Bible Reading Programs

You can generate a Bible reading program customized to your own wishes. When you press "GENERATE" below, you can customize:

• The year you want to start the schedule (defaults to next year).
• The date when you want to start the schedule (defaults to Jan 1).
• Whether to generate an HTML file, which is used for printing in landscape mode or as a calendar or a CVV file. A CVV file will display on the screen and from there you can copy/paste it into a file on your computer. Then you can import the file into a spreadsheet, word processor or other program.
• The plan you want. A variety of plans are available for each of the Psalms/Proverbs/Ecc, Old Testament, and New Testament. You select the plan for each. You have the choice to select "None" for any of the three in which case your customized plan will not have that part.

Note: Some versions have Daniel and Ezekiel and Nehemiah read in a somewhat chronological order rather than sequentially.

NOTE: A new function has been added in 2021. You may ask for a list of verses for you copy into a notebook - the verses will be reandomly selected from each day's readings. You may select 0, 1, or 2 verses from each reading selection.

GENERATE Bible Reading Program

About the Reading Schedules

Bible reading programs show Bible readings for every day. The program was computer generated to attempt to balance the number of words in each day's readings. This program has been refined through a number of years to meet varying needs of Bible readers. The goal is to encourage readers to read entire books of the Bible and ultimately the entire Bible in order to gain the perspective which comes only from a complete reading. For example, there are many things which the Bible, or a particular book of the Bible, clearly state which are not in any one, single verse. Also, some concepts are taught by their absence, and a reader cannot know that the Bible never says something without having read the entire Bible!

This program has these design traits:

• Each day's reading is approximately the same length. There is a small bias to make easier reading like historical passages somewhat longer than more difficult readings like prophecies.
• By selecting the defaults, the entire Bible is read in one year. The Proverbs are read 4 times.
• Each day's reading has a reading from the Psalms or Proverbs, an Old Testament passage, and a New Testament passage unless specifically omitted (by selecting 'None'). This avoids the heaviness of spending most of the year reading just the Old Testament before getting to the New Testament!
• Books are read in roughly the order they are believed to have been written. An exception is that the 4 gospels are intentionally spread out over the year rather than clustered at the beginning.
• The boundaries of each day's passages are either chapter boundaries or the paragraph boundaries of the New American Standard Bible.

Hints for Bible Readers

• You can start anytime, not just on Jan 1!
• If you fall behind, it is OK to skip and pick up with the current day. Do not feel guilty. Jesus died that we can be free. Our human tendency is get behind, and then tell ourselves we will "catch up" one day and fall further behind because there is so much reading to do to "catch up". And then we eventually just quit. It is much better to just skip some and pick up with the current day!
• Many readers find that it helps to set aside a certain time of each day to read. This is different for different people! Some read first thing in the morning, some before going to bed, some at a certain break time in the day. Some read the different passages at different times.
• One delightful way to read at least one of the passages is to organize a small group and read that passage out loud, each person reading 1 or 2 verses in turn.