Psalms and Proverbs are the two books most often quoted and least often read straight through, which is why almost everyone can finish a line from them and almost nobody can say where it sits. Twelve questions on the shape of both books and the wording of their most famous verses.
Open “Bible Trivia: Psalms and Proverbs” on its own page — if the module does not load.
Every question, with the answer and the reason
The interactive module above runs in a sandbox of its own, which means its text is not part of this page. So here is the whole thing in full: all 12 questions, the options as they appear, the answer, and why that answer and not the one beside it. Nothing is held back to make you play first.
Easy
These turn on something stated outright in the text. If you have read the book, you have met the answer.
Which psalm begins “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want”?
- Psalm 23 — correct
- Psalm 91
- Psalm 121
- Psalm 46
Answer: Psalm 23
Psalm 23:1. Psalm 91 is the other great psalm of protection — 'he shall cover thee with his feathers' — and is the usual mix-up. Psalm 121 lifts its eyes to the hills and Psalm 46 is the one behind 'A mighty fortress'; all four are psalms of confidence, which is why they blur.
How many psalms are there in the book of Psalms?
- 120
- 100
- 150 — correct
- 176
Answer: 150
The Psalter runs from Psalm 1 to Psalm 150 in the Hebrew numbering. The 176 in the options is the verse count of Psalm 119 alone, which is where that number usually comes from. The Greek and Latin traditions split and join some psalms differently, so numbering can shift by one between Bibles.
Whose name stands in the opening verse of Proverbs?
- Solomon — correct
- David
- Moses
- Job
Answer: Solomon
Proverbs 1:1 — 'the proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel'. David is named in the same verse, but as Solomon's father rather than as the author. The book carries other headings later, at 25:1, 30:1 and 31:1, so the Solomonic attribution does not cover all of it.
Which psalm opens “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
- Psalm 51
- Psalm 137
- Psalm 42
- Psalm 22 — correct
Answer: Psalm 22
Psalm 22:1, quoted from the cross at Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34 in Aramaic. Psalm 51 is the psalm of repentance headed for David after Nathan came to him; Psalm 137 is the one by the waters of Babylon; Psalm 42 is 'as the deer pants'.
Medium
These need a detail held in place — a name, a sequence, a number that only means something next to another number.
Which is the longest chapter in the Bible?
- Psalm 150
- Psalm 119 — correct
- Isaiah 53
- Job 38
Answer: Psalm 119
Psalm 119, at 176 verses. It is an acrostic in twenty-two sections of eight verses, one section for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and every verse in a section begins with that letter — which is what fixes the length. Nearly every verse also names the law under one term or another.
Which is the shortest psalm?
- Psalm 1
- Psalm 117 — correct
- Psalm 23
- Psalm 100
Answer: Psalm 117
Psalm 117, at two verses. Psalm 100 and Psalm 1 are both short and both frequently guessed, but neither is under five verses. Psalm 117 also sits close to the middle of the Christian Bible by chapter count, which is a piece of trivia that circulates alongside it.
Into how many books is the Psalter divided?
- Three
- Two
- Twelve
- Five — correct
Answer: Five
Five: Psalms 1–41, 42–72, 73–89, 90–106 and 107–150. Each of the first four closes with a doxology, and the fifth ends with the whole of Psalm 150 serving that purpose. The divisions are marked in the text itself rather than added by modern editors, and are traditionally read against the five books of the Torah.
Complete the proverb: “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before…”
- a fall — correct
- a famine
- the sword
- shame
Answer: a fall
Proverbs 16:18 — 'pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall'. The popular form, 'pride comes before a fall', collapses the two halves of the line into one and drops destruction entirely. Hebrew proverbs work in paired lines, so flattening them loses half the saying.
Hard
These turn on what the evidence actually supports, which is not always what the story is remembered as saying.
According to Proverbs 1:7, the fear of the LORD is the beginning of what?
- Wisdom
- Understanding
- Knowledge — correct
- Righteousness
Answer: Knowledge
Proverbs 1:7 says knowledge. Proverbs 9:10 says wisdom — 'the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom' — and Psalm 111:10 says the same. The two verses in Proverbs are near-twins, and the second is the one most people quote when asked about the first.
Which psalm carries the heading “A Prayer of Moses, the man of God”?
- Psalm 1
- Psalm 72
- Psalm 137
- Psalm 90 — correct
Answer: Psalm 90
Psalm 90, the only psalm headed with Moses' name, and the one that opens the fourth book of the Psalter. Psalm 72 is headed for Solomon, Psalm 137 has no heading at all, and Psalm 1 stands as an untitled preface to the whole collection.
Proverbs 30 is headed as the words of whom?
- King Lemuel
- Agur son of Jakeh — correct
- Solomon son of David
- The men of Hezekiah
Answer: Agur son of Jakeh
Proverbs 30:1 — 'the words of Agur son of Jakeh'. King Lemuel heads the following chapter at 31:1, and 25:1 credits a collection copied out by the men of Hezekiah. Three separate headings inside one book, which is the plainest evidence that Proverbs is a compilation rather than a single composition.
Where does Proverbs give two adjacent sayings that flatly contradict each other on answering a fool?
- Proverbs 10:1–2
- Proverbs 15:1–2
- Proverbs 26:4–5 — correct
- Proverbs 22:6–7
Answer: Proverbs 26:4–5
Proverbs 26:4–5: do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him; answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes. The pairing sits in the open, verse beside verse, and each line supplies its own reason — the book is showing that the right move depends on the case.
What this quiz draws on
Books in play: Proverbs, Psalms. Each of those leads to what the book contains, who has been proposed as its author, and how it is dated.
Themes: Wisdom and poetry.
Answers here are drawn from the biblical text and, where an external record bears on the question, from the artefact or publication that carries it. How this site reads a text and how this site is written set out the rules, so you can check the reasoning rather than take the answer on trust.