For many people, finding where to start reading in the Bible can be confusing or even overwhelming. If you are just starting out then this page is probably for you.

The first thing to remember is that the Bible is not one book. It is a library of sixty six books written over a period of about one thousand five hundred years and is divided into two main parts. These are called the “Old Testament” (OT) and the “New Testament” (NT). If you have a Bible in front of you, you will notice that the OT is much thicker than the NT. The OT contains thirty nine books while the NT contains twenty seven books.

The OT is a translation of the Hebrew Tanakh (The Jewish “Bible”) and the NT is about Jesus. The OT is about the covenant God had with his people before Jesus and the NT is about the covenant God has with his people after the death and resurrection of Jesus. Both are very important and one can't be understood without the other.

I don't want to overload you with information so I am going to keep this brief. There are many reading plans out there, each approaching the topic in a different way.  I think the best way to get up to speed quickly on the basic ideas in the Bible is to read the following books in the following order.

1. Choose one of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John) (NT)*

2. Acts (NT)

3. Genesis (OT)

4. Exodus (OT)

5. Romans (NT)

You should read these at the correct pace for you. I hardly ever read more than one or two chapters a day. This gives me time to think about and absorb what I have read. If you want you can mix it up a bit by reading one chapter from the NT and one chapter from the OT every day. Once again this is just a suggested way of reading. There is no wrong way to read the Bible, I just think things will make more sense to a beginner Bible reader if read in this order.

Remember to pray and ask God to help you understand what you are reading every time before you start. I do this myself even though I have been reading for many years. It is after all His book and He understands what He meant when He said something. A simple prayer is all that is needed.

e.g: Lord God please help my heart and mind to understand what I read. In Jesus' name. Amen.

After this, you will have a pretty good idea of how things are and you can choose a reading plan from one of the many available on the Internet.

N.B: The reading of the Bible (and praying) is a discipline. There will be times where you don't want to read or think you don't have time to read. You should put aside such feelings and persevere. The results will be worth it. Start with a short period of time (like five minutes) every day and go from there.

* I think John is a good start.