Bible reading plan

Three plans, each with the entire schedule on one page. Pick one, find your place, and read the chapter here — no download, no printout.

In short

A Bible reading plan is a schedule that tells you what to read each day. If you want the whole Bible in a year, read three to four chapters a day. If you want the lightest workable plan, read one chapter each weekday and you will finish the New Testament in a year. If you want the whole Bible quickly, ninety days takes around forty minutes a day.

Choose a plan

Time estimates are averages derived from chapter counts. Chapters vary a great deal in length, so any single day may be shorter or longer.

Finishing matters more than starting

Most people who begin a year-long reading plan do not finish it. Completion rates for year-long plans generally sit between eleven and twenty per cent, and the reason is rarely a lack of interest — it is that a missed day turns into a backlog, and the backlog turns into quitting.

So these plans are built to be resumed rather than perfected. Days are numbered rather than dated, nothing here counts a streak, and every plan page says plainly what to do when you fall behind.

How to finish a Bible reading plan →

A verse to begin

Psalms 119:105
נ Nun
105 Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path.

New International Version 2011 (NIV11)

The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.

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Questions

What is a Bible reading plan?

A reading plan is a schedule that divides the Bible into daily readings so you always know what to read next. It replaces the decision of where to start each day, which is the thing that most often stops people reading at all.

Which Bible reading plan should I choose?

Choose by the time you actually have, not the time you wish you had. One chapter a weekday finishes the New Testament in a year and is the lightest option here. Three or four chapters a day covers the whole Bible in a year. Ninety days covers the whole Bible at around forty minutes a day.

Do I need to start on January 1?

No. Every schedule on this site is numbered by day rather than dated, so day one is whichever day you begin. You can set a start date on any plan page and it will show which numbered day you are on.

What should I do if I miss a day?

Continue at the next day's reading instead of reading double to clear a backlog. Year-long plans are typically finished by only eleven to twenty per cent of the people who start them, and an unmanageable backlog is the usual reason. Missing days is not a spiritual failure.

Is there a full Bible to read here?

Yes. Every reading in every plan links to the full chapter on this site, and the complete Bible is browsable by book and chapter. Each passage is shown with the publisher's required copyright attribution.