How do you eat an elephant? The old time management answer is: one bite at a time. Our printed Bibles may seem like a thousand page plus elephant. The reality is that the Bible is a library of books, none of which are very large. Most books of the Bible could be read in an evening. Individual books if printed separately would seem pamphlet sized. None would be as big as a best-selling, paperback novel.
The following chart is based on an audio version of the Bible. I realize reading times vary. Silent reading is usually faster than reading aloud, yet most of us probably stop and think about what we are reading. We may reread a section. We may be interrupted. All of this slows us down. Faster is not necessarily better. The following chart is simply a guideline. The chart is to encourage you to begin to take one bite at a time.
Bible books that can be read in 15 minutes or less.
Ruth, Song of Solomon, Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Malachi, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude.
Total 24 out of 66 books.
Bible books that can be read in 30 minutes or less.
Esther, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, Amos, Micah, Galatians, Ephesians, and 1 John.
Total 8 books giving us a running total of 32 books out of 66.
Bible books that can be read in one hour or less.
Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel, Hosea, Zechariah, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, and Hebrews.
Total of 9 books giving us a running total of 41 books out of 66.
Bible books that can be read in 1½ hours or less.
Joshua, Judges, and Revelation
Total 3 books giving us a running total of 44 books out of 66.
Bible books that can be read in 2 hours or less.
Leviticus, Deuteronomy, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, Job, Proverbs, Matthew, Mark, John, and Acts.
Total of 11 books giving us a running total of 55 books out of 66.
Bible books that can be read in 2½ hours or less.
Exodus, Numbers, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, and Luke
Total 6 books giving us a running total of 61 books out of 66.
Bible books that can be read in 3½ hours or less.
Genesis, Isaiah, and Ezekiel
Total of 3 books giving us a running total of 64 books out of 66.
Bible book that can be read in 4 hours or less.
Jeremiah
Total of 1 book giving us a running total of 65 books out of 66.
Bible book that can be read in 4½ hours or less.
Psalms
Total of 1 book giving us a running total of 66 books.
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