How to Start Reading the Bible
By the Verse & Light editorial team · published · 6 min read
Starting at Genesis 1 and reading straight through is how most first attempts end in Leviticus. Here is a plan that works better.
The Bible is a library of sixty-six documents written across centuries in several genres. Read cover to cover it can feel like starting a box set at a random episode. A little sequencing helps.
Start with a gospel
Mark is the shortest and moves quickly; Luke is the most orderly and includes the most detail about ordinary people. Either takes a couple of weeks at a chapter a day. Read one before you read anything else.
Then read one letter and one book of poetry
- Philippians — four short chapters, written from prison, on contentment and joy.
- Psalms — not designed to be read straight through; dip into one a day.
- Proverbs — one chapter maps neatly onto one day of the month.
- Genesis — once a gospel is behind you, the opening story makes more sense of everything else.
Decide how much, and keep it small
Ten minutes a day sustained for a year beats an hour abandoned in week two. A chapter is a good unit because it usually contains a whole scene or argument.
Have a way to handle confusion
Some passages are genuinely difficult, and a first reading is not the place to resolve them. Mark the verse, keep reading, and come back. Reading the whole chapter almost always clears up more than staring at one line.
Read with a question
- What does this say about God?
- What does it assume about people?
- Is there something here to do, believe or stop doing?
- What would I want to ask the author?
Use the tools here
The chapter reader on this site covers the whole World English Bible, a public domain translation in contemporary English. If you would rather begin with something short, the verse of the day gives you one verse and a link into its chapter — which is often enough to start a habit.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path.”