What Is the Best Way to Begin Reading the Bible?

Question 11134. Reading the Bible for the first time can feel overwhelming, and I say that as someone who has walked more than a few nervous new believers through exactly this question. Sixty-six books, two testaments, unfamiliar names, and a shelf of different translations to choose between before you have even opened the cover. Where on earth should you actually start?

Let me give you the practical, unfussy answer I wish someone had given me plainly when I was starting out, because reading the Bible does not need to be complicated to be genuinely life-changing.

Do Not Start at Genesis and Read Straight Through

This is the single most common mistake I see. New believers, full of good intentions, open to Genesis 1 and resolve to read straight through to Revelation in order. They sail happily through Genesis and Exodus, then hit the detailed sacrificial regulations of Leviticus around chapter eleven or twelve, and momentum collapses. Reading the Bible cover to cover in strict order is a fine long-term goal, but it is a poor starting point for someone new to the text.

I would instead point a first-time reader toward the Gospel of John. John was written explicitly with a stated purpose: “these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). It introduces Jesus clearly, theologically, and warmly, and it was written for exactly the reader you are at this stage.

A Simple Starting Path for Reading the Bible

After John, I recommend moving to one of the shorter New Testament letters, Philippians or Ephesians work well, to get a taste of how the early church applied Jesus’ teaching to ordinary daily life. From there, a Gospel like Mark, written with pace and urgency, keeps the momentum going. Only once you have some New Testament familiarity would I suggest moving into the Old Testament, starting with Genesis for the origin story and then a Psalm or two each day for the emotional and devotional register Scripture also carries.

This is not a rigid formula, and reading the Bible well is ultimately more about consistency than sequence. But this path avoids the common trap of stalling out in Leviticus or Numbers before you have built the appetite and context to appreciate them.

Choosing a Translation

I use and recommend the ESV as a primary translation for serious study, because it holds a careful balance between accuracy to the original Hebrew and Greek and genuine readability in contemporary English. Some newer readers prefer starting with a more paraphrased version to build initial comfort before moving to something more literal; that is a reasonable bridge, provided you eventually move toward a translation like the ESV for anything beyond a first pass.

Whatever you choose, consistency in translation matters more at this early stage than perfection. Reading the Bible in one steady translation, rather than hopping between several, helps you build familiarity with its particular voice and cadence.

Should You Use a Study Bible?

A good study Bible, with brief explanatory notes at the bottom of the page, can be genuinely helpful for a first-time reader navigating unfamiliar historical and cultural background. I would caution against leaning on the notes so heavily that you stop wrestling with the text itself; the notes are a handrail, not the staircase. I have written separately on how to weigh up which study Bible suits you, if you want to go further into that particular decision.

What to Do When You Do Not Understand Something

You will hit passages that confuse you, and that is entirely normal rather than a sign you are doing this wrong. Mark the passage, keep reading, and bring your questions to your pastor, a small group, or a trusted, more experienced Christian friend. Reading the Bible was never meant to be a solitary exercise undertaken entirely without help; the church exists partly to walk alongside you in exactly this kind of question.

Do not let confusion over one difficult passage in Judges or Ezekiel stop you from continuing forward into passages that will speak to you clearly. Understanding deepens with time, familiarity, and the ordinary means of grace: prayer, fellowship, and patient repeated exposure to the text, none of which can be rushed no matter how motivated you feel on day one.

Building a Sustainable Habit

The single biggest factor in successfully reading the Bible long-term is not intelligence or theological background; it is a workable, realistic rhythm. Ten focused minutes each morning will take you further over a year than an ambitious hour-long plan abandoned after a fortnight through simple fatigue. Attach your reading to an existing daily habit, coffee, the commute, before the household wakes, so it has a natural anchor point rather than competing for willpower each day from a blank slate.

I would also encourage you to read with a pen or a notes app open, even briefly. Writing down one sentence about what struck you turns passive reading into active engagement, and it gives you something concrete to return to and to share with others.

Why This Matters More Than You Might Think

Second Timothy 3:16-17 tells us that Scripture is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness, so that we may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Reading the Bible is not primarily an academic exercise or a box to tick off a spiritual checklist; it is how God has chosen, in His ordinary providence, to shape and grow His people across every generation, including yours, right now, wherever you happen to be starting from.

The Greek word Paul uses for “breathed out” here is theopneustos (theopneustos, G2315), meaning that Scripture carries God’s own breath behind it, His very authority speaking through human words. That is a remarkable thing to hold in your hands, and it is worth remembering on the mornings when reading the Bible feels more like duty than delight; the words in front of you are not simply human wisdom but God’s own communication to you.

Pairing Reading With a Community

I would strongly encourage you not to keep this entirely to yourself. Mention to your small group, a friend, or your pastor that you have started reading the Bible seriously, and ask whether anyone else would walk through John or Mark alongside you. Reading the Bible in community, even loosely, gives you a place to ask honest questions, hear how someone further along has wrestled with the same passages, and stay accountable on the weeks when motivation dips. Reading the Bible together, even informally over coffee once a fortnight, tends to sustain a habit that reading alone often cannot manage on its own over the long run.

A Word for the Anxious Beginner

If you are the sort of person who worries about doing this wrong, take a breath. There is no failing grade for reading the Bible slowly, for skipping ahead when a passage baffles you, or for reading the same chapter three mornings running because it would not let you go. God is not grading your comprehension speed; He is inviting you into an ongoing relationship through His Word, one that deepens with years rather than one that needs to be mastered in a single determined month.

I would also say this plainly: do not compare your reading habits to anyone else’s. Some believers thrive on a structured, several-chapters-a-day plan; others do better lingering over a single paragraph for a week. Both are legitimate ways of reading the Bible faithfully, and the goal is not speed through the text but genuine encounter with the God who inspired it.

Where to Turn When Life Gets Busy

Seasons will come when a new job, a new baby, or simple exhaustion crowd out your reading time almost entirely. When that happens, resist the temptation to abandon the habit altogether out of guilt. A single verse read slowly over coffee, or an audio Bible listened to during a commute, still counts as reading the Bible in any meaningful sense. The goal across a lifetime is faithfulness in the ordinary means, not an unbroken streak that collapses under the weight of one difficult month.

So, now what?

So, now what? Open to John’s Gospel tonight, read one chapter, and do not worry about understanding everything perfectly on the first pass. Reading the Bible is a lifelong relationship with a living Author, not a book to be conquered in a single determined sitting over one ambitious weekend.

Be patient with yourself. Every mature believer you admire, including your own pastor if you have one, started exactly where you are starting now, with a first chapter and a good deal of uncertainty about what came next. They kept going, one ordinary morning at a time, and that patient ordinariness is really the whole secret worth knowing.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105, ESV)