1. What does this show me about God?
In Mark, ask it about Jesus: what he did, what he said, whom he went to. One sentence.
A Bible reading plan for beginners: 30 days, under 10 minutes a day
Updated: November 7, 2026
Start with the Gospel of Mark and read one chapter a day. This plan is 30 readings:
- Mark 1–16 (days 1–16): who Jesus is, from the start of his public life to the empty tomb.
- Philippians 1–4 (days 17–20): a short letter on living it out with other people.
- James 1–5 (days 21–25): plain instructions for ordinary days.
- Psalms 1, 23, 51, 103 and 139 (days 26–30): five prayers to learn to pray with.
The whole plan is about 20,000 words, roughly 85 minutes of reading spread over a month. Most days take 2 to 5 minutes; the longest takes about 7. Below: the minutes for every day, three questions to ask after reading, a tick sheet to print, and the rule for the day you miss.
Why this plan, and not Genesis to Revelation
Beginning at Genesis 1 and reading straight through puts all of Leviticus, a book of priestly law, in front of you before a single page about Jesus. The Bible is a library, not one book: 66 books and 1,189 chapters. A beginner needs the centre first, and the centre is Jesus.
Mark is the shortest of the four Gospels: 16 chapters, about 14,300 words in the World English Bible. It opens with no family tree and no background: "The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God" (Mark 1:1, WEB), and then it moves. Philippians and James come next because, having read who Jesus is, the natural question is how to live. The Psalms come last because by then you have things to say to God, and the Psalms give you words: "Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path" (Psalm 119:105, WEB).
Scripture on this page is quoted from the World English Bible (WEB), a public-domain translation, checked on bible-api.com on November 7, 2026. Word counts are our count of that same text. Minutes assume 238 words a minute, the average adult silent reading rate for English non-fiction in Brysbaert's 2019 meta-analysis of 190 studies (Journal of Memory and Language 109); most adults fall between 175 and 300. Reading aloud averages 183 words a minute, so add about 30 percent.
The 30 days, with the minutes each one takes
Print this page (the header and footer drop out) and tick each reading as you finish it. The numbers are there so you can choose the day: Mark 14 and Mark 6 are the long ones, so do not leave them for the morning you have to leave early.
| Day | Reading | Verses | Words | Minutes | Done |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark 1 | 45 | 873 | 4 | ☐ |
| 2 | Mark 2 | 28 | 664 | 3 | ☐ |
| 3 | Mark 3 | 35 | 620 | 3 | ☐ |
| 4 | Mark 4 | 41 | 859 | 4 | ☐ |
| 5 | Mark 5 | 43 | 900 | 4 | ☐ |
| 6 | Mark 6 | 56 | 1,244 | 6 | ☐ |
| 7 | Mark 7 | 37 | 775 | 4 | ☐ |
| 8 | Mark 8 | 38 | 783 | 4 | ☐ |
| 9 | Mark 9 | 50 | 1,116 | 5 | ☐ |
| 10 | Mark 10 | 52 | 1,141 | 5 | ☐ |
| 11 | Mark 11 | 33 | 725 | 4 | ☐ |
| 12 | Mark 12 | 44 | 992 | 5 | ☐ |
| 13 | Mark 13 | 37 | 790 | 4 | ☐ |
| 14 | Mark 14 | 72 | 1,543 | 7 | ☐ |
| 15 | Mark 15 | 47 | 864 | 4 | ☐ |
| 16 | Mark 16 | 20 | 440 | 2 | ☐ |
| 17 | Philippians 1 | 30 | 652 | 3 | ☐ |
| 18 | Philippians 2 | 30 | 595 | 3 | ☐ |
| 19 | Philippians 3 | 21 | 497 | 3 | ☐ |
| 20 | Philippians 4 | 23 | 474 | 2 | ☐ |
| 21 | James 1 | 27 | 544 | 3 | ☐ |
| 22 | James 2 | 26 | 513 | 3 | ☐ |
| 23 | James 3 | 18 | 369 | 2 | ☐ |
| 24 | James 4 | 17 | 360 | 2 | ☐ |
| 25 | James 5 | 20 | 474 | 2 | ☐ |
| 26 | Psalm 1 | 6 | 120 | 1 | ☐ |
| 27 | Psalm 23 | 6 | 112 | 1 | ☐ |
| 28 | Psalm 51 | 19 | 312 | 2 | ☐ |
| 29 | Psalm 103 | 22 | 329 | 2 | ☐ |
| 30 | Psalm 139 | 24 | 389 | 2 | ☐ |
Totals: 30 chapters, 967 verses, 20,069 words. Your translation will differ by a few percent; the shape of the month will not.
What to do after you read: three questions
Reading without stopping to think turns into skimming by the second week. After each chapter, ask three questions, and write one line for each in a notebook or on the back of the tick sheet.
2. What does it show me about people, me included?
The disciples misunderstand Jesus again and again in Mark. You are allowed to notice yourself in them.
3. What is one thing I will do or pray because of it?
"But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves." James 1:22 (WEB)
One thing, small enough to do today. Then pray it in one sentence. That is the whole practice.
If you already pray each morning, put the reading inside that time rather than adding a second one. The morning prayer routine has a "read" step that this plan can fill on its ten and twenty-minute days.
The day you miss, and the passage you do not understand
The missed-day rule: read the next unticked reading. This is 30 readings, not 30 dates. A missed day moves the finish line; it does not put you behind, and nothing is owed.
Do not read two chapters to catch up. If more than a week has gone by and you have lost the thread of Mark, reread the last chapter you ticked, then carry on.
Some passages will not make sense the first time. In this plan the likeliest is Mark 13, where Jesus speaks about the destruction of the temple and the end of the age in picture language taken from the prophets. Write your question in the margin, keep reading, and ask someone. That is not a failure of reading; it is how the Bible expects to be read. When Philip met a man reading Isaiah and asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?", the man answered, "How can I, unless someone explains it to me?" (Acts 8:30–31, WEB). A pastor, a friend who has read it before, or a small group will often answer in ten minutes what a month of reading alone would not.
If you want to make the reading a daily habit and not a 30-day sprint, read how to start a daily prayer habit. It is about attaching the practice to something you already do every day, which works the same way for reading.
Which Bible to read it in
The one you will read. The plan works in any translation. This page quotes the World English Bible because it is in the public domain and can be quoted in full. If the older English of the King James Version slows you down, a modern translation is not a lesser Bible; choose one and stay with it for the month so the wording becomes familiar.
If you would rather read on your phone, the Read tab in Anchored opens any chapter in the KJV, NIV, ESV or Reina-Valera at no cost (the NLT, NASB, NKJV and CSB need the optional subscription) and, after you read, offers short prompts such as "Choose a word or phrase to stay with today" and "What is one faithful step you will take from this?" It does not set this plan for you; you open Mark 1, then Mark 2. The printed tick sheet does the same job.
After the 30 days
| If… | Read next | At one chapter a day |
|---|---|---|
| Mark held you | John, then Acts: "these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ" (John 20:31, WEB) | 21 + 28 days |
| You want the story from the start | Genesis 1–50, with one psalm a day alongside | 50 days |
| James was the useful part | Proverbs, one chapter a day | 31 days |
| You want the whole Bible | All 66 books; three or four chapters a day finishes in about a year | 1,189 days (about 3 years and 3 months) |
When this page is not the answer
If your church follows a set lectionary, such as the Revised Common Lectionary or the daily readings of the Book of Common Prayer, read with your church; those plans are built around the church year and you will hear the same passages on Sunday. If you are studying the Bible for a course, you need a study Bible or commentary, not a starter plan. And if reading is hard for you for any reason, an audio Bible is still reading the Bible: listen to the chapter instead and keep the same three questions.
Questions people ask
- Where should a beginner start reading the Bible?
- With a Gospel, and Mark is the shortest: 16 chapters, about 14,300 words in the World English Bible, roughly an hour of reading in total. It begins at the start of Jesus' public life, so you need no background to follow it.
- How long should I read the Bible each day as a beginner?
- One chapter. In this plan the longest day (Mark 14) is about 1,540 words, roughly 7 minutes at an average adult silent reading speed, and most days take 2 to 5 minutes.
- What if I miss a day of my Bible reading plan?
- Read the next unticked reading. The plan is 30 readings, not 30 dates, so a missed day moves the finish line rather than putting you behind. Do not double up.
- Which Bible translation should a beginner use?
- One you will actually read. The plan works in any translation; this page quotes the World English Bible because it is public domain. If older English slows you down, choose a modern translation.
- What should I read after the 30 days?
- If Mark held you, read John next (21 chapters), then Acts (28). If you want the whole Bible, it has 1,189 chapters: one a day takes a little over three years, three or four a day takes about a year.
Tomorrow: Mark 1, 873 words, about four minutes, three questions, one tick. "On his law he meditates day and night" (Psalm 1:2, WEB) is where the month ends up; it starts with one chapter. If you want the reading held inside a morning, midday and evening rhythm, Anchored does that and keeps your notes private (privacy policy). Either way, the plan above is yours to keep.