Zechariah tells of Christ,
And Malachi of John, his signs.
The Prophets number seventeen,
And all the books are thirty-nine.
New Testament Books
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
Tell of Christ, his life they trace;
Acts shows the Holy Spirit’s work;
And Romans how we’re saved by grace.
Corinthians instructs the church,
Galatians shows God’s grace alone;
Ephesians, how we are “in Christ,”
Philippians, Christ’s joys made known.
Colossians portrays Christ exalted.
And Thessalonians tells the end.
In Timothy and Titus both,
Are rules for pastors to attend.
Philemon pictures charity,
Thirteen Epistles, penned by Paul.
The Jewish law prefigured Christ;
And Hebrews clearly shows it all.
James shows that faith by works must live,
And Peter urges steadfastness,
While John exhorts to Christian love;
And those who live it, God will bless.
Jude shows the end of evil men,
While Revelation tells of heaven.
These end the whole New Testament;
In all, they number twenty-seven.