How long to read
the whole Bible?
For first-time readers: pick a book and your pace, and watch the hours count.
Reading time calculator
53 h 8 min
759,000 words · about 213 days at 15 min a day
Free on iPhone · Ruth & Jonah studies freeHow long does it take to read the Bible?
Reading silently at an average adult pace, the whole Bible takes about 53 hours; reading aloud takes about 69 hours. That comes from our count of roughly 759,000 words in the World English Bible and the average reading rates in Brysbaert (2019): 238 words per minute silently, 183 aloud. At 15 minutes a day you would finish in about seven months.
Updated November 2026 · Word counts from the public-domain World English Bible
Bible reading time questions
How long does it take to read the whole Bible?
About 53 hours of silent reading. We counted roughly 759,000 words in the World English Bible and used the average adult silent reading rate for non-fiction, 238 words per minute, from Brysbaert (2019). Reading aloud at 183 words per minute takes about 69 hours.
How long does it take to read the Bible in a year?
About 9 minutes a day of silent reading, or roughly 12 minutes a day reading aloud.
What is the shortest book of the Bible?
By word count in the World English Bible, 3 John (about 290 words) and 2 John (about 300 words) are the shortest. Each takes under two minutes.
Which book should a beginner read first?
A short narrative is a kind place to start: Ruth (4 chapters, about 10 minutes) or Jonah (4 chapters, about 5 minutes). Mark is the shortest Gospel at about an hour.
Does the calculator include the Catholic deuterocanonical books?
No. It uses the 66-book Protestant canon of the World English Bible. Wayfold itself includes both the 66-book Protestant and 73-book Catholic Bibles.
Is Wayfold free?
The Ruth and Jonah studies and leader guides, the full World English Bible reader with read-aloud and search, the map, the timeline, 4 of 10 journeys and 7 of 63 background lessons are free. Premium Lifetime is a one-time purchase that adds four more study books and the rest.
A first book, timed
An illustration, not a testimonial.
Someone who has never opened a Bible picks Ruth because the calculator says 10 minutes. They finish it on a Sunday afternoon, then wonder why Boaz takes off a sandal in chapter 4. Speed was never the problem; understanding was. That is the gap we built Wayfold for.
How Wayfold turns minutes into understanding, in 3 steps
- Read the chapter in the World English Bible, or have it read aloud.
- Answer a few questions, then see the exact words in the chapter that answer each one.
- Trace the story by putting the chapter's events in order, each tied to its verse.
Honest limits of this calculator
- Averages are averages. Brysbaert's review found wide spread between readers; your pace may be faster or slower.
- Study takes longer than reading. Questions, notes and prayer are not counted.
- Word counts are from one translation, the World English Bible. Other translations run a little longer or shorter.
Who Wayfold is not for
If you want a daily devotional or a read-the-Bible-in-a-year schedule, Wayfold is the wrong tool: it studies six books closely, chapter by chapter (Ruth and Jonah free; Philippians, James, Habakkuk and Philemon with a one-time Premium Lifetime purchase). It is also iPhone only. A design decision we made: every explanation is labeled as In the text, History, Interpretation, Traditions differ, or Debated, so you always know which is which.
All 66 books, timed
Silent reading at 238 words per minute. Pick any book in the calculator above for its aloud time and finish date.
| Book | Chapters | Words | Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Genesis | 50 | 35,924 | 151 |
| Exodus | 40 | 31,035 | 130 |
| Leviticus | 27 | 23,549 | 99 |
| Numbers | 36 | 31,277 | 131 |
| Deuteronomy | 34 | 27,417 | 115 |
| Joshua | 24 | 17,885 | 75 |
| Judges | 21 | 17,987 | 76 |
| Ruth | 4 | 2,479 | 10 |
| 1 Samuel | 31 | 23,704 | 100 |
| 2 Samuel | 24 | 19,499 | 82 |
| 1 Kings | 22 | 23,139 | 97 |
| 2 Kings | 25 | 22,314 | 94 |
| 1 Chronicles | 29 | 19,285 | 81 |
| 2 Chronicles | 36 | 24,752 | 104 |
| Ezra | 10 | 7,108 | 30 |
| Nehemiah | 13 | 10,058 | 42 |
| Esther | 10 | 5,413 | 23 |
| Job | 42 | 17,724 | 74 |
| Psalms | 150 | 41,850 | 176 |
| Proverbs | 31 | 14,548 | 61 |
| Ecclesiastes | 12 | 5,485 | 23 |
| Song of Songs | 8 | 2,553 | 11 |
| Isaiah | 66 | 35,618 | 150 |
| Jeremiah | 52 | 41,363 | 174 |
| Lamentations | 5 | 3,390 | 14 |
| Ezekiel | 48 | 37,859 | 159 |
| Daniel | 12 | 11,299 | 47 |
| Hosea | 14 | 5,069 | 21 |
| Joel | 3 | 1,935 | 8 |
| Amos | 9 | 4,062 | 17 |
| Obadiah | 1 | 622 | 3 |
| Jonah | 4 | 1,272 | 5 |
| Micah | 7 | 2,963 | 12 |
| Nahum | 3 | 1,205 | 5 |
| Habakkuk | 3 | 1,378 | 6 |
| Zephaniah | 3 | 1,554 | 7 |
| Haggai | 2 | 1,070 | 4 |
| Zechariah | 14 | 6,087 | 26 |
| Malachi | 4 | 1,726 | 7 |
| Matthew | 28 | 22,956 | 96 |
| Mark | 16 | 14,311 | 60 |
| Luke | 24 | 24,552 | 103 |
| John | 21 | 18,734 | 79 |
| Acts | 28 | 23,208 | 98 |
| Romans | 16 | 9,446 | 40 |
| 1 Corinthians | 16 | 9,358 | 39 |
| 2 Corinthians | 13 | 6,082 | 26 |
| Galatians | 6 | 3,123 | 13 |
| Ephesians | 6 | 3,085 | 13 |
| Philippians | 4 | 2,223 | 9 |
| Colossians | 4 | 1,992 | 8 |
| 1 Thessalonians | 5 | 1,837 | 8 |
| 2 Thessalonians | 3 | 1,036 | 4 |
| 1 Timothy | 6 | 2,271 | 10 |
| 2 Timothy | 4 | 1,616 | 7 |
| Titus | 3 | 908 | 4 |
| Philemon | 1 | 445 | 2 |
| Hebrews | 13 | 6,884 | 29 |
| James | 5 | 2,254 | 9 |
| 1 Peter | 5 | 2,422 | 10 |
| 2 Peter | 3 | 1,519 | 6 |
| 1 John | 5 | 2,455 | 10 |
| 2 John | 1 | 296 | 1 |
| 3 John | 1 | 292 | 1 |
| Jude | 1 | 606 | 3 |
| Revelation | 22 | 11,401 | 48 |
Summary: 29 of the 66 books take under 15 minutes each. Start with one of those.
Ten minutes, one chapter, the verse that proves it
Play free on iPhone with Ruth and Jonah tonight.
Related
- Wayfold: chapter-by-chapter Bible studyRead a chapter, answer questions, then see the exact verse behind each answer. Ruth and Jonah studies and leader guides are free on iPhone.
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