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 guide us.

We’ve created a Bible 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.

For lots more practical help with starting to read the Bible, please see our “Reading God’s Word Together” resource.

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 year, and each is followed by letters arranged in thematic groups (this idea comes from The Books of the Bible, published by Hodder & Stoughton).

By the way, 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. You could read them at the weekends, for example.

You can get free resources to introduce each book of the Bible here.

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