Bible reading plans: which kind, and how to finish
Compare printed order, time order, a year, and a short start, then pick one plan you can finish.
Published 2026-11-03 · Updated 2026-11-03
Pick the plan you will still be reading next month. If you have not finished a book, start with one book or a short run of stories, not a full year. Printed order follows the books as they sit in a Protestant Bible. Time order follows events, and lists of that order differ. A year suits a reader who already finishes most days. Don't just read the Bible, understand it.
Four shapes cover what the open plan pages actually offer: printed order, time order, a year, and a short start. The rest of this page is how to choose one, and how to finish it when a day gets missed.
Printed order
A printed-order plan reads the books in the sequence of a Protestant Bible, Genesis through Revelation. That sequence is not a timeline. Got Questions says the books are arranged by type of literature: Genesis through Esther as history, Job through Song of Solomon as poetry, Isaiah through Malachi as prophecy. In the New Testament the same page groups Matthew through Acts as history, Romans through Jude as letters, and Revelation as prophecy.
Inside a type, the order is sometimes a rough time order and sometimes length. Isaiah's prophecies sit before Jeremiah's. Paul's letters are often longest to shortest. A printed-order year is reading that bound sequence, not reconstructing when each event happened.
Time order
A chronological plan puts events in the order they happened. Got Questions says a chronology can place Isaiah among the kings, because Isaiah ministered in those reigns, and that a detailed chronology may harmonize the four Gospels. The same page says some books would have to be split: 1 and 2 Chronicles parceled into 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings. Other lists on that page place Galatians and James earlier. Treat any one chronology as a reading aid, not as a single settled sequence.
A short form of that idea is on a church sheet. The Moody Church lists a chronological reading of key Old Testament stories over 36 days, and a 25-day New Testament follow-up. The 36-day sheet says the stories are ordered chronologically. It is a starter, not the whole Old Testament.
A year, and a short start
A year is a habit with a date on it, not a better kind of reading. The Moody Church page lists whole-Bible readings of one, two, or three years, a New Testament year, and one chapter each day. It also lists a book-at-a-time year with two readings for each day, and a year that goes through the New Testament and Psalms twice and the rest of the Bible once. The lighter year is the one you will keep. The heavier year is for a reader who already finishes a long sitting.
Shorter than a year is a real plan, not a warm-up you are supposed to outgrow. World Outreach Church publishes a 61-day reading of all four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The Moody 36-day sheet is the same kind of start in the Old Testament. One book is shorter still. Finish that before you sign up for a year.
A weekday New Testament plan
The 5x5x5 plan is a New Testament reading built for weekdays. Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church describes it as all 260 chapters of the New Testament, one chapter a day, five days a week, five minutes a day. The Gospels are read throughout the year, so the story of Jesus is not saved for the last season.
The same page lists five ways to dig deeper beside the chapter: mark a phrase, put the lines in your own words, ask who, what, why, when, where, or how, name the big idea, and write one response. Try one of those for a week. A pen and a scrap of paper are enough. A longer note layout, if you want one, is on Bible study notes.
Five days a week means the plan does not assign a chapter to every morning. Use an open day for a missed chapter, or for a second look at a hard one. That is a use of the shape, not a rule printed on every copy of the plan.
Choosing among them
Choose by what you have already finished, not by how complete the chart looks.
If you have not finished a book, do not start with a year. Take one book, the 36-day Old Testament stories, the 61-day Gospels, or the weekday New Testament plan. A short plan you finish teaches the habit. A year you abandon teaches quitting.
If you want the Bible as it is bound, use printed order. One year, two years, or three years is a pace, not a different Bible. One chapter a day is the same idea with a smaller daily bite.
If you want events in time, use a chronological plan, and expect another list to place a letter earlier. The 36-day sheet is the short version. A full chronological year is the long one. Neither replaces reading a book as its author arranged it, when that arrangement is the point.
If you already read on most days and want the whole Bible soon, a one-year plan fits. Skip the year that reads the New Testament and Psalms twice until a single pass feels ordinary.
Finishing the plan you started
The Moody Church page says to read the selection intended for the day, and if you miss a day, make that reading up at a later time. The 36-day sheet says the same thing more bluntly: if you fall behind, keep going. Do not restart at day one because a Thursday disappeared. Restarting is how a year becomes a forever-January.
Keep the day's passage small enough that a tired evening still counts. One chapter, or the few minutes the weekday plan names, is a finished day. A second sitting can wait for the open day.
When a chapter is hard, stop and study that chapter instead of racing the chart. A way through one passage is on how to study the Bible. A list of chapters to open first, if you are choosing a subject rather than a schedule, is on Bible study topics.
When one book is the plan
A finished book is a plan. It has a start, a stop, and a reason the chapters sit together.
Book-by-Book Study Set: all six book studies is John: 21 guided days, Genesis: 25 guided days, Psalms: 30 guided days, Proverbs: 31 guided days, Romans: 16 guided days, and James: 10 guided days. Each day has background first, the passage, 2 or 3 things to notice, one question with answer lines, and a one-line prayer. They are an instant digital download after checkout: one ZIP with the PDF files, and nothing ships.
Psalms in those studies is a selection, not the whole book. The other five walk the book named on the cover. Read the passage in the Bible you already own.
A listed file uses the title Whole Bible reading plan and tracker.pdf.
What a schedule cannot do
A schedule names the next passage. It does not tell you what that passage is doing, who is speaking, or why the chapter sits where it sits. That is the limit of this page. You can check every box and still not understand the chapter.
Write one line after the reading: who is speaking, and what the passage is doing. If you cannot write that line, the plan is ahead of you. Slow down, and stay with the chapter until the line is true.
Questions
What is the 5x5x5 Bible reading plan?
It reads all 260 chapters of the New Testament, one chapter a day, five days a week, for five minutes a day. The Gospels are read throughout the year. Five ways to slow down sit beside the reading: mark a phrase, put the lines in your own words, ask who and why, name the big idea, and write one response.
How do I create a Bible reading plan?
Choose one shape: printed order, time order, a year, or a short start. Write the next passage only for days you will actually read. If you miss a day, read that selection later instead of starting the plan over.
How to read the Bible daily?
Tie the reading to a time you already have, and keep the passage short enough to finish. One chapter, or a few minutes, is a real day. Read it, then write one line about what the passage is doing.
- Why isn't the Bible in chronological order?
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