How Long Does It Take to Read the Bible? (52 Hours)

Minutes a day to read the Bible

Plan	Minutes a day	Chapters a day
30 days	105	39.6
90 days	35	13.2
180 days	18	6.6
1 year	9	3.3
2 years	5	1.6
One chapter a day	3	1 (1,189 days)

At 250 words a minute, for the 783,137 words of the King James Version. Modern translations are a similar length.

Old Testament and New Testament

Part	Words	Chapters	Reading time	Out loud
Old Testament (39 books)	602,585	929	40h 10m	55h 48m
New Testament (27 books)	180,552	260	12h 02m	16h 43m
Whole Bible	783,137	1,189	52h 13m	72h 31m

An average chapter is about 659 words, a few minutes of reading, though chapters vary a lot: Psalm 117 is two verses, Psalm 119 is 176. Change the reading speed in the calculator above to see your own total.

Questions

How long does it take to read the Bible?

About 52 hours 13 minutes of reading for the King James Version at 250 words a minute. Out loud it takes about 72 hours 31 minutes.

How long does it take to read the Bible in a year?

About 9 minutes a day, or about 3.3 chapters a day.

How long does it take to read the Bible one chapter a day?

1,189 days, or about 3.3 years. Each chapter takes around 3 minutes on average.

How long does it take to read the New Testament?

About 12 hours 2 minutes for its 180,552 words. The Old Testament is about 40 hours 10 minutes.

How many words are in the Bible?

The King James Version has about 783,137 words in 66 books, 1,189 chapters and 31,102 verses. Modern translations differ a little.

Other word counts

250 words · 300 words · 500 words · 750 words · 1,000 words · 1,500 words · 2,000 words · 2,500 words · 3,000 words · 4,000 words · 5,000 words · 10,000 words

Any other number? Use the reading time calculator.