There are many ways to read the Bible and many time ordered plans to follow but if you need encouragement to even just get started reading the bible in any kind of structured way then you need a Reading Plan or List.
Perhaps you have realised that there are some Books of the Bible that you have only read parts of, then it is good to have some kind of Reading Plan to rectify that.
But the best one is a simple one that you can definitely manage to stick with and I'll give you 5 EXTRA TIPS to help you keep going.
You will also find more help about getting started and making your reading of the bible into a good daily habit in 10 Ways to Help Start A Good Daily Habit
I know there are Books of the Bible that I have read various times and then there are some that I may only have read once.
I also know that it is more encouraging to get started if we can see some sort of goals reached quickly or some sense of satisfaction from having accomplished different steps and even be able to tick off some things from a to do list.
So I thought I would make out a Bible Reading Plan that does that, some Books of the Bible are read within a very short period of time and then when are reading others we can incorporate some of the tips at the end of this blog post.
A flexible plan, a doable plan, a very simple plan with no time limits and those 5 EXTRA TIPS so make sure to check those out at the end of the post.
Basically it all centres around
My Order for Reading
My order for reading through the Bible is based on the length of the books starting with the shortest (chapter nos.) and a few other factors I will note throughout the way.
I am not dictating how much I will read each day or how much time I will spend reading because sometimes I know I will get bogged down in
1. taking notes - it always happens to me
2. writing reminders to myself that I want to make a new Bible Verse Graphic (or 2 or 3) from the chapter I am in
3. wanting to talk to Fred (my husband) about something from the day's reading
4. having less time available to read or being interrupted more that usual
5. looking up some other Bible references that may be connected or some other info.
Some Books of the bible are very short and some are very long so I'm going to go by Order of Size and start with the shortest books but use the no. of chapters for size not actual quantity of verses or word counts.
Then because of the type of person I am I will probably do most in alphabetical order but there will be a few exceptions.
MY READING LIST
Books consisting of 1 Chapter
JUDE - 26th Book of the NT
OBADIAH - 31st Book of the OT
PHILEMON - 18th Book of the NT
Nice to have the OT Book slotted in between the two NT Books
Books consisting of 2 Chapters
HAGGAI - 37th Book of the OT
Books consisting of 3 Chapters
HABAKKUK - 35th Book of the OT
JOEL - 29th Book of the OT
NAHUM - 34th Book of the OT
TITUS - 17th Book of the NT
ZEPHANIAH - 36th Book of the OT
Good to have that one NT Book in among the OT Books to give a bit of variety especially as they were all Minor Prophets
Books consisting of 4 Chapters
COLOSSIANS - 12th Book of the NT
JONAH - 32th Book of the OT
MALACHI - 39th Book of the OT
PHILIPPIANS - 11th Book of the NT
RUTH - 8th Book of the OT
Nice mix in this grouping
Books consisting of 5 Chapters
JAMES - 20th Book of the NT
LAMENTATIONS - 25th Book of the OT
Books consisting of 6 Chapters
GALATIANS - 9th Book of the NT
EPHESIANS - 10th Book of the NT
Books consisting of 7 Chapters
1, 2 & 3 JOHN - 23rd, 24th & 25th Books of the NT
MICAH - 33rd Book of the OT
If I had stuck to the no. of chapters for each individual Epistle of John then 2nd & 3rd John would have been in the first group as they each have only one chapter but then I would have been reading them before John's first Epistle so I felt it better to combine them and read in Chronological Order.
Books consisting of 8 Chapters
1 & 2 Peter - 21st & 22nd Books of the NT
1 & 2 THESSALONIANS - 13th & 14th Books of the NT
SONG of SOLOMON - 22nd Book of the OT
As in the previous group I am combining Peter's Epistles and the Epistles to the Thessalonians to read in Chronological order.
Books consisting of 9 Chapters
AMOS - 30th Book of the OT
Books consisting of 10 Chapters
1 & 2 TIMOTHY - 15th & 16th Books of the NT
ESTHER - 17th Book of the OT
EZRA - 15th Book of the OT
As in 2 previous groups I am combining 1st & 2nd Timothy so that they are read
in Chronological order.
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Books consisting of 12 Chapters
DANIEL - 27th Book of the OT
ECCLESIASTES - 21st Book of the OT
Books consisting of 13 Chapters
HEBREWS - 19th Book of the NT
NEHEMIAH - 16th Book of the OT
Books consisting of 14 Chapters
HOSEA - 28th Book of the OT
ZECHARIAH - 38th Book of the OT
Books consisting of 16 Chapters
MARK - 2nd Book of the NT
ROMANS - 6th Book of the NT
Books consisting of 21 Chapters
JOHN - 4th Book of the NT
JUDGES - 7th Book of the OT
Books consisting of 22 Chapters
REVELATION - 27th Book of the NT
Books consisting of 24 Chapters
JOSHUA - 6th Book of the OT
LUKE - 3rd Book of the NT
Books consisting of 27 Chapters
LEVITICUS - 3rd Book of the OT
Books consisting of 28 Chapters
ACTS - 5th Book of the NT
MATTHEW - 1st Book of the NT
Books consisting of 31 Chapters
PROVERBS - 20th Book of the OT
Books consisting of 34 Chapters
DEUTERONOMY - 5th Book of the OT
Books consisting of 35 Chapters
1 & 2 CORINTHIANS - 7th & 8th Books of the NT
As in 3 previous groups I am combining 1st & 2nd Corinthians so that they
are read in Chronological order.
Books consisting of 36 Chapters
NUMBERS - 4th Book of the OT
Click Here to get a FREE PRINTABLE of the chart above
Books consisting of 40 Chapters
EXODUS - 2nd Book of the OT
Books consisting of 42 Chapters
JOB - 18th Book of the OT
Books consisting of 47 Chapters
1 & 2 KINGS - 11th & 12th Books of the OT
As in 4 previous groups I am combining 1st & 2nd Kings so that they
are read in Chronological order.
Books consisting of 48 Chapters
EZEKIEL - 26th Book of the OT
Books consisting of 50 Chapters
GENESIS - 1st Book of the OT
Books consisting of 52 Chapters
JEREMIAH - 24th Book of the OT
Books consisting of 55 Chapters
1 & 2 SAMUEL - 9th & 10th Books of the OT
As in 5 previous groups I am combining 1st & 2nd Samuel so that they
are read in Chronological order.
Books consisting of 65 Chapters
1 & 2 CHRONICLES - 13th & 14th Books of the OT
As in 6 previous groups I am combining 1st & 2nd Chronicles so that they
are read in Chronological order.
Books consisting of 66 Chapters
ISAIAH - 23rd Book of the OT
Books consisting of 150 Chapters
Psalms - 19th Book of the OT
I was delighted to start with Jude as I had recently bought a book on this Epistle and of course I needed to read the actual Bible Book
before the book written about it.
Click Here to get a FREE PRINTABLE of the chart above
For those interested in the length of time involved in reading the books of the Bible then you will find lots of interesting details on that in this post at Crossway
and even if you thought you weren't so interested you should really take a look because you will be surprised just how quickly you can read them (even the longest ones).
5 TIPS when Reading Through the Bible
- As the books start to get longer in length set yourself a reasonable goal of a small number of chapters in each reading, even only one it is not a race.
- When you are in the more complex (or more boring) books read less at each time.
- Do not feel like you have to even read a set number of full chapters each time - perhaps the end of a timeframe, or the end of a certain story comes in the middle of a chapter and then you could end your reading to coincide with that content.
- A good idea to help break up the longer or more complex books is to read a few Psalms or chapters of Proverbs in between the other books. (My husband is usually reading through the Psalms or Proverbs at the same time as reading other books of the Bible)
- If you are feeling like it is becoming a chore any day just read a little and then go take a break that day and sing some praise songs.
If you are already a subscriber to this blog you will find the link to all my Free Printables
in any of the emails you have received from me.
If you want to know exactly about the ordering of size of the books of the Bible taking word count into consideration then you will find a table with that info at The Overview Bible
