How many books and chapters are in the Bible?

66 books and 1,189 chapters: 39 books and 929 chapters in the Old Testament, 27 books and 260 chapters in the New Testament.

How can I read the New Testament in a year?

Read one chapter each weekday. The New Testament has 260 chapters, and starting on January 1, 2027 you finish Revelation on December 30.

What if I fall behind?

You do not have to catch up all at once. Find where this month starts in the table, carry on from there and go back to what you missed when you have time.

2027 Bible Reading Plan: Read the Whole Bible in a Year

Q: How many chapters a day do I need to read the Bible in a year?

An average of 3.26. In practice, read three chapters a day and four on about one day in four, for 1,189 chapters in the year.

The Bible has 66 books and 1,189 chapters. Over the 365 days of 2027, that is an average of 3.26 chapters a day. In practice, read three chapters a day and four on about one day in four, in order from Genesis to Revelation, and you finish on December 31, 2027.

How the plan works

Read the books in the order they appear in the Bible, starting at Genesis 1.
Each month’s share follows the number of days in it: about 101 chapters for a 31-day month, about 98 for a 30-day month and 91 for February.
Read three chapters a day, and add a fourth on a few days to finish the month’s chapters by the end of the month.

2027 Bible reading plan, month by month

Month	Reading	Chapters
January	Genesis 1 – Leviticus 11	101
February	Leviticus 12 – Joshua 5	91
March	Joshua 6 – 1 Kings 2	101
April	1 Kings 3 – 2 Chronicles 24	98
May	2 Chronicles 25 – Psalm 14	101
June	Psalms 15 – 112	98
July	Psalm 113 – Isaiah 12	101
August	Isaiah 13 – Jeremiah 47	101
September	Jeremiah 48 – Obadiah	97
October	Jonah 1 – Luke 17	101
November	Luke 18 – 2 Corinthians 10	98
December	2 Corinthians 11 – Revelation 22	101

The twelve months add up to 1,189 chapters. The books in each month:

January: Genesis, Exodus, the first half of Leviticus.
February: the rest of Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, the start of Joshua.
March: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, the start of 1 Kings.
April: 1 and 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, the first part of 2 Chronicles.
May: the rest of 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, the start of Psalms.
June: Psalms.
July: the last 38 Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, the start of Isaiah.
August: Isaiah and most of Jeremiah.
September: the end of Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah.
October: Jonah to Malachi, Matthew, Mark, the first part of Luke.
November: the rest of Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, most of 2 Corinthians.
December: the end of 2 Corinthians, Galatians to Jude, Revelation.

How the table was worked out

For the end of each month, multiply 1,189 by the number of days so far in the year, divide by 365 and round to the nearest chapter. That tells you where you should be in the Bible. For example, June 30 is day 181, and 1,189 times 181, divided by 365, is about 590, so the first half of the year ends at chapter 590, which is Psalm 112. The chapters between two month-ends are that month’s reading.

June is all Psalms, and most psalms are short, so those days take less time. April covers Kings and Chronicles, with many names and dates, and a map or timeline helps.

A lighter plan: the New Testament in a year

If three chapters a day is too much, start with the New Testament. It has 27 books and 260 chapters. Read one chapter each weekday, Monday to Friday, and use the weekend to rest or catch up. 2027 has 261 weekdays, so starting on January 1 you finish Revelation on December 30.

Month	Reading	Chapters
January	Matthew 1 – 21	21
February	Matthew 22 – Mark 13	20
March	Mark 14 – Luke 20	23
April	Luke 21 – John 18	22
May	John 19 – Acts 18	21
June	Acts 19 – Romans 12	22
July	Romans 13 – 2 Corinthians 2	22
August	2 Corinthians 3 – Ephesians 5	22
September	Ephesians 6 – 1 Timothy 5	22
October	1 Timothy 6 – Hebrews 12	21
November	Hebrews 13 – Jude	22
December	Revelation 1 – 22	22

Each month’s chapters match its number of weekdays. Public holidays are not taken out.

Write one verse a day

After the day’s reading, choose one verse that stayed with you and write it out by hand. By the end of the year you will have a notebook of verses in the order of the Bible, all in your own handwriting.

If a year feels too long for now, start with one of the short scripture writing plans of 16 to 60 days.

Paper, or an app

Use any notebook, or print the free lined scripture writing page. Penned Grace lets you handwrite verses on iPhone, iPad or Android with Apple Pencil or your finger. The Berean Standard Bible is built in, your handwriting stays in the passage, and you can type when you don’t have a pen.