Bible Reading:

If you've never read the Bible before, you've missed out. A good starting place is the Book of John. The Bible is filled with rich truths and beautiful poetry. Of course, some of the poetic nature can be obscured in the process of translation from Hebrew and Greek, but many passages still shine through. Check out Psalms 1, 22, 23, & 139 as a sample or Isaiah 52:13-53:12.

The above links point to Biblegateway.com. It gives (free) access to dozens of different translations and resources. While I prefer the English Standard Version (ESV), there are many other excellent translations each with a different goal in mind. For example, the NASB is closer to a "literal" translation whereas the NIV is looser but easier to read. The HCSB and/or CSB (popular among Southern Baptists) are an interesting alternative to the ESV.

If reading isn't your preference, there are many freely available audio Bibles. If you would like to read along while you listen, there are many free audio Bibles uploaded to YouTube. For example, searching for "ESV audio Bible" pulls up a dramatized audio Bible (ESV translation). I've listened through one of these. The reading was overly dramatic and incredibly slow (which explains the multitude of comments written by non-native speakers). Still even at this speed you can listen through the entire Bible in a year by investing less than 15 minutes a day. I listed at double speed and went through the Bible during a few weeks of a Christmas break.

On a smartphone, I highly recommend the Olive Tree Bible reading app. It has dozens of daily reading plans to choose from. My favorite is Robert Murray M'Cheyne's reading plan. I have also used the YouVersion Bible app. It's free as well and also gives access to many translations. Alternatively, I wrote some javascript (years ago) when I started reading the Bible electronically:


Straight Through Reading Plan:

Daily Bible Reading Plan:


Month: Day: Version:  

The above links default to the ESV and your local machine's date. Adjust to your desired version/date and hit update link to make a change.

Plan Descriptions:

Straight Through Reading: This plan goes from Genesis to Revelation in the canonical order. Each day you read 3 chapters with the following exceptions: When reading Psalms, you read 5 each day. If there are only 4 or 5 chapters left in a book, you finish the book. If the book is really short, you read the whole thing (i.e. Obadiah, II John, etc.). Song of Solomon is 8 chapters, so you just read half one day and half the next.

Daily Reading: This is the Bible reading plan as set by the One Year Bible. This plan has you read a passage from the Old Testament, a passage from the New Testament, a Psalm (or part of a Psalm), and a few verses from Proverbs. By the end of the year, you'll have read straight through the OT (sans Psalms and Proverbs), straight through the NT, and straight through Psalms and Proverbs twice.

I also threw in an extra reading for leap years. Tune in December 31st on a leap year to see what I picked! (Or just look at the source code.)