How long does it take to read the New Testament? Minutes per book and 30, 40 or 90-day plans
How long does it take to read the New Testament? About 12.6 hours at average speed. See minutes for all 27 books and a ready 30-day plan from KJV counts.
In this article
- How long does the New Testament take at different speeds?
- How long does each book of the New Testament take to read?
- How long does each section of the New Testament take?
- Plans to read the New Testament in 30, 40, 90 or 260 days
- A 30-day New Testament reading plan
- How to read the New Testament faster without skimming
- Should you read the New Testament in order?
- Frequently asked questions
Reading the New Testament takes about 12 hours and 40 minutes at an average adult reading speed of 238 words per minute. We counted 180,568 words in its 27 books and 260 chapters (KJV), so a slower reader at 200 words per minute needs about 15 hours, and reading it aloud takes about 16 and a half hours. At 25 minutes a day, you can finish in 30 days.
That makes the New Testament the most realistic "whole thing" goal for someone who has never read the Bible through. It's less than a quarter of the Bible by length, and it's where you meet Jesus most directly.
Below: the reading time of each of the 27 books, the time for each section (Gospels, Acts, letters, Revelation), and plans for 30, 40, 90 and 260 days, including a day-by-day 30-day schedule.
How long does the New Testament take at different speeds?
| Reading speed | Whole New Testament | Per average chapter |
|---|---|---|
| 183 wpm (average reading aloud) | 16 h 27 min | 3.8 min |
| 200 wpm (careful KJV reading) | 15 h 03 min | 3.5 min |
| 238 wpm (average silent reading, non-fiction) | 12 h 39 min | 2.9 min |
| 260 wpm (average silent reading, fiction) | 11 h 34 min | 2.7 min |
| 300 wpm (fast reader) | 10 h 02 min | 2.3 min |
The 183, 238 and 260 figures are the averages reported in a 2019 review of 190 reading studies by Marc Brysbaert in the Journal of Memory and Language (summary by the British Psychological Society). The 200 and 300 rows are our own planning assumptions.
Word counts come from the KJV text in the Bible Academy app. They include the short notes printed after several of Paul's letters (Hebrews 13:25 ends "Written to the Hebrews from Italy by Timothy"), which add a few hundred words. For the method and the whole Bible, see how long does it take to read the Bible.
How long does each book of the New Testament take to read?
Use this table to see which books fit into one sitting. Times are rounded to the nearest minute.
| Book | Chapters | Words (KJV) | At 200 wpm | At 238 wpm | Aloud (183 wpm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew | 28 | 23,684 | 1 h 58 min | 1 h 40 min | 2 h 09 min |
| Mark | 16 | 15,166 | 1 h 16 min | 1 h 04 min | 1 h 23 min |
| Luke | 24 | 25,939 | 2 h 10 min | 1 h 49 min | 2 h 22 min |
| John | 21 | 19,094 | 1 h 35 min | 1 h 20 min | 1 h 44 min |
| Acts | 28 | 24,245 | 2 h 01 min | 1 h 42 min | 2 h 12 min |
| Romans | 16 | 9,438 | 47 min | 40 min | 52 min |
| 1 Corinthians | 16 | 9,480 | 47 min | 40 min | 52 min |
| 2 Corinthians | 13 | 6,083 | 30 min | 26 min | 33 min |
| Galatians | 6 | 3,090 | 15 min | 13 min | 17 min |
| Ephesians | 6 | 3,030 | 15 min | 13 min | 17 min |
| Philippians | 4 | 2,193 | 11 min | 9 min | 12 min |
| Colossians | 4 | 1,989 | 10 min | 8 min | 11 min |
| 1 Thessalonians | 5 | 1,847 | 9 min | 8 min | 10 min |
| 2 Thessalonians | 3 | 1,032 | 5 min | 4 min | 6 min |
| 1 Timothy | 6 | 2,260 | 11 min | 9 min | 12 min |
| 2 Timothy | 4 | 1,694 | 8 min | 7 min | 9 min |
| Titus | 3 | 915 | 5 min | 4 min | 5 min |
| Philemon | 1 | 439 | 2 min | 2 min | 2 min |
| Hebrews | 13 | 6,905 | 35 min | 29 min | 38 min |
| James | 5 | 2,304 | 12 min | 10 min | 13 min |
| 1 Peter | 5 | 2,476 | 12 min | 10 min | 14 min |
| 2 Peter | 3 | 1,553 | 8 min | 7 min | 8 min |
| 1 John | 5 | 2,517 | 13 min | 11 min | 14 min |
| 2 John | 1 | 298 | 1 min | 1 min | 2 min |
| 3 John | 1 | 294 | 1 min | 1 min | 2 min |
| Jude | 1 | 608 | 3 min | 3 min | 3 min |
| Revelation | 22 | 11,995 | 1 h 00 min | 50 min | 1 h 06 min |
Three quick takeaways from the list. Luke is the longest New Testament book (25,939 words, about 1 h 49 min at average speed), slightly ahead of Acts and Matthew. Romans, the longest letter, takes about 40 minutes. And seventeen books, every letter from Galatians to Jude except Hebrews, take less than 15 minutes each, so you can read a whole letter the way its first readers heard it: in one go.
How long does each section of the New Testament take?
The New Testament falls into five sections. Thinking in sections helps you plan: the Gospels are the long stretch, the letters go fast.
| Section | Books | Chapters | Words | At 238 wpm | At 200 wpm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gospels (Matthew–John) | 4 | 89 | 83,883 | 5 h 52 min | 6 h 59 min |
| Acts | 1 | 28 | 24,245 | 1 h 42 min | 2 h 01 min |
| Paul's letters (Romans–Philemon) | 13 | 87 | 43,490 | 3 h 03 min | 3 h 37 min |
| Hebrews and the general letters | 8 | 34 | 16,955 | 1 h 11 min | 1 h 25 min |
| Revelation | 1 | 22 | 11,995 | 50 min | 1 h 00 min |
The four Gospels are 46% of the New Testament's words. Once you've finished John, you're nearly halfway, even though you've read only 4 of the 27 books.
If you're unsure where to begin, Mark is the shortest Gospel (about 64 minutes) and moves fast. Read the Mark book summary first, or start with the Gospel of John, written so "that ye might believe":
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.
The app's reading plan lets you pick 1 to 5 chapters a day and shows your finish date on a calendar, with a short quiz after each reading.
Plans to read the New Testament in 30, 40, 90 or 260 days
Pick the pace that fits your life now. You can always speed up later. Minutes are at 238 words per minute, with 200 wpm in brackets.
| Plan | Chapters a day | Minutes a day | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | about 8.7 | 25 min (30 min) | A focused month, a new year start |
| 40 days | about 6.5 | 19 min (23 min) | Lent, or a 40-day church challenge |
| 60 days | about 4.3 | 13 min (15 min) | A summer or a semester break |
| 90 days | about 2.9 | 8 min (10 min) | A steady first read-through |
| 260 days | 1 | 3 min (3.5 min) | One chapter every weekday for a year |
The last row is worth a second look. The New Testament has exactly 260 chapters, and a year has 52 weeks of 5 weekdays, which is 260 days. One chapter every Monday to Friday finishes the New Testament in exactly one year, with every weekend free to catch up or reread.
For a 90-day pace, three chapters a day is the simplest rule: it finishes in 87 days and leaves three spare days. For 40 days, read six or seven chapters a day; our Lent Bible reading plan uses that rhythm. For a full schedule and other options, see the New Testament reading plan, and if 90 days of the whole Bible tempts you, read the 90-day Bible reading plan first. It takes about 37 minutes a day.
A 30-day New Testament reading plan
Here is a ready-made 30-day plan. Instead of a fixed number of chapters, each day has about the same amount of text (around 6,000 words), so no day is twice as long as another. Most days take 22 to 28 minutes at average speed.
| Day | Reading | Chapters | Time at 238 wpm |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew 1-9 | 9 | 26 min |
| 2 | Matthew 10-15 | 6 | 24 min |
| 3 | Matthew 16-23 | 8 | 27 min |
| 4 | Matthew 24-28 | 5 | 23 min |
| 5 | Mark 1-7 | 7 | 27 min |
| 6 | Mark 8-13 | 6 | 25 min |
| 7 | Mark 14-16; Luke 1-3 | 6 | 28 min |
| 8 | Luke 4-8 | 5 | 25 min |
| 9 | Luke 9-13 | 5 | 25 min |
| 10 | Luke 14-20 | 7 | 25 min |
| 11 | Luke 21-24; John 1-2 | 6 | 25 min |
| 12 | John 3-7 | 5 | 23 min |
| 13 | John 8-14 | 7 | 28 min |
| 14 | John 15-21; Acts 1 | 8 | 26 min |
| 15 | Acts 2-7 | 6 | 22 min |
| 16 | Acts 8-14 | 7 | 26 min |
| 17 | Acts 15-21 | 7 | 27 min |
| 18 | Acts 22-28 | 7 | 24 min |
| 19 | Romans 1-10 | 10 | 26 min |
| 20 | Romans 11-16; 1 Corinthians 1-6 | 12 | 26 min |
| 21 | 1 Corinthians 7-15 | 9 | 26 min |
| 22 | 1 Corinthians 16; 2 Corinthians 1-11 | 12 | 24 min |
| 23 | 2 Corinthians 12-13; Galatians 1-6; Ephesians 1-4 | 12 | 25 min |
| 24 | Ephesians 5-6; Philippians 1-4; Colossians 1-4; 1 Thessalonians 1-3 | 13 | 26 min |
| 25 | 1 Thessalonians 4-5; 2 Thessalonians 1-3; 1 Timothy 1-6; 2 Timothy 1-4; Titus 1 | 16 | 26 min |
| 26 | Titus 2-3; Philemon; Hebrews 1-10 | 13 | 24 min |
| 27 | Hebrews 11-13; James 1-5; 1 Peter 1-3 | 11 | 26 min |
| 28 | 1 Peter 4-5; 2 Peter 1-3; 1 John 1-5; 2 John; 3 John; Jude | 13 | 25 min |
| 29 | Revelation 1-11 | 11 | 24 min |
| 30 | Revelation 12-22 | 11 | 26 min |
Some days cross from one book into the next. That's on purpose: it keeps each day the same length. If you'd rather end on a book boundary, move the extra chapters to the next day.
A tip for days 23 to 28, where you read several short letters in one sitting: read the first verse of each letter aloud before you start it. It reminds you who is writing, to whom, and why, which makes the letters much easier to follow.
How to read the New Testament faster without skimming
You don't need speed-reading tricks. These small changes save real minutes:
- Read in longer sittings, fewer days. Two 25-minute readings a week cover more ground than seven 5-minute ones, because you don't spend the first minutes finding your place.
- Read the letters whole. Philippians takes about 9 minutes. Reading it in one go is faster and clearer than one chapter a day for four days.
- Watch a short overview first. BibleProject has free animated overviews of every book. Knowing the shape of a book before you start makes you a faster, surer reader.
- Don't stop for every question. Write your question in the margin or your notes and keep going. Many answers come a chapter later.
- Use a version you understand. The KJV is beautiful but slower for most modern readers. If the older wording blocks you, read alongside a modern translation.
And remember the goal isn't speed. The Bereans in Acts "searched the scriptures daily" (Acts 17:11). Reading every day at a steady pace beats a single heroic weekend.
These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Should you read the New Testament in order?
You don't have to. The order in our Bibles groups books by type, not by the date they were written. Many scholars date Paul's earliest letters before the Gospels were written down, though Christians hold a range of views on exact dates.
Three good options:
- In order, Matthew to Revelation. Simple, and the 30-day plan above follows it. The first 117 chapters (Gospels and Acts) tell the story; the letters then explain it.
- Mark first, then Acts, then the letters, then the other Gospels and Revelation. A fast way to get the whole story in the first two weeks.
- Letters alongside Acts. Read each of Paul's letters when Acts reaches that city: Philippians after Paul arrives in Philippi (Acts 16:12), 1 and 2 Thessalonians after Thessalonica (Acts 17:1). It turns the letters into real mail to real people.
Our guide to what order to read the Bible in compares these and the main whole-Bible orders. After the New Testament, test what stuck with our New Testament trivia questions, or take the Acts quiz.
Quick quiz: Mark
Where do the four men lower the paralytic down to Jesus?
Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, “they uncovered the roof where he was,” and let down the bed through the opening. Mark 2:3–4
What name does the unclean spirit in the country of the Gadarenes give?
Asked by Jesus, he answers: “My name is Legion: for we are many.” Mark 5:9
How much does the poor widow put into the temple treasury?
“She threw in two mites, which make a farthing”: all that she had, even all her living. Mark 12:42–44
There are many more questions like these in Bible Academy, each with its explanation and verse. Start free, no card needed.
If you'd rather not track the plan by hand, the app does it for you: pick your pace, keep your streak, and get a short quiz after each reading.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to read the New Testament?
About 12 hours and 40 minutes at the average adult silent reading speed of 238 words per minute. The KJV New Testament has 180,568 words in the text we counted. At a slower 200 words per minute it takes about 15 hours, and reading aloud at 183 words per minute takes about 16 and a half hours.
Can you read the New Testament in 30 days?
Yes. It takes about 8 to 9 chapters a day, or roughly 25 minutes at average speed (about 30 minutes at 200 words per minute). Balancing each day by words rather than chapters makes the days even. The 30-day plan on this page does that, with each day around 6,000 words.
How many chapters are in the New Testament?
The New Testament has 260 chapters in 27 books, with 7,957 verses in the KJV. The longest books by chapters are Matthew and Acts with 28 each. Four books have only one chapter: Philemon, 2 John, 3 John and Jude.
How long does it take to read the four Gospels?
About 5 hours 52 minutes at 238 words per minute, or 7 hours at 200. Mark is the shortest at about an hour; Luke is the longest at about 1 hour 49 minutes. The Gospels have 89 chapters and make up about 46% of the New Testament's words, so finishing them puts you almost halfway through.
How long does it take to read the New Testament one chapter a day?
One chapter a day takes 260 days, about 8 and a half months, at roughly 3 minutes a day. If you read one chapter only on weekdays, you'll finish in exactly 52 weeks, because the New Testament has the same number of chapters as a year has weekdays: 260.
What is the shortest book in the New Testament?
By words, 3 John is the shortest book in the KJV New Testament, with 294 words, just under 2 John's 298. Both take about a minute and a quarter to read. 2 John has 13 verses and 3 John has 14, so 2 John has fewer verses but slightly more words.