How to Read the Bible in One Month

Want to read the Bible in a month?  That’s an ambitious goal! Translations and printings may differ, but my personal copy of the King James Bible has 1,590 pages.  That is a daunting number of pages to get through in only a month, but you can do it if you are willing to put in the effort!  Here are a few different options to help you achieve your goal.  In order from easiest to hardest:

1. Listen to the New Testament.  Audio books count as reading in my opinion! You can download a free version here.  It is nearly 21 hours, so you would need to listen to 41 minutes every day.  You probably already do 41 minutes of chores, exercise, or some other activity that you could easily do while listening to an audio book.  Choose the Bible to listen to this month and you’ll reach your goal without much extra effort.

2. Read the New Testament. My copy of the New Testament is 403 pages, which neatly divides by 31 into exactly 13 pages every day.  Reading 13 pages a day may take you less time than 40 minutes if you’re a quick reader, but you can’t multitask.  It’s a great way to start or end your day.

3. Listen to the Old Testament. This free download is 68 hours, which puts you at a listening time of 2 hours and 11 minutes every day.  Doable, but definitely more work.

4. Read the Old Testament.  My copy of the Old Testament is 1184 pages, so I would need to read 39 pages every day.  I haven’t been in the habit of reading so much since I left college, so this would be a struggle for me!  You will feel an amazing sense of accomplishment if you put in the effort to finish the Old Testament in one month.

5. Listen to the entire Bible!  With the free versions, this puts you at a listening time of 2 hours and 52 minutes every day.  There are versions on Audible that are shorter if you want to pay for a different narration- the shortest I found was 72 hours.  You can also listen at a faster speed!

6. Read the entire Bible!  I put together a reading chart you can download for free that will work with any translation of the Bible. This would require reading 51 ¼ pages every day if you have the same version of the Bible that I have.  If you have a different version, just follow the references and you’ll finish the Bible in just one month!

As President Russel M. Nelson said, “the Lord loves effort, because effort brings rewards that can’t come without it.” Any effort to read the Bible will bring God’s blessings into your life. I also believe that attempting an ambitious goal and failing to achieve it is totally okay!  Trying and failing will put more of God’s word into your life than not trying at all.  Pick the study plan that works best for you, try your best, and watch for the blessings that follow!

Want to incorporate the scriptures into your life every day? Check out my daily scripture quote calendar, Fear Not: A Daily Inspiration Calendar.