Bible Reading Plan for Beginners: 30, 60 or 90 Days

The best Bible reading plan for beginners is short, starts with Jesus, and asks for about five minutes a day. Pick one of three starter plans by goal: 30 days to read the Gospels of Mark and John, 60 days for a guided tour of the Bible's big story, or 90 days through Luke, Acts and Genesis with a psalm each day.

All three plans are below in full, with exact chapters for every day. They're built from the King James text, with word counts so you know what each day costs. None of them asks you to read the whole Bible yet. That comes later, once the habit is real.

Why not start with a Bible in a year? You can. But a full-Bible plan asks for about three chapters a day for twelve months, and it puts you in Leviticus, a book many readers find hard going, by the end of January. A short plan you finish teaches you more than a long plan you abandon.

Which beginner Bible reading plan should you choose?

Choose by what you want, not by how ambitious you feel. Each plan has a different goal, and the daily time is similar.

Plan	Length	What you read	Goal	Avg. words per day	Approx. minutes per day
A. Meet Jesus	30 days	Mark, John (37 chapters)	Know who Jesus is and what he did	1,140	5
B. The big story	60 days	72 key chapters, Genesis to Revelation	See how the whole Bible fits together	980	4
C. Build the habit	90 days	Luke, Acts, Genesis + Psalms 1–90 (192 chapters)	Read whole books and make it daily	1,290	5–6

Minutes assume an average silent reading rate of about 238 words per minute, the figure from Marc Brysbaert's 2019 review of reading-speed studies (British Psychological Society summary). The King James Version is slower going for most people, so add a few minutes the first weeks.

If you have never read any of the Bible, start with Plan A. If you've read a Gospel before but feel lost in the Old Testament, start with Plan B. If you've tried and quit before, Plan C is designed to make reading a daily habit, with a short psalm on the days the main reading feels heavy. Our guide on where to start reading the Bible goes deeper on first books.

These three plans live on this page. If you'd rather skip ahead to the whole Bible, the app's reading plan hands you each day's chapters (you choose 1 to 5), keeps a streak and a calendar, and quizzes you briefly after each reading.

Plan A: Meet Jesus in 30 days (Mark and John)

Mark is the shortest Gospel, 16 chapters, and moves fast. It opens with "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God" (Mark 1:1) and doesn't slow down. John, 21 chapters, is slower and more reflective, and it tells you exactly why it was written:

But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

John 20:31 (KJV)

The days are balanced by length, so a few days have two short chapters.

Day	Reading	Day	Reading
1	Mark 1	16	John 2–3
2	Mark 2–3	17	John 4
3	Mark 4	18	John 5
4	Mark 5	19	John 6
5	Mark 6	20	John 7
6	Mark 7	21	John 8
7	Mark 8	22	John 9
8	Mark 9	23	John 10
9	Mark 10	24	John 11
10	Mark 11	25	John 12
11	Mark 12	26	John 13–14
12	Mark 13	27	John 15–16
13	Mark 14	28	John 17–18
14	Mark 15–16	29	John 19
15	John 1	30	John 20–21

What to watch for: in Mark, count how often people ask "who is this?" In John, notice the seven "I am" sayings (bread of life, light of the world, door, good shepherd, resurrection and life, way and truth and life, true vine). Before you start each book, the Mark book summary and John book summary give you the outline in two minutes.

Plan B: The big story of the Bible in 60 days

This plan is a guided tour. Instead of whole books, you read the 72 chapters where the story turns: creation, the fall, the promise to Abraham, the exodus, the kings, the exile, the return, Jesus, the church, and the new creation. Most days are a single chapter.

You won't read everything, and you'll skip some well-known passages. The goal is a map. Once you have it, every later reading has a place to land.

Day	Reading	What happens
1	Genesis 1	God creates the world
2	Genesis 2–3	Eden and the fall
3	Genesis 6–7	Noah and the flood
4	Genesis 11–12	Babel; God calls Abram
5	Genesis 15	God's covenant with Abram
6	Genesis 22	Abraham and Isaac on the mountain
7	Genesis 28	Jacob's ladder
8	Genesis 37	Joseph sold by his brothers
9	Genesis 41	Joseph rises to power in Egypt
10	Genesis 45	Joseph reveals himself
11	Exodus 1–2	Slavery and the birth of Moses
12	Exodus 3	The burning bush
13	Exodus 12	The Passover
14	Exodus 14	Crossing the Red Sea
15	Exodus 20	The Ten Commandments
16	Exodus 32	The golden calf
17	Leviticus 16	The Day of Atonement
18	Numbers 13–14	The twelve spies and 40 years in the wilderness
19	Deuteronomy 6	"Hear, O Israel"
20	Joshua 1	"Be strong and of a good courage"
21	Joshua 6	The fall of Jericho
22	Judges 2	The cycle of the judges
23	Ruth 1–2	Ruth's loyalty
24	Ruth 3–4	Boaz redeems
25	1 Samuel 3	God calls Samuel
26	1 Samuel 8	Israel demands a king
27	1 Samuel 16	David anointed
28	1 Samuel 17	David and Goliath
29	2 Samuel 7	God's promise to David
30	2 Samuel 11–12	David's sin and Nathan's rebuke
31	Psalm 23; Psalm 51	A shepherd's trust and a sinner's prayer
32	1 Kings 3	Solomon asks for wisdom
33	1 Kings 12	The kingdom splits
34	1 Kings 18	Elijah on Mount Carmel
35	2 Kings 17	The northern kingdom falls
36	Isaiah 6	"Here am I; send me"
37	Isaiah 53	The suffering servant
38	Jeremiah 31	The promise of a new covenant
39	2 Kings 25	Jerusalem falls
40	Daniel 6	Daniel in the lions' den
41	Ezra 1	The exiles go home
42	Nehemiah 8	Ezra reads the law to the people
43	Malachi 3–4	The Old Testament's last promise
44	Luke 1	Two births announced
45	Luke 2	Jesus is born
46	Mark 1	Jesus is baptized and begins his ministry
47	Matthew 5	The Sermon on the Mount begins
48	Matthew 6–7	The Lord's Prayer and the two foundations
49	Luke 15	The lost sheep, coin and son
50	John 3	Jesus and Nicodemus
51	John 11	Lazarus raised
52	Mark 14	The Last Supper and Gethsemane
53	Mark 15	The crucifixion
54	Luke 24	The resurrection and the road to Emmaus
55	Acts 2	Pentecost
56	Acts 9	Saul meets Jesus
57	Romans 3	All have sinned; justified by grace
58	Romans 8	No condemnation
59	1 Corinthians 15	The resurrection explained
60	Revelation 21–22	A new heaven and a new earth

Total: 72 chapters, about 58,900 words. On day 54, notice that the risen Jesus does exactly what this plan tries to do:

And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

Luke 24:27 (KJV)

Many of these days have a matching story page on Bible Academy, like the burning bush and the road to Emmaus, each with a short quiz.

Plan C: Build the habit in 90 days (Luke, Acts, Genesis and Psalms)

This plan has two parts each day: a main reading of about one chapter, and one psalm. Luke and Acts are a two-volume work by the same author, both addressed to Theophilus (Luke 1:3, Acts 1:1), so you read the life of Jesus and then the birth of the church as one story. Genesis follows, so you end at the beginning with fresh eyes.

The psalm is the anchor. On a busy day, read just the psalm and you've kept the habit.

Week	Days	Main reading	Psalms
1	1–7	Luke 1–7	Psalms 1–7
2	8–14	Luke 8–14	Psalms 8–14
3	15–21	Luke 15–21	Psalms 15–21
4	22–28	Luke 22–24; Acts 1–4	Psalms 22–28
5	29–35	Acts 5–11	Psalms 29–35
6	36–42	Acts 12–18	Psalms 36–42
7	43–49	Acts 19–25	Psalms 43–49
8	50–56	Acts 26–28; Genesis 1–7	Psalms 50–56
9	57–63	Genesis 8–19	Psalms 57–63
10	64–70	Genesis 20–28	Psalms 64–70
11	71–77	Genesis 29–36	Psalms 71–77
12	78–84	Genesis 37–43	Psalms 78–84
13	85–90	Genesis 44–50	Psalms 85–90

Each day, read one psalm (day 1 is Psalm 1, day 2 is Psalm 2, and so on) plus about one chapter of the main reading. In weeks 8 to 11 the Genesis chapters are shorter, so some days cover two. Total: 192 chapters, about 115,900 words, or roughly 1,290 words a day.

How to read as a beginner (the 3-step routine)

A plan tells you what to read. This routine tells you how, and it takes five extra minutes at most.

Read the chapter once, straight through. Don't stop for every unfamiliar word. Get the story first.
Ask one question. "What does this show me about God?" is enough. Our list of questions to ask when reading the Bible has more when you're ready.
Write one sentence. In a notebook or your phone. One sentence a day for 30 days is a summary of a whole Gospel in your own words.

Psalm 1 describes the kind of reader this routine slowly builds:

But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Psalms 1:2–3 (KJV)

About translations. Bible Academy's reader uses the King James Version and the American Standard Version. The KJV's "thee" and "thou" take a week or two to get used to, then it reads well. If you find it hard, our guide to reading the KJV explains the old forms that trip people up.

About missed days. You'll miss some. Don't double up the next day; just pick up where you are. Our guide on how to stay consistent reading the Bible covers the habits that matter most: same time, same place, a small daily target.

What to read after your starter plan

Finishing a 30 to 90-day plan is a real achievement. The next step is the whole Bible at a pace you can keep.

Next plan	Chapters per day	Time to finish the Bible	Good for
One chapter a day	1	1,189 days (about 3.3 years)	Very busy schedules
3 chapters a day	3	397 days (about 13 months)	The classic "Bible in a year" pace
Chronological plan	about 3.3	1 year	Seeing the story in historical order
90-day plan	about 13	90 days	An intense sprint, not for most beginners

Bible Academy's reading plan lets you set 1 to 5 chapters a day for the whole Bible (66 books, 1,189 chapters), with a calendar, a streak and progress tracking. After each reading there's a short quiz, and every answer is explained with the verse it comes from, so you can see what stuck.

Before you start Plan A, try three questions on Mark to see what you already know:

Quick quiz: Mark

Where do the four men lower the paralytic down to Jesus?

What name does the unclean spirit in the country of the Gadarenes give?

How much does the poor widow put into the temple treasury?

Continue the quiz

There are many more questions like these in Bible Academy, each with its explanation and verse. Start free, no card needed.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Bible reading plan for beginners?

For most beginners, the best plan is short and starts with a Gospel. Reading Mark and John over 30 days (37 chapters, about 5 minutes a day) introduces Jesus first. Then a 60-day tour of key chapters shows how the Old and New Testaments connect, and a full-Bible plan at 1 to 3 chapters a day comes after that.

Where should a beginner start reading the Bible?

Start with the Gospel of Mark or the Gospel of John. Mark is the shortest Gospel at 16 chapters and reads quickly. John explains its own purpose: "that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ" (John 20:31). Starting with Genesis is fine too, but many beginners stall in Leviticus a few weeks later.

How many chapters of the Bible should a beginner read a day?

One or two chapters a day is plenty for a beginner, which is about 5 minutes of reading. The average Bible chapter is roughly 665 words in the KJV. Consistency matters more than volume: reading one chapter every day builds the habit faster than reading five chapters twice a week.

Is it OK to read the Bible out of order?

Yes. The Bible is a library of 66 books, and nothing in it says it must be read from Genesis to Revelation in one pass. Starting with a Gospel, reading a tour of key chapters, or following a chronological order are all common and helpful. What matters is that you read whole passages in context.

How long does a beginner Bible reading plan take each day?

The three plans on this page take about 4 to 6 minutes a day at an average reading speed: roughly 980 to 1,290 words. Add a few minutes for the King James Version's older English, and a few more if you write one sentence about what you read.

What if I miss a day of my Bible reading plan?

Skip the guilt and skip the catch-up marathon. Read today's reading, not three days' worth. If you miss often, choose a lighter plan or read only the psalm on busy days (Plan C is built for that). A plan you finish late is better than one you quit.