“How to Read the Bible”

Sunday, December 31, 2023

Many people make use of read-the-Bible-in-a-year plans, and often decide, around this point on the calendar, to undertake the task over the incoming year.  There are countless options from which to choose, but the following is a weekly schedule that I’ve constructed over the past year, taking account of both the timeline and the themes involved in God’s great letter to mankind.  I hope you will use it.  Whether you use this plan or another; whether you follow it strictly or space it out over two years or more; even if you simply start at Genesis 1.1 and turn each page in order until you reach Revelation 22.21, the important thing is to read God’s word.

• Week 1:

Proverbs 8-9; Genesis 1;

Psalm^* 8; Genesis 2; Psalm 148;

Genesis 3-14; Psalm 91;

Genesis 15-20; Psalm 113;

Genesis 21-22

• Week 2:

Genesis 23-38; Psalm 25; 1 Chronicles 1

• Week 3:

Psalm 119; Proverbs 1-5; Genesis 39;

Psalm 4; Genesis 40;

Psalm 13; Genesis 41-50; Proverbs 30

• Week 4:

Psalm 128; Job^† 1-37

• Week 5:

Job 38-42; Psalm 104;

Exodus 1-4; Psalm 53;

Exodus 5-15

• Week 6:

Exodus 16-17; Psalm 47;

Exodus 18-32

• Week 7:

Exodus 33-34; Psalm 103;

Psalm 67; Exodus 35-40;

Leviticus 1-11

• Week 8:

Leviticus 12-27

• Week 9:

Numbers 1-15; Psalm 27;

Numbers 16-17; Psalm 90

• Week 10:

Numbers 18-21; Psalm 149;

Numbers 22-25; Psalm 81;

Numbers 26-32; Psalm 136;

Numbers 33-34

• Week 11:

Numbers 35-36;

Deuteronomy 1-16

• Week 12:

Deuteronomy 17-34

• Week 13:

Psalm 105; Joshua 1-10;

Psalm 33; Joshua 11-17;

Psalm 118; Joshua 18

• Week 14:

Joshua 19; Psalm 16; Joshua 20-24;

Judges 1-5; Psalm 44;

Judges 6; Psalm 86;

Judges 7-8; Psalm 94;

Judges 9

• Week 15:

Judges 10; Psalm 83;

Judges 11-15;

Proverbs 7; Judges 16-19; Psalm 10;

Judges 20-21; Ruth

• Week 16:

1 Samuel 1-2; Psalm 77;

Psalm 131; 1 Samuel 3; Psalm 1;

1 Samuel 4-7; Psalm 106;

1 Samuel 8-11; Psalm 121;

1 Samuel 12-15; Psalm 50;

Psalm 19; 1 Samuel 16; Psalm 23

• Week 17:

1 Samuel 17; Psalm 144;

1 Samuel 18; Psalm 88;

1 Samuel 19; Psalm 59;

1 Samuel 20; Psalm 17; Psalm 56;

1 Samuel 21; Psalm 34; Psalm 57;

1 Samuel 22; Psalm 52;

1 Samuel 23; Psalm 54;

Psalm 7; 1 Samuel 24;

Proverbs 31; Psalm 14; 1 Samuel 25-31

• Week 18:

2 Samuel 1; Psalm 21;

2 Samuel 2-4; Psalm 145; Psalm 76;

2 Samuel 5; Psalm 18;

2 Samuel 6; Psalm 24;

2 Samuel 7; Psalm 2;

2 Samuel 8; Psalm 60;

2 Samuel 9-10; Psalm 20;

2 Samuel 11-12; Psalm 51;

2 Samuel 13-17; Psalm 3

• Week 19:

2 Samuel 18-19; Psalm 15;

2 Samuel 20-23; Psalm 63;

2 Samuel 24; Psalm 6;

1 Kings 1; Psalm 72;

1 Kings 2-4; Psalm 87;

Song of Solomon

• Week 20:

1 Kings 5; Psalm 132;

1 Kings 6-8; Psalm 30;

1 Kings 9-11; Proverbs 10-26

• Week 21:

Proverbs 27-29; 1 Kings 12-16; Psalm 42;

1 Kings 17-18; Psalm 58; Psalm 93;

1 Kings 19; Psalm 43; Psalm 97;

1 Kings 20; Psalm 36;

1 Kings 21-22; Psalm 64; Psalm 68

• Week 22:

2 Kings 1-3; Psalm 46;

2 Kings 4-10; Psalm 26;

2 Kings 11-14; Jonah; Psalm 139

• Week 23:

Psalm 82; Amos; Hosea 1-3; 2 Kings 15;

Hosea 4-14; Joel; 2 Kings 16-17

• Week 24:

Nahum; Micah; 2 Kings 18-19; Psalm 124;

Psalm 102; 2 Kings 20; Psalm 116;

2 Kings 21; Habakkuk;

2 Kings 22; Psalm 135;

2 Kings 23-24; Psalm 74;

2 Kings 25

• Week 25:

Proverbs 6; 1 Chronicles^‡ 2-10; Psalm 78;

1 Chronicles 11-16; Psalm 99;

1 Chronicles 17; Psalm 101;

1 Chronicles 18; Psalm 108;

1 Chronicles 19-21

• Week 26:

1 Chronicles 22-28; Psalm 110;

1 Chronicles 29; 2 Chronicles 1-8; Psalm 45;

2 Chronicles 9; Ecclesiastes

• Week 27:

2 Chronicles 10-14; Psalm 28;

2 Chronicles 15; Psalm 115;

2 Chronicles 16-18; Psalm 39;

2 Chronicles 19-20; Psalm 125;

2 Chronicles 21-23; Psalm 126;

2 Chronicles 24; Psalm 134; Psalm 35;

2 Chronicles 25-26; Psalm 48; Isaiah 1-5

• Week 28:

Isaiah 6; 2 Chronicles 27;

Isaiah 7; 2 Chronicles 28;

Isaiah 8-35

• Week 29:

2 Chronicles 29; Psalm 95; Psalm 133;

2 Chronicles 30-31; Isaiah 36-39; Psalm 147;

2 Chronicles 32; Isaiah 40-55

• Week 30:

Isaiah 56-66; 2 Chronicles 33; Jeremiah 1-10

• Week 31:

Zephaniah; Jeremiah 11-20; 2 Chronicles 34-35;

Jeremiah^§ 22-23;

Jeremiah 26; Psalm 5;

Daniel 1; Psalm 141

• Week 32:

Jeremiah 25;

Jeremiah 45-47;

Jeremiah 36;

Jeremiah 35; Psalm 127; Daniel 2-4;

Jeremiah 24; 2 Chronicles 36;

Jeremiah 29;

Jeremiah 27-28;

Jeremiah 48-49

• Week 33:

Jeremiah 50-51;

Ezekiel 1-18

• Week 34:

Ezekiel 19-23; Jeremiah 37;

Ezekiel 24-32; Jeremiah 32-34; Psalm 79;

Jeremiah 21

• Week 35:

Jeremiah 38; Psalm 69;

Jeremiah 39; Ezekiel 33-35; Obadiah;

Jeremiah 52; Lamentations; Psalm 137;

Jeremiah 40-44;

Jeremiah 30-31

• Week 36:

Ezekiel 36-48; Daniel 7-8;

Daniel^‖ 5; Psalm 75

• Week 37:

Daniel 10-12; Ezra 1-4;

Daniel 9; Ezra 5; Psalm 150;

Haggai; Zechariah 1-6;

Ezra 6; Psalm 96;

Psalm 120; Daniel 6; Psalm 73

• Week 38:

Zechariah 7-14; Psalm 114;

Esther; Psalm 9;

Ezra 7; Psalm 85;

Ezra 8-10

• Week 39:

Nehemiah 1-4; Psalm 62;

Nehemiah 5; Psalm 66;

Nehemiah 6-7; Psalm 122;

Nehemiah 8-13;

Malachi

• Week 40:

Psalm 89; Luke 1-2; Psalm 84;

Luke 3-4; Psalm 146;

Luke 5-8;

Psalm 80; Luke 9-11

• Week 41:

Luke 12-16; Psalm 49;

Luke 17-21; Psalm 109;

Luke 22; Psalm 38;

Luke 23-24

• Week 42:

Acts 1-2; Psalm 100;

Acts 3-4; Psalm 112;

Acts 5-6; Psalm 12;

Acts 7-8; Psalm 130;

Acts 9; Psalm 41; Psalm 70;

Acts 10; Psalm 117;

Acts 11; James

• Week 43:

Matthew^¶ 1-15; Psalm 123;

Matthew 16-20

• Week 44:

Matthew 21-25; Psalm 31;

Matthew 26; Psalm 22;

Matthew 27; Psalm 71;

Matthew 28; Psalm 98;

Psalm 142, Acts 12-14;

Psalm 143; Galatians^#

• Week 45:

Acts 15-16; Psalm 129;

Acts 17; 1 Thessalonians; 2 Thessalonians;

Acts 18-19;

1 Corinthians 1-14; Psalm 111

• Week 46:

1 Corinthians 15-16;

2 Corinthians;

Psalm 32; Romans 1-11

• Week 47:

Romans 12-16; Acts 20; Psalm 11;

Acts 21-23; Psalm 140;

Acts 24-26; Psalm 138;

Acts 27; Psalm 61;

Acts 28; Ephesians

• Week 48:

Philippians; Colossians; Philemon;

1 Timothy; Titus; 2 Timothy;

Psalm 92; Mark 1-5

• Week 49:

Mark 6; Psalm 65;

Mark 7-13; Psalm 55;

Mark 14-16; 1 Peter

• Week 50:

Psalm 107; Hebrews 1-9;

Psalm 40; Hebrews 10-13;

2 Peter; Jude;

John 1-5

• Week 51:

John 6-21

• Week 52:

1 John; 2 John; 3 John;

Psalm 37; Revelation 1-7;

Psalm 29; Revelation 8-22

* The Psalms and some selections from Proverbs are placed to complement themes in the narrative portions (and later, the letters).

† It is unknown where Job fits on the timeline, but somewhere roughly contemporary with Israel’s patriarchs is likely.

‡ 1-2 Chronicles covers much of the same time as 1 Samuel through 2 Kings; but with its focus on the southern kingdom of Judah, it will be paired with the prophets whose mission was to that kingdom and its remnant.

§ Beginning with chapter 21, Jeremiah becomes increasingly disorganized with respect to the timeline.  While there may be good thematic reasons for its order in the canon, this schedule attempts to put the remaining chapters into chronological order.

‖ Daniel also is not all arranged in chronological order, and will again be scheduled according to the timeline.

¶ All the Gospels cover the same timeline already traversed in Luke.  The remaining three are arranged to accentuate changing themes in the affairs of the church during the course of its first several decades.

# Paul’s letters are arranged in the canon according to length.  On this schedule, they (and the rest of the letters) are arranged chronologically, to the extent possible.

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