Now that you’ve had some great encouragement to read through the Bible, here are some resources to help you do just that:
Both Android & iOS have available apps to keep track of various reading plans:
- YouVersion Plan [download app for Android | iPhone]
- Bible Reading Plan for Android
Resources for Bible Reading from Justin Taylor:
Do you want to read the whole Bible?
If the average person reads 200 to 250 words per minute, and if there are about 775,000 words in the Bible, then it would take less than 10 minutes a day to read the whole Bible in a year.
Audio Bibles are usually about 75 hours long, so you can listen to it in just over 12 minutes a day.
But a simple resolution to do this is often an insufficient. Most of us need a more proactive plan.
Stephen Witmer explains the weaknesses of typical plans and offers some advice on reading the Bible together with others—as well as offering his own new two-year plan. (“In my opinion, it is better to read the whole Bible through carefully one time in two years than hastily in one year.”) His plan has you read through one book of the Bible at a time (along with a daily reading from the Psalms or Proverbs). At the end of two years you will have read through the Psalms and Proverbs four times and the rest of the Bible once.
The Gospel Coalition’s For the Love of God Blog (which you can subscribe to via email) takes you through the M’Cheyne reading plan, with a meditation each day by D. A. Carson related to one of the readings. M’Cheyne’s plan has you read shorter selections from four different places in the Bible each day.
George Guthrie’s “Read the Bible for Life Chronological Bible Reading Plan” is a semi-chronological plan, placing the prophets and the NT letters in basic chronological order. You read in four different places each day, along with a daily psalm (so you end up reading the Psalter twice in a year). You can also download a printable booklet.
For those who would benefit from a realistic “discipline + grace” approach, consider “The Bible Reading Plan for Shirkers and Slackers.” As Andy Perry explains, it takes away the pressure (and guilt) of “keeping up” with the entire Bible in one year. You get variety within the week by alternating genres by day, but also continuity by sticking with one genre each day. Here’s the basic idea:
Sundays: Poetry
Mondays: Penteteuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy)
Tuesdays: Old Testament history
Wednesdays: Old Testament history
Thursdays: Old Testament prophets
Fridays: New Testament history
Saturdays: New Testament epistles (letters)
There are a number of Reading Plans for ESV Editions. Crossway has made them accessible in multiple formats:
- web (a new reading each day appears online at the same link)
- RSS (subscribe to receive by RSS [Note that these have the text and also a MP3 of it professionally read out!])
- podcast (subscribe to get your daily reading in audio)
- iCal (download an iCalendar file)
- mobile (view a new reading each day on your mobile device)
- print (download a PDF of the whole plan)
| Reading Plan | Format | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chronological Through the Bible chronologically (from Back to the Bible) |
RSS | iCal | Mobile | |||
| Daily Light on the Daily Path Daily Light on the Daily Path – the ESV version of Samuel Bagster’s classic |
RSS | iCal | Mobile | |||
| Daily Office Lectionary Daily Psalms, Old Testament, New Testament, and Gospels |
RSS | iCal | Mobile | |||
| Daily Reading Bible Daily Old Testament, New Testament, and Psalms |
RSS | iCal | Mobile | |||
| ESV Study Bible Daily Psalms or Wisdom Literature; Pentateuch or the History of Israel; Chronicles or Prophets; and Gospels or Epistles |
RSS | iCal | Mobile | |||
| Every Day in the Word Daily Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, Proverbs |
RSS | iCal | Mobile | |||
| Literary Study Bible Daily Psalms or Wisdom Literature; Pentateuch or the History of Israel; Chronicles or Prophets; and Gospels or Epistles |
RSS | iCal | Mobile | |||
| M’Cheyne One-Year Reading Plan Daily Old Testament, New Testament, and Psalms or Gospels |
RSS | iCal | Mobile | |||
| Outreach Daily Old Testament, Psalms, and New Testament |
RSS | iCal | Mobile | |||
| Outreach New Testament Daily New Testament. Read through the New Testament in 6 months |
RSS | iCal | Mobile | |||
| Through the Bible in a Year Daily Old Testament and New Testament |
RSS | iCal | Mobile | |||
You can also access each of these Reading Plans as podcasts:
- Right-click (Ctrl-click on a Mac) the “RSS” link of the feed you want from the above list.
- Choose “Copy Link Location” or “Copy Shortcut.”
- Start iTunes. [Or your podcatcher]
- Under File, choose “Subscribe to Podcast.”
- Paste the URL into the box.
- Click OK.
Resources for Bible Reading from Ligonier Ministries:
Many Christians take the beginning of a new year to evaluate their Bible reading habits, and then change or begin a Bible reading plan.
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. — Psalm 119:105
For your convenience, we’ve compiled a list of Bible reading plans for you to choose from. Maybe this year you will read more of the Bible each day. Perhaps you’ll slow down your reading and instead spend more time considering what you read. Whatever it is you’re looking for in a reading plan, you should find it below.
52 Week Bible Reading Plan
Read through the Bible in a year, with each day of the week dedicated to a different genre: Epistles, The Law, History, Psalms, Poetry, Prophecy, and Gospels.
Duration: One year | Download: PDF
5x5x5 Bible Reading Plan
Read through the New Testament in a year, reading Monday to Friday. Weekends are set aside for reflection and other reading. Especially beneficial if you’re new to a daily discipline of Bible reading.
Duration: One year | Download: PDF
A Bible Reading Chart
Read through the Bible at your own pace. Use this minimalistic, yet beautifully designed, chart to track your reading over 2013.
Duration: Flexible | Download: PDF
Chronological Bible Reading Plan
Read through the Bible in the order the events occurred chronologically.
Duration: One year | Download: PDF
The Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan
Four daily readings beginning in Genesis, Psalms, Matthew and Acts.
Duration: One year | Download: PDF
ESV Daily Bible Reading Plan
Four daily readings taken from four lists: Psalms and Wisdom Literature, Pentateuch and History of Israel, Chronicles and Prophets, and Gospels and Epistles.
Duration: One year | Download: PDF
Every Word in the Bible
Read through the Bible one chapter at a time. Readings alternate between the Old and New Testaments.
Duration: Three years | Download: PDF
Historical Bible Reading Plan
The Old Testament readings are similar to Israel’s Hebrew Bible, and the New Testament readings are an attempt to follow the order in which the books were authored.
Duration: One year | Download: PDF
Professor Grant Horner’s Bible Reading System
Reading ten chapters a day, in the course of a year you’ll read the Gospels four times, the Pentateuch twice, Paul’s letters four to five times, the Old Testament wisdom literature six times, the Psalms at least twice, Proverbs and Acts a dozen times, and the OT History and Prophetic books about one and a half times.
Duration: Ongoing | Download: PDF
Robert Murray M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Read the New Testament and Psalms twice and the Old Testament once.
Duration: One or two years | Download: Website
Straight Through the Bible Reading Plan
Read straight through the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.
Duration: One year | Download: PDF
Tabletalk Bible Reading Plan
Two readings each day; one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament.
Duration: One year | Download: PDF
App: Accessible in the Ligonier App (iPhone / iPad & Android)
The Legacy Reading Plan
This plan does not have set readings for each day. Instead, it has set books for each month, and set number of Proverbs and Psalms to read each week. It aims to give you more flexibility, while grounding you in specific books of the Bible each month.
Duration: One year | Download: PDF
Two-Year Bible Reading Plan
Read the Old and New Testaments once, and Psalms & Proverbs four times.
Duration: Two years | Download: PDF
In addition to your daily Bible reading, if you’re looking for devotional material that will help you understand the Bible and apply it to daily living, consider Tabletalk magazine. Try it out for three months absolutely free.
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