How to read the Whole Bible

2022 Update: Based on the material found here, I have created an updated plan to read through the whole Bible. Click here to try this Weekly World Scripture Reader.

This year I have student graduating who I have known since he was a precocious 6th grader. He is a young man who has always been skeptical, hovering somewhere between faith and ridicule, atheism and theism, during his entire time at our school. This young man of considerable intellect and intense curiosity recently asked me:

"I am really determined to read the entire bible cover to cover during my summer vacation. However, there seem to be so many choices of translation and I don't know which is better for my purposes. I want a Bible that is closest to the original translation but also full of helpful footnotes explaining things. Do you have any suggestions regarding a good bible? Also, feel free to recommend any companion books to go with it."

And so, this essay was born:

I'm glad you have taken the personal challenge to read the whole Bible! It is great to see the good, the bad, the ugly, and the beautiful, as the ancient Jewish perception of God evolved, devolved, and evolved some more. To read the Bible as a whole is to take part in "wrestling" with God: Struggling through our conceptions and misconceptions until we arrive at a fuller understanding of Truth. Some parts of the Bible are a wild ride. Some parts horribly boring. And other parts quite inspirational. And I say this even if one does not believe in God, and even moreso if one does.

HOW TO APPROACH THE BIBLE

Since I do believe in God, and I do believe that the Bible in some sense discloses God, let me give the following Theistic warning: Pease try to avoid the Fundamentalist trap that the Bible is consistent and inerrant. It is dangerous and damaging to faith in God (if one believes), and it is simply not an accurate understanding of how the best minds in Christian history have understood and taught the Bible (if one wants to critique belief). I have written about this elsewhere, and I think these simplistic ideas of the Bible are pernicious distortions of the Incarnational faith of Christianity, as well as fundamentally at odds with the evidence of Scripture and logical consistency. In short, fundamentalism and inerrancy are part of a "Straw Man" argument that goes no where. 

Rather, I would encourage you to look at the Bible through the lens of evolution: The Jewish and Christian understanding of God, and God's will, and God's interactions with the world evolve over time. In older parts of the Hebrew Bible, God is clearly tribal and partisan, concerned above all with ritual purity. In newer parts of the Hebrew Bible, God is more universal and benevolent, concerned above all with moral virtue and social justice. In the Christian parts of the Bible, this God is somehow uniquely disclosed in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, although New Testament sources are at subtle odds about exactly HOW Jesus does this, and exactly WHO Jesus is. 

And to complicate all of these matters even further, the "older" and "newer" portions of Scripture are not listed "in order", so that you can read from front to back and get a clear sense of this evolution of Jewish and Christian views of religion. In some books, newer and older views are compiled side by side (as in portions of Genesis and Psalms, for instance). And when you get into the New Testament, many of the "letters" of Paul are written prior to when the "gospels" of Matthew, Luke, and John were written. Mark's Gospel may be closer to Paul, but scholars are divided. In fact, scholars and historians of equal training are often divided about every aspect of the Biblical writings, from when books were written, to why, to what it means for us today. There is often a general consensus on broad outlines of Biblical scholarship, with strong disagreements on details.

So, it makes a fun, rewarding, and even inspirational mental jigsaw puzzle to put it all together and present a coherent picture of the evolution of Jewish and Christian religion. If you think that the Bible is part of the broader development of human civilizations, and perhaps even part of God's self disclosure across history in many societies, then it makes it even more fascinating. Put this developmental understanding of Scripture within the even larger picture of the evolution of human religions across cultures, and you will glimpse why I remain fascinated by this subject after 25 years of study (and personal spiritual evolution!).

KINDS OF BIBLE TRANSLATIONS

So with that preface in place, let me offer my suggestions for the journey:

In the English speaking world, the scholarly standard, accepted by most Protestants (except Evangelicals and Fundamentalists), and also acceptable to Catholics and Orthodox, is the New Revised Standard Version [NRSV]. If you want to listen to it instead of read it, try this playlist.

The Roman Catholic Church also has a very reputable, readable, and scholarly translation called the NABRE: New American Bible Revised Edition. 

For a more Jewish-centric look at the "Old Testament" or rather "Hebrew Bible", read the Jewish Publication Society [JPS] Tanakh.

All three of these translations are "idiomatic", choosing to render Scripture into English in a "thought-for-thought" and "phrase-by-phrase" way, rather than a literal "word-for-word" way. In many ways, a word-for-word translation is actually less accurate, despite being a 1:1 correlation from original to translation, because Greek and Hebrew word order differs vastly from English, and because ancient idioms make no sense when rendered into literal English.

None of this is to say that you should call for an exorcism if someone brings you another translation of the Bible. Just be aware that the editorial teams of other Bibles are usually much narrower and more sectarian, and their translations reflect that. As you know, there are a bewildering number of Bible translations out there, all suited to some need or theological framework.

And not only is there a difference in theological bias, there is also a difference in translation philosophy. Some texts strive for "literal" word-for-word translations, while others strive for "idiomatic" idea-by-idea translations, while on the far end, some are are "paraphrases" which insert a lot of interpretation and theology into the "text" of the Bible. Here are some popular translations, and my brief notes on them.

• KJV. The King James, or "Authorized" translation. The grandfather of English Bible, produced in 1611. Great at the time, but wildly inaccurate in some of the older manuscripts it translated from, as well as poor understandings of the meanings of some words.
• NKJV. The "new" KJV written in the 1970's to try and update the classic. So it has all the textual and linguistic flaws of the original, but with updated language.
• NIV. New International Version. A personal favorite of mine that I grew up on as an Evangelical. Most of the verses I have memorized off the top of my head come from the NIV. It is "idiomatic" and very readable, but it definitely skews some translations in an Evangelical Protestant direction.
• NASB. New American Standard Bible. Woodenly literal, word-for-word. Written for Fundamentalist Protestants. Ugly translation, but fairly accurate.
• ESV. The English Standard Version. This sought to create a version of the Bible friendly to Evangelical theology, and bring together the accuracy of the NASB and readability of the NIV, but it really did neither. I really tried to like this "literal-idiomatic" translation, but found that it reads really poorly in Church and classroom.
• NAB. New American Bible. The older version of the NABRE above. The NABRE is superior to the NAB in readability and accuracy.
• Living Bible and New Living Bible [NLB]. Often inaccurate paraphrases interpreted for Evangelicals from the King James Bible, with secondary reference to original texts. I would stay away.
• The Message. A poetic paraphrase by a Liberal Evangelical named Eugene Peterson. Wonderful and inspirational as commentary on the Bible, but not reliable as a text of the Bible.
• HCSB or CSB. The [Holman] Christian Standard Bible. Not standard in any sense of the word. This is a fairly literal translation made by American Southern Baptists to validate Southern Baptist theology.
• NET. New English Translation. This is very scholarly and heavily footnoted, but made by scholars of a very Conservative Evangelical variety. If you do not know the original languages, but want insight into the original languages, this Bible features some of the best linguistic study notes in the history of Biblical scholarship. Just be aware that they tend to minimize data that does not cohere to their scholarly opinions.
• CEB. The Common English Bible. This is an attempt by scholars of the NRSV variety to make a version of the Bible that is as reliable as the NRSV, but which reads on a 6th grade reading level. Overall, pretty good, but some parts read a bit kitschy for my taste.
• NWT. The New World Translation. You will see this around in hotels and used book stores, placed there by a group called "Jehovah's Witnesses" [JWs]. I include this as an extreme version of theological manipulation of translation. Since the JWs do not believe Jesus is part of God or the incarnation of God, they have blatantly ignored Greek grammar in their translation to systematically get rid of references to Christ's divinity.

STUDY HELPS AND STRATEGIES FOR NEW BIBLE READERS

As far as helps in understanding the culture and history surrounding the Biblical books, at our school, we have students read this slim volume: The Abingdon Introduction to the Bible: Understanding Jewish and Christian Scripture (ed. by Kaminsky, et al.). It is probably the best on the market for a brief orientation to the historical, cultural, and literary context that each Bible book brings.

There is also a volume I have used before that is written by a Roman Catholic Philosopher named Peter Kreeft entitled "You Can Understand The Bible". It is more philosophical and theological, less cultural and scholarly, but it can be helpful for framing things as well. 

And finally: Tired of reading? Want to watch something that is scholarly and accurate on the Bible, but also fairly engaging and entertaining and animated? Then you are in luck! A group of Liberal Evangelical Bible scholars on the West Coast have created "The Bible Project" in which they give quick, scholarly, animated, non-sectarian overviews of the Bible from a Christian perspective. They have intro and summary videos for every book of the Bible, and are very helpful. And if you want to listen to the Bible instead of read it, try this playlist.

Last but not least, how should you start reading? This is a bit like asking how to eat an Elephant: One bite at a time. 

Starting in Genesis and going to Revelation is tough for most people. They start off strong with the fun narratives of Patriarchs and Matriarchs, and then stall out somewhere in Numbers (where the Bible is literally reciting ancient census numbers). Then they never pick up again. 

So I am tempted to say this: Start with the New Testament. Read Matthew through Revelation. Then go back and start in Genesis. That kind of "end to beginning" method is one route that might keep interest.

Another way might be to read the Narrative books of the Bible first, then go back and read the less narrative. This strategy might look like this: Genesis, Exodus, Judges, Joshua, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Ruth, Esther, Daniel, Judith, Tobit, 1-2 Maccabees, then Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts. Then go back and fill in the largely "non-narrative" books in between and after. That would give you the broad narrative sweep of the Bible first, before looking at laws and letters and prophecies.

A final way to do this is to actually stick to a reading plan. Some personality types love this. Others hate this. I developed a reading plan for myself I will share with you. And here I will end, and leave it to you to decide where to go next.

A DAILY READING GUIDE FOR THE BIBLE

This Daily Bible Reading guide [click HERE for PDF handout] covers every chapter of the Bible (including commonly accepted Deuterocanonical texts). I developed this guide based on a few frustrations I have encountered with other reading guides:

First of all, many reading guides are too "Protestant". They omit many books from the Old Testament that have been accepted as beneficial, even inspired, by most Christians through most of history. The books commonly called the "Apocrypha" or "Deuterocanonicals"-- including such works as Judith, Tobit, the Maccabees, Wisdom and Sirach-- are not only part of modern Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles, they were also part of the Greek Old Testament of the first centuries of the Church. Thus, the Deuterocanonical books have been restored to this guide.

Secondly, most reading guides tend to go through the Bible in canonical order (i.e. the order of the table of contents). While this can be beneficial, it has at least two drawbacks: Some thematically similar writings do not get grouped together which work well together, while other writings do not appear in chronological order which make a great deal of sense when read in the order they were written. In addition, most reading plans for the New Testament tend to group the stories of Jesus' life (the Gospels) all at the front of the year (in canonical order). All of these concerns have been dealt with as described below.

This system of Bible readings which covers every chapter of the Old Testament, New Testament, and Deuterocanonical texts every six months. It is divided into three "tracks", designed to allow the reader to read through the entire Bible systematically. 

Track "A" will take the reader through the History and Laws of the OT in 6 months, reading 3 chapters per day. Track "B" goes through the OT Psalms, Wisdom literature, and Prophets in 6 months, reading 3 chapters per day. The prophetic readings are arranged basically in chronological order of when the prophets wrote, from earliest to latest. Track "C" takes the reader through the NT in 6 months, reading 1-2 chapters per day. The NT readings are arranged in topical order according to the authorship or main thematic concerns in the texts. 

If one does the three tracks sequentially, in 1-3 chapters a day the Bible will be finished in 1 1/2 years. If all 3 tracks are read at once, the Bible will be finished in 6 months at 7-8 chapters per day. Or, in 4-5 chapters per day, one can read the NT twice in a year, and the OT once. 

If you want to use the reading guide, you can bookmark this, cut and paste it into your own document, or download a two-page handout version HERE.

Track A: OT History and Laws of the OT in 6 months, reading 3 chapters per day. 
Track B: OT Psalms, Wisdom, and Prophets in 6 months, reading 3 chapters per day. 
Track C: NT in 6 months, reading 1-2 chapters per day.

		JAN/JUL	FEB/AUG	MAR/SEP	APR/OCT	MAY/NOV	JUN/DEC
1	A	Gen 1-3	Lev 1-3	Deu 28-30	2Sa 4-6	1Ch 23-25	Tob 7-9
1	B	Job 1-3	Sir 6-8	Psa 37-39	Psa 127-129	Isa 35-37	Jer 50-52
1	C	Joh 1	1Pe 1,2	2Co 2,3	Luk 8,9	Act 28	Heb 6,7
2	A	Gen 4-6	Lev 4-6	Deu 31-33	2Sa 7-9	1Ch 26-28	Tob 10-12
2	B	Job 4-6	Sir 9-11	Psa 40-42	Psa 130-132	Isa 38-40	Bar 1-3
2	C	Joh 2,3	1Pe 3	2Co 4	Luk 10	1Ti 1,2	Heb 8
3	A	Gen 7-9	Lev 7-9	Deu 34, Jos 1-2	2Sa 10-12	1Ch 29, 2Ch 1-2	Tob 13-14, Ezr 1
3	B	Job 7-9	Sir 12-14	Psa 43-45	Psa 133-135	Isa 41-43	Bar 4-6
3	C	Joh 4	1Pe 4,5	2Co 5,6	Luk 11,12	1Ti 3	Heb 9,10
4	A	Gen 10-12	Lev 10-12	Jos 3-5	2Sa 13-15	2Ch 3-5	Ezr 2-4
4	B	Job 10-12	Sir 15-17	Psa 46-48	Psa 136-138	Isa 44-46	Lam 1-3
4	C	Joh 5,6	2Pe 1	2Co 7	Luk 13	1Ti 4,5	Heb 11
5	A	Gen 13-15	Lev 13-15	Jos 6-8	2Sa 16-18	2Ch 6-8	Ezr 5-7
5	B	Job 13-15	Sir 18-20	Psa 49-51	Psa 139-141	Isa 47-49	Lam 4-5, Oba
5	C	Joh 7	2Pe 2,3	2Co 8,9	Luk 14,15	1Ti 6	Heb 12,13
6	A	Gen 16-18	Lev 16-18	Jos 9-11	2Sa 19-21	2Ch 9-11	Ezr 8-10
6	B	Job 16-18	Sir 21-23	Psa 52-54	Psa 142-144	Isa 50-52	Eze 1-3
6	C	Joh 8,9	Jude	2Co 10	Luk 16	Tit 1,2	Col 1
7	A	Gen 19-21	Lev 19-21	Jos 12-14	2Sa 22-24	2Ch 12-14	Neh 1-3
7	B	Job 19-21	Sir 24-26	Psa 55-57	Psa 145-147	Isa 53-55	Eze 4-6
7	C	Joh 10	Rom 1,2	2Co 11,12	Luk 17,18	Tit 3	Col 2,3
8	A	Gen 22-24	Lev 22-24	Jos 15-17	1Ki 1-3	2Ch 15-17	Neh 4-6
8	B	Job 22-24	Sir 27-29	Psa 58-60	Psa 148-150	Isa 56-58	Eze 7-9
8	C	Joh 11,12	Rom 3	2Co 13	Luk 19	Mat 1,2	Col 4
9	A	Gen 25-27	Lev 25-27	Jos 18-20	1Ki 4-6	2Ch 18-20	Neh 7-9
9	B	Job 25-27	Sir 30-32	Psa 61-63	Psa 151, Hos 1	Isa 59-61	Eze 10-12
9	C	Joh 13	Rom 4,5	Eph 1,2	Luk 20,21	Mat 3,4	Jam 1,2
10	A	Gen 28-30	Num 1-3	Jos 21-23	1Ki 7-9	2Ch 21-23	Neh 10-12
10	B	Job 28-30	Sir 33-35	Psa 64-66	Hos 2-4	Isa 62-64	Eze 13-15
10	C	Joh 14,15	Rom 6	Eph 3	Luk 22	Mat 5	Jam 3
11	A	Gen 31-33	Num 4-6	Jos 24, Jdg 1-2	1Ki 10-12	2Ch 24-26	Neh 13, 1Es 1-2
11	B	Job 31-33	Sir 36-38	Psa 67-69	Hos 5-7	Isa 65-66, Nah 1	Eze 16-18
11	C	Joh 16	Rom 7	Eph 4,5	Luk 23	Mat 6	Jam 4,5
12	A	Gen 34-36	Num 7-9	Jdg 3-5	1Ki 13-15	2Ch 27-29	1Es 3-5
12	B	Job 34-36	Sir 39-41	Psa 70-72	Hos 8-10	Nah 2-3, Hab 1	Eze 19-21
12	C	Joh 17,18	Rom 8	Eph 6	Luk 24	Mat 7	Gal 1
13	A	Gen 37-39	Num 10-12	Jdg 6-8	1Ki 16-18	2Ch 30-32	1Es 6-8
13	B	Job 37-39	Sir 42-44	Psa 73-75	Hos 11-13	Hab 2-3, Zep 1	Eze 22-24
13	C	Joh 19	Rom 9	Php 1,2	Act 1	Mat 8,9	Gal 2,3
14	A	Gen 40-42	Num 13-15	Jdg 9-11	1Ki 19-21	2Ch 33-35, Pma	1Es 9, 1Ma 1-2
14	B	Job 40-42	Sir 45-47	Psa 76-78	Hos 14, Amo 1-2	Zep 2-3, Jer 1	Eze 25-27
14	C	Joh 20	Rom 10,11	Php 3	Act 2,3	Mat 10,11	Gal 4
15	A	Gen 43-45	Num 16-18	Jdg 12-14	1Ki 22, 2Ki 1-2	2Ch 36, Jdt 1-2	1Ma 3-5
15	B	Pro 1-3	Sir 48-50	Psa 79-81	Amo 3-5	Jer 2-4	Eze 28-30
15	C	Joh 21	Rom 12	Php 4	Act 4	Mat 12	Gal 5,6
16	A	Gen 46-48	Num 19-21	Jdg 15-17	2Ki 3-5	Jdt 3-5	1Ma 6-8
16	B	Pro 4-6	Sir 51, Sos 1-2	Psa 82-84	Amo 6-8	Jer 5-7	Eze 31-33
16	C	1Jo 1,2	Rom 13,14	1Th 1,2	Act 5,6	Mat 13,14	Rev 1
17	A	Gen 49-50, Exo 1	Num 22-24	Jdg 18-20	2Ki 6-8	Jdt 6-8	1Ma 9-11
17	B	Pro 7-9	Sos 3-5	Psa 85-87	Amo 9, Mic 1-2	Jer 8-10	Eze 34-36
17	C	1Jo 3	Rom 15	1Th 3	Act 7	Mat 15	Rev 2,3
18	A	Exo 2-4	Num 25-27	Jdg 21, Rut 1-2	2Ki 9-11	Jdt 9-11	1Ma 12-14
18	B	Pro 10-12	Sos 6-8	Psa 88-90	Mic 3-5	Jer 11-13	Eze 37-39
18	C	1Jo 4,5	Rom 16	1Th 4,5	Act 8,9	Mat 16,17	Rev 4
19	A	Exo 5-7	Num 28-30	Rut 3-4, 1Sa 1	2Ki 12-14	Jdt 12-14	1Ma 15-16, 2Ma 1
19	B	Pro 13-15	Psa 1-3	Psa 91-93	Mic 6-7, Isa 1	Jer 14-16	Eze 40-42
19	C	2-3Jo	1Co 1,2	2Th 1	Act 10	Mat 18	Rev 5,6
20	A	Exo 8-10	Num 31-33	1Sa 2-4	2Ki 15-17	Jdt 15-16, Dan 1	2Ma 2-4
20	B	Pro 16-18	Psa 4-6	Psa 94-96	Isa 2-4	Jer 17-19	Eze 43-45
20	C	Mar 1	1Co 3	2Th 2,3	Act 11,12	Mat 19,20	Rev 7
21	A	Exo 11-13	Num 34-36	1Sa 5-7	2Ki 18-20	Dan 2-4	2Ma 5-7
21	B	Pro 19-21	Psa 7-9	Psa 97-99	Isa 5-7	Jer 20-22	Eze 46-48
21	C	Mar 2,3	1Co 4,5	2Ti 1	Act 13	Mat 21	Rev 8,9
22	A	Exo 14-16	Deu 1-3	1Sa 8-10	2Ki 21-23	Dan 5-7	2Ma 8-10
22	B	Pro 22-24	Psa 10-12	Psa 100-102	Isa 8-10	Jer 23-25	Jon 1-3
22	C	Mar 4	1Co 6	2Ti 2,3	Act 14,15	Mat 22,23	Rev 10
23	A	Exo 17-19	Deu 4-6	1Sa 11-13	2Ki 24-25, 1Ch 1	Dan 8-10	2Ma 11-13
23	B	Pro 25-27	Psa 13-15	Psa 103-105	Isa 11-13	Jer 26-28	Jon 4, Hag 1-2
23	C	Mar 5,6	1Co 7,8	2Ti 4	Act 16	Mat 24	Rev 11
24	A	Exo 20-22	Deu 7-9	1Sa 14-16	1Ch 2-4	Dan 11-12, S3c	2Ma 14-15, Wis 1
24	B	Pro 28-30	Psa 16-18	Psa 106-108	Isa 14-16	Jer 29-31	Zec 1-3
24	C	Mar 7	1Co 9	Phm	Act 17,18	Mat 25,26	Rev 12,13
25	A	Exo 23-25	Deu 10-12	1Sa 17-19	1Ch 5-7	Bel, Sus, Est 1	Wis 2-4
25	B	Pro 31, Ecc 1-2	Psa 19-21	Psa 109-111	Isa 17-19	Jer 32-34	Zec 4-6
25	C	Mar 8,9	1Co 10,11	Luk 1	Act 19	Mat 27	Rev 14,15
26	A	Exo 26-28	Deu 13-15	1Sa 20-22	1Ch 8-10	Est 2-4	Wis 5-7
26	B	Ecc 3-5	Psa 22-24	Psa 112-114	Isa 20-22	Jer 35-37	Zec 7-9
26	C	Mar 10	1Co 12	Luk 2,3	Act 20,21	Mat 28	Rev 16
27	A	Exo 29-31	Deu 16-18	1Sa 23-25	1Ch 11-13	Est 5-7	Wis 8-10
27	B	Ecc 6-8	Psa 25-27	Psa 115-117	Isa 23-25	Jer 38-40	Zec 10-12
27	C	Mar 11,12	1Co 13	Luk 4	Act 22	Heb 1	Rev 17
28	A	Exo 32-34	Deu 19-21	1Sa 26-28	1Ch 14-16	Est 8-10	Wis 11-13
28	B	Ecc 9-11	Psa 28-30	Psa 118-120	Isa 26-28	Jer 41-43	Zec 13-14, Joe 1
28	C	Mar 13	1Co 14	Luk 5	Act 23,24	Heb 2	Rev 18
29	A	Exo 35-37	Deu 22-24	1Sa 29-31	1Ch 17-19	Tob 1-3	Wis 14-16
29	B	Ecc 12, Sir 1-2	Psa 31-33	Psa 121-123	Isa 29-31	Jer 44-46	Joe 2-3, Mal 1
29	C	Mar 14,15	1Co 15,16	Luk 6	Act 25	Heb 3,4	Rev 19,20
30	A	Exo 38-40	Deu 25-27	2Sa 1-3	1Ch 20-22	Tob 4-6	Wis 17-19
30	B	Sir 3-5	Psa 34-36	Psa 124-126	Isa 32-34	Jer 47-49	Mal 2-4
30	C	Mar 16	2Co 1	Luk 7	Act 26,27	Heb 5	Rev 21,22

If you want to use the reading guide, you can bookmark this, cut and paste it into your own document, or download a two-page handout version HERE. And if you want to listen to the Bible instead of read it, try this playlist.

And if you made it to the very end of this, here is an Easter Egg for those who may have learned Greek or Hebrew, and want to keep their skills up. I have compiled a Greek-Hebrew-English Bible reader, with about 60 Greek and Hebrew Scriptures which I consider to be crucial to understanding the unfolding message of the Bible, as it evolved and developed over time. The preface to this reader discusses my own philosophy of translation and interpretation. If you would find that helpful, you can find it here.