3 Different Ways to Read the Bible in a Year

Many people want to read the Bible in a year, but don’t think they have the time or the persistence to get it done. However reading the Bible doesn’t take a massive amount of time, and can become a habit once you start reading it everyday. Here are some ways that you can get started:

Method 1: Read 4 Chapters a Day

This method would let you read it through in just under 300 days. Some people, therefore, choose to break up longer chapters (e.g. Psalm 119) into multiple days reading, while other people choose to take a day like Sunday off, when they will be reading the passages that correspond with a sermon. Other people choose to read through some books, such as Proverbs or Psalms, multiple times in their Bible reading.

One problem with this method, though, is that it will take you over 230 days before you get to the New Testament, and that’s assuming you don’t break any of the longer chapters into multiple days reading. Many people prefer to read some New Testament, and some Old Testament, each day. Whatever you do, just be sure that it gives you the time to comprehend what you are reading.

Method 2: Get a One Year Study Bible

This Bible has it divided up into 365 days for you. This plan is different from the above one, in that it has you read some of the Old Testament and some of the New Testament each day, along with daily psalms and proverbs. It also allows you to pick up right where you left off, rather than leaving you searching for what verse you stopped at.

There is a catch though, and that is if you fall behind. If you miss reading your Bible one day, you will have to read two days worth the next day in order to catch up. With the 4 chapters a day method, if you miss one day, then you adjust to where you have to read 5 chapters a day for the next 4 days, 6 a day for the next 2, or you can read 8 in one day, and any of these methods would let you fully catch up quickly.

If you do choose the One Year Study Bible, I recommend choosing the version that you find easiest to read. If you like reading the NIV, than you can choose the NIV One Year Bible. You can choose the KJV One Year Study Bible, if you prefer that version. You can search for the version that you like best through this link: One Year Bible.

Method 3: Choose the Books You Need

This method is more for a plan for your kids. Let’s say you don’t want your kids reading through the Song of Solomon, or the book of Leviticus right now, but you still want them to read the other books, like Exodus, or the Gospels, etc. Choose the books that you want them to read, and figure out how many chapters are in them.

Let’s say that you chose to leave out Song of Solomon, Leviticus, and Numbers, because you think your kids either won’t read it or don’t need to read it. That is 71 fewer chapters in the bible. You could then figure out how you wanted your kids to read the rest of it. Some parents only have their kids read the New Testament, until they get older, because they don’t want their kids to “get bored” with the Bible. However, by reading through the Old Testament, and especially focusing on the stories of the great men and women of the Bible, they are less likely to get bored with reading the Bible.