Read the Bible - Plan from Fr. Ian Hollick
Start with the New Testament
To learn the teachings of Paul and the Apostles - Bible, one chapter a day & Read One Psalm (1) a Day to accompany.
- Matthew
- Romans
- 1 Corinthians
- 2 Corinthians
- Galatians
- Ephesians
- Philippians
- Colossians
- Mark
- 1 Thessalonians
- 2 Thessalonians
- 1 Timothy
- 2 Timothy
- Titus
- Philemon
- Gospel of John
- Song of Songs
- James
- 1 Peter
- 2 Peter
- 1 John
- 2 John
- 3 John
- Jude
- Hebrews
- Isaiah (Often Called the 5th Gospel for all of its foreknowledge of the Christ)
- Psalms
Now we dig into the Old Testament and learn the Story of Salvation as laid out by the Great Adventure Bible by Ascension Press and Continue to read one psalm a day.
When Finished read one chapter of Proverbs a day (1), then Sirach (aka Ecclesiasticus) (2), then Wisdom of Solomon (3). The Old Testament is much longer than the New!
- Genesis - Early World, Creation, Patriarchs, Adam/Eve - Joseph in Egypt, reads as a narrative with many different characters
- Job (A mysterious figure who has to deal with the weight of undeserved suffering. A type of wisdom book, but the timeframe is patriarchal perhaps)
- Exodus - Egypt and Exodus, reads as a story
- Numbers - Walking around the Desert story with facts
- Joshua - Conquest of the Holy Land - a History book
- Judges - God uses the unlikely - a series of character pieces.
- Ruth - A good society, a Moab becomes Grandma of David, reads as a story
- 1 Samuel
- 2 Samuel (Royal Kingdom with prophetic activity, reads as a story)
- 1 Kings
- 2 Kings (Royal Kingdom and then the Kingdom split between North and South)
- Ecclesiastes - a fun yet depressed prophet, can seem nihilistic, but he’s a Jew (Solomon) in search of a Messiah.
- Tobit
- Jeremiah (Longer one)
- Jonah
- Judith
- Hosea
- Amos
- Ezra (Coming back from Exile)
- Esther
- Nehemiah (Returned and rebuilding the 2nd temple)
- 1 Maccabees
- 2 Maccabees
- Joel
- And finally Malachi (The last prophet, 450 years before Christ)
- Proverbs
- Sirach
- Wisdom
Then you can move back into the New Testament and read:
- Luke
- Acts
- Revelation
= 58 books
58 books are listed above. There are 73 in the Catholic Bible.
There are 73 in the Catholic Bible. The ones remaining are as follows [Note: I left off a lot of the Prophets because you have to have context in which to read them, which you kind of would after reading the above.]:
- Deuteronomy (Our Lord quotes frequently)
- Lamentations (A short sad prophetic book)
- Baruch
- Ezekiel (exile)
- Daniel (Has some real neat stories)
- Obadiah
- Micah
- Nahum
- Habakkuk
- Zephaniah
- Haggai
- Zechariah
Sounds like a repeat of 1 & 2 Kings
- 1 Chronicles
- 2 Chronicles
- Leviticus (has a lot of laws. More of a reference book for myself. Not really something I just read through. Explains stuff that happens in the New Testament)
= 73 books