How it works
- Choose what to read. The whole Bible, a testament, a section such as the Gospels or Paul's letters, or any single book.
- Set your dates. Pick a start and a finish date, or tap a length. Untick any days you don't want to read on, such as Sundays.
- Read your plan. It updates as you change anything. Every reading day gets whole chapters, sized so the days are as even in length as the chapter breaks allow.
- Keep it. Print it, add every reading to your calendar with one file, or copy the link to share the same plan with a group.
How the days are balanced
Most printed plans hand out a fixed number of chapters a day, which makes some days five minutes and others twenty-five. This one counts the words in every chapter instead. Each day aims at the reading that's left divided by the days that are left, adding whole chapters until the next one would overshoot, so a long chapter early on doesn't throw off the rest of the plan.
For the whole Bible in a year, that comes to roughly 2,000 words, or eight to nine minutes, a day. Our guide on how long it takes to read the Bible has the reading time for every book, and the reading time calculator works out a finish date from the minutes you have.
Choosing a length you'll keep
A year is the classic plan, but it isn't the only good one. The New Testament in 90 days is about eight minutes a day and a good first plan. The four Gospels in a month are about eleven. If you have read through before, two years at a slower pace leaves room to stop and write in the margins. Reading the Bible in a year covers the common plan shapes and what to do when you fall behind.
Questions
Is the reading plan generator free?
Yes. There is no account and no email address, and the plan is made in your browser. Nothing you choose is sent to us.
Can I choose a finish date instead of a length?
Yes. Set any start and finish date and the generator spreads the reading across exactly the days in between that you have ticked. The length buttons are only shortcuts.
Why are some days more chapters than others?
Chapters vary from two verses (Psalm 117) to 176 (Psalm 119), so the plan balances by the number of words, not the number of chapters. A day of short psalms and a day of one long chapter take about the same time.
What if there are more days than chapters?
Each day gets at least one whole chapter, so a plan can never have more readings than its section has chapters. The New Testament has 260, for example. If your dates allow more, the plan reads one chapter a day and finishes early, and it tells you the date.
Can I make a chronological plan?
Not yet. Plans follow the order of the books in the Bible. A chronological plan depends on judgement calls about where each psalm, prophet and letter belongs, and different plans disagree.
Which translation does it use?
Any. The reading list is the same in every translation; the choice only changes the time estimate, because the King James Version is about 9% longer than the Berean Standard Bible.
What if I fall behind?
Make a new plan that starts today with a later finish date, and choose the section you have left. Missing a few days is normal; a plan you can restart is worth more than a perfect one.