How Long Does it Take to Read the Bible?

[KevinK]

There's probably not too many passages I haven't heard, but I must confess I've never read it straight through cover-to-cover. Supposing I read at an average pace, how long abouts would it take me? How long did it take you?

 

[reba]

I cant remember... it takes a while... .

 

[Malachi]

There's probably not too many passages I haven't heard, but I must confess I've never read it straight through cover-to-cover. Supposing I read at an average pace, how long abouts would it take me? How long did it take you?

Depends on how much time you would devote to this each day. At the same time, merely reading through from cover-to-cover may not be the most profitable, unless you have the Guiness World Records in mind.

 

[Edward]

A year and a half. One year for the OT and 6 months for the NT. This is reading 2 or 3 chapters per day, every day for the OT, and 1 or 2 per day for the NT. In this way, it allows you time to think on it and look up relevant things, meditate on it and have time for other bible studies and devotions or whatever also. It doesn't give information overload this way from going too fast.

There's 929 chapters in the OT. Divided by 365 days is 2.54 chapters per day. So some days read 2, some days read 3.
There's 290 chapters in the NT. Divided by 182 days is 1.59 chapters per day. So some days read 1, some days read 2.

I made a text document and keep it on my desktop on my computer "Where I am" and each morning, I open it and see whats next. Each new book I write it in "Ezekial" then below it, each day write /13 (or whatever) which means I read up to chapter 13, so tomorrow I start chapter 14 and read 2 or 3. (That's where I am now, lol). Every once in in awhile I'll count the remaining chapters and do the math corresponding to the number of days left in the year to see if I am ahead/behind in schedule.

I used to be on a reading program from Biblegateway.com which did this for me each day and sent me notifications through e-mail and everyday I'd just click the link, but the demons got into my computer and somehow stopped the notifications from coming to me and I wasn't about to be foiled by some stinking little demon so do this myself now, lol.

I like to go to biblegateway.com because they have a widgit that I can click on and it reads the chapters to me, and I scroll along reading it to increase my retention by reading and listening at the same time. They also have a 'verse of the day' that I was also subscribed to, but it stopped working also. But it's always on the front page of biblegateway so I still read it. I always read the entire chapter of the verse of the day for context also. Biblegateway is cool brother. They have a zillion translations so you take your pick which one you want to read. Max Mcclean narrates real good emphasizing words and stuff, I like it.

Bible stats are all over the web. You can google how many chapters in the bible and it'll show you sites which break it down for you.

https://www.biblegateway.com/

 

[KevinK]

Good answer!

 

[Gary]

Thirty some years and I still haven't read it cover to cover. I suppose I should work on that.

 

[Adstar]

There's probably not too many passages I haven't heard, but I must confess I've never read it straight through cover-to-cover. Supposing I read at an average pace, how long abouts would it take me? How long did it take you?

From memory it took me a months. Maybe 7 months maybe 9. Just reading each day all the way through. Pausing at times to think about it. It does not matter how long you take. each person has their own speed. Just make sure you ask God to guide you into understanding what you are reading.

 

[Adstar]

Oh and the reading sessions varied a lot for me. Some days i would read only small passage of scripture and on others i would read a whole book like some of the letters of Paul i read in one session.

 

[Rollo Tamasi]

My wife and I are reading the New Testament through book by book, chapter by chapter, and studying as we go along.
We are almost done.
Then we will tackle the Old Testament.
The Old Testament is difficult.
Many names, many repetitive verses, difficult understanding the Prophets.
How many people can read a name and know where in the Bible it or he comes from?
How many know when the Prophets lived, under what Kings, and the reasons for their prophecies?
How many know when David wrote a Psalm and under what circumstances he was going through?
Sometimes it is not at all good, fun reading.
One has to make an effort to understand what they are reading and why it is in the Bible, and that will take time.

There should be no limit on how long it takes to read the Bible.
Understanding one book is better than reading them all and not understanding what you are reading.

 

[Willie T]

"How Long Does it Take to Read the Bible?"

How many years are you going to live?

 

[Edward]

My wife and I are reading the New Testament through book by book, chapter by chapter, and studying as we go along.
We are almost done.
Then we will tackle the Old Testament.
The Old Testament is difficult.
Many names, many repetitive verses, difficult understanding the Prophets.
How many people can read a name and know where in the Bible it or he comes from?
How many know when the Prophets lived, under what Kings, and the reasons for their prophecies?
How many know when David wrote a Psalm and under what circumstances he was going through?
Sometimes it is not at all good, fun reading.
One has to make an effort to understand what they are reading and why it is in the Bible, and that will take time.

There should be no limit on how long it takes to read the Bible.
Understanding one book is better than reading them all and not understanding what you are reading.

I found that the OT was difficult at first, but now I have learned to read it with an eye towards applying it towards us as we live in the NT era, Jesus is on most every page if you do this. God doesn't change so it's very pertinant to today. Then it became easier to read!
I seen the repetitiveness too, but then realized that these are things that the Lord wants us to know very much, so I pay close attention to the repetitiveness now.
Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the bible. It seemed overly long and was hard to get through at first. When a verse from 119 came up 3 days in a row on the verse of the day from biblegateway...it chagrined me and I was like whoa, again?! It's sooo long. But then, a funny thing happened, I got it. Now when I read it it doesn't seem so long and even this morning...it left me wanting more, lol.
true that, that it always isn't good fun reading. I just finished going through Jeremiah and Lamentations recently, and that was pret-ty depressing. Jeremiah had a rough time of it in his calling. Having to watch his people and his land be taken into captivity for not obeying the Lord and keeping his precepts.

Learning and the renewing of ones mind and heart does take time, so it's good to take time to read it and try to understand it. The changes are gradual, and the increase in knowledge is constant...bit by bit. I already know that when I finish reading the bible cover to cover, that it will be time to start again. I read the NT last year, the OT I am reading for the firt time cover to cover this year. In January, I will begin the NT again.

"How Long Does it Take to Read the Bible?"

How many years are you going to live?

Yeah. What he said.

 

[KevinK]

"How Long Does it Take to Read the Bible?"

How many years are you going to live?

The doctors say one more year.


Kidding! Or eerily prophetic.

 

[Edward]

The doctors say one more year.


Kidding! Or eerily prophetic.

Don't joke like that brother! The spoken word carries more weight than we think it does. We are what we speak is what they say, so it never hurts to be cautious ;)

 

[TOG]

There are 807,361 words in the Bible (source). The average person reads about 200 words / minute, which equals 12,000 words per hour (source. I tested at 203 wpm). So, let's do the math...

807,361 / 12,000 = 67.28 hours
And that equals...
2 days
19 hours
16 minutes
48 seconds

If you read faster, it will take a shorter time. Then just divide by how much time you spend each day, and you'll have the number of days it takes. If you read an hour a day, it will only take you a little over 2 months to read all the way through.

The TOG​

 

[KevinK]

Don't joke like that brother! The spoken word carries more weight than we think it does. We are what we speak is what they say, so it never hurts to be cautious ;)

Gotta love you, Edward. Thank you for your concern.

I have to confess it's only a half joke. I've fought what I consider the good fight against pain and migraine headaches for some 38 years (since the car accident) and I sometimes find myself wishing to meet the Lord already, if you get my drift. No, not suicide, just secretly asking if I could be bumped up in line.

It is true what you said, though. I was playing around one evening with a friend and decided to give her a palm reading (no, I don't know how to read palms, and now I understand that it might be verboten). I immediately blurted out for no reason, "Your palm says you have less than a year to live!". We thought it was a joke and laughed it off. Less than a year later she was dead at 43.

 

[Edward]

Gotta love you, Edward. Thank you for your concern.

I have to confess it's only a half joke. I've fought what I consider the good fight against pain and migraine headaches for some 38 years (since the car accident) and I sometimes find myself wishing to meet the Lord already, if you get my drift. No, not suicide, just secretly asking if I could be bumped up in line.

It is true what you said, though. I was playing around one evening with a friend and decided to give her a palm reading (no, I don't know how to read palms, and now I understand that it might be verboten). I immediately blurted out for no reason, "Your palm says you have less than a year to live!". We thought it was a joke and laughed it off. Less than a year later she was dead at 43.

Whoa. Sorry to hear that.

I used to be the big jokester but am learning how to bridle my tongue for the most part.

I've been at low points for some reason or another and prayed for the Lord to take me before. I wouldn't ever hury myself but there were days that I wished I had never been born. Over time, I have come to appreciate life even in low times and thank the Lord for it. I just like the bad times to training and learning contentment and endurance like Paul said.

I think it means a lot to the Lord for us to be able to thank Him when times are bad. Anyone can thank Him when the times are good so it's a good thing when we can thank Him when things are not good.

I was just reading this morning where affliction is good for us. I understand that now.

 

[Ricko]

It's a life long journey. It was told to me there are to ways to study the bible. First, with a telescope to get an idea of the whole. Then, get into it with a microscope.

 

[Michael74]

Audio Bibles have a total running time of about 80 hours. Varies slightly by speaker.

You can probably read it silently a bit faster.

 

[Edward]

It's a life long journey. It was told to me there are to ways to study the bible. First, with a telescope to get an idea of the whole. Then, get into it with a microscope.

That's a really good perspective and way to think about it.

Audio Bibles have a total running time of about 80 hours. Varies slightly by speaker.

You can probably read it silently a bit faster.

I can read pretty fast and with good comprehension (I have no idea of the WPM), but, I do think it's better to take ones time and learn and absorb it more than just trying to finish fast.

It's a lifetime of study. One could spend their entire lifetime being a bible scholar and continue to learn from it every day.
I do this myself. Sometimes I can read a passage that I've read dozens, perhaps hundreds of times before, and the Holy Spirit can show me a new aspect and truth of the same passage.

I think that we are now virtually proving that, not only is the bible the inspired Word of God, but that it was actually dictated word by word to the men who wrote it by the Holy Spirit.

This has been accomplished by the realization of bible codes. There's quite a bit of ELS code in scripture (equidistant letter spacing) where every so many letters is another letter of the code and then it spells out and additional message within. This could not be possible unless the Holy Spirit dictated it, word by word to them. Take out one letter or change it, and the code falls apart.

For instance: In the Torah, we find out the the Torah always point to yaweh. In Genesis (In Hebrew) you go to the first Tav (Hebrew for "T"), then count 49 letters (7 squared, lol!) and you come to a vau (Hebrew for "O"), then 49 more letters and you come to a Resh (Hebrew= "R"), then 49 letters more will bring you to a he (Hebrew= "H"). (This spells Torah in Hebrew (TORH). (Some coincidence huh?)

When you go to Exodus the same thing happens, go to the first Tav, then count 49 letters and so forth, and it spells TORH again!...

When you get to leviticus, you breath a sigh of relief because this doesn't happen in Leviticus. (Whew!)

But when you go to the book of Numbers, it happens again...only...backwards! Go to the first he ("H") then count 49 letters and it goes to a resh (R"), and so forth until it spells out TORH backwards.

Then in Deuteronomy, you go to the first he ("H") and then count 49 letters and it goes to resh ("R"), then 49 letters goes to Vav ("O"), then 49 letters and Tav ("T")...Torh backwards again...

This makes one want to go back to Leviticus and take a closer look...and you discover something amazing. Go to the first yod (hebrew= "Y"), then count 7 letters and it goes to he ("H"), then 7 more...vav ("W"), then 7 and he ("H"), or YWHW, the unpronounceable name of God. But why two frontwards and then YHWH, then two backwards? Simple, all languages west of Jerusalem write left to right, all languages east of Jerusalem write, right to left. So the Torh always points to YWHW.

If one letter was off, the code would fall apart. This is evidence of design. and something that fulfills a prophecy, that in the last days...knowledge will be increased. All of this is easily verifiable. I did myself, and I don't even know hebrew, but I can google it, Hebrew Alphabet. All the original dead sea scrolls are available for viewing online...

Cool huh?

Here's a video which explains the same thing (start at 8:50 for the Torh always points to YHWH, or watch the entire thing for even more info and so forth. It's good.

 

[KevinK]

Wowza! I never knew of this code stuff in the Holy Book. Beatles' albums yes; Bible no.

That kinda stuff fascinates me.