Bible Reading Path

A life-changing adventure

Walking is used in the Bible as a picture for the Christian life, and one of the most important things you can do as part of your walk with God is read His Word. He uses Scripture to make us aware of His presence with us, to speak to us, and to guide us.

We’ve created a reading path that leads you through the whole of the Bible at the pace you choose. Sometimes you might want to walk a bit more quickly, sometimes you’ll want to slow down and explore more deeply.

Choose your route

We’ve arranged the books of the Bible into four routes: you can choose how many of these you want to do at the same time.

The Old Testament is in three equal parts that are in roughly chronological order. For the New Testament, the four gospels are spread throughout the route, and each is followed by letters arranged in thematic groups (this idea comes from The Books of the Bible, published by Hodder & Stoughton).

Although we’ve put the psalms in Part 2 of the Old Testament, they are such a great resource for worship and prayer that we’d recommend including them alongside whatever route you’ve chosen. For example, you could stick to your route on weekdays and read psalms at the weekends. If you want a day-by-day guide for 2025, with Part 1 of the Old Testament, the psalms, and the New Testament, you can download it here.

For help on the journey, see below the routes and this page.

Old Testament, part 1: Beginnings

The story begins with creation, then humanity’s fall into sin, God choosing a family to be His miraculous people of hope for the world, and that family becoming a kingdom, Israel.

Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel

Old Testament, part 2: Kingdom

Israel’s successes under Kings David and Solomon are eclipsed by sin, division and eventual exile from the land as punishment. This part also includes the wisdom literature produced by God’s people, and the prophets who spoke during this time.

2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
Job
Isaiah
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah

Old Testament, part 3: Exile

The story of the kingdom is reiterated and we find out what happened during the exile and how God brought His people back into the promised land. Along with these narratives, there are prophetic books from this era too.

1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Esther
Ezra
Haggai
Zechariah
Nehemiah
Malachi

New Testament: Fulfilment

400 years after the last events of the Old Testament, Jesus comes to earth to fulfil all of God’s plans. Following His death, resurrection and ascension, the church is born. Finally, the Revelation shows us how what began in Genesis 1 will come to an end, and God’s eternal purposes will be realised.

Luke
Acts
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Romans
Colossians
Ephesians
Philemon
Philippians
1 Timothy
Titus
2 Timothy

Matthew
Hebrews
James

Mark
1 Peter
2 Peter
Jude

John
1 John
2 John
3 John
Revelation

Get started

Leaning to read God’s word day after day requires a plan. Think about when you could stop everything else and spend ten minutes or more with God and His Word, and try to keep this as an appointment. You might need help from people you live with to make this happen, and you may have to come up with a different kind of rhythm if work patterns or other non-negotiable life factors mean you can’t have a fixed time.

Give God your full attention (turn off distractions) and pray, for example, that He would open your eyes to see wonderful things in His Word and give you ears to hear what He is saying (Psalm 119:18 and Matthew 11:15).

Read carefully – just the text to start with, rather than any study tools. If you have time, read through for a second time. Follow this with thinking and praying. Questions like these can help:

  • What does this tell me about God: What is He like? What matters to Him? What has He done, what is He doing, what will He do?
  • What does this mean for me: How do I need to respond to God? What do I need to start doing, or stop doing?

If a certain truth about God, or a word or phrase or idea or person has grabbed your attention, focus on that. Explore what you’re thinking, savour what God is saying or showing you, speak with Him about it. The point isn’t to have understood and learnt everything possible but to have heard or seen something, and to have responded to God.

Travel with others

Reading the Bible by yourself is an excellent thing to do, but it’s even better to encourage and learn from others as you read through the same thing together.

Form a group who commit to meet regularly to talk about God’s Word and use questions like these to get good conversations started:

  • What have you learned about God: What is He like? What matters to Him? What has He done, what is He doing, what will He do?
  • What has the reading meant for you: How do you need to respond to God? What do you need to do, or stop doing?
  • Has something you read stuck with you? What do you think God might be saying to you through that?
  • What have you found most wonderful?
  • What have you found most difficult?

Help on the journey

Reading the Bible can be challenging. As well as our natural weaknesses, some things we read are simply difficult to understand (2 Peter 3:16), some things are too deep for us to truly comprehend (Psalm 139:6), and many trouble us because our thoughts and actions are not aligned with God (Isaiah 55:8). Please don’t give up: all of us experience this and it can be at these times that we learn most effectively.

Here are some things you can do when this happens:

  • Ask the Holy Spirit to help you.
  • Speak to a Christian friend or church leader.
  • Explore the database of helpful resources on every book of the Bible that we have put together here. There are free videos, articles and podcasts, as well as lists of helpful books and websites for going deeper in your understanding of and trust in the Bible.

The more you read God’s Word, the more you will learn about Him, and the more you will see the big story and themes in it. This will help you to understand what’s happening in the passages you read each day. It can only happen over time, so keep persevering.

Get help with every book of the Bible