Has anyone on here ever read the Bible all the way front to back?

[bakura91]

I want to! Ive heard there are people who have so Im gonna try. Its a massive book Ive started trying Im only halfway through Genesis so far.

[rocklobster]

Actually, that's really not the best way to go. I've tried it, but then you get to Deutoronomy and Leviticus and it really starts getting dry. I'd recommend finding a reading guide online and reading the Bible that way. The Bible wasn't even close to written in chronological order, after all.

[bakura91]

Oh really? alright thanks for the tip

[K. Ayato]

It's really up to you in the end. I've read from cover to cover more than once, and I've picked up on something new each time. It's true that Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy are a bit overwhelming, but after reading them, a lot of stuff you'll read in other books will make a lot more sense (Samson, Jesus telling the leper to show himself to the priest, etc.).

[Dante]

I've done it - I would recommend not making my mistake and instead skipping over the begots and also getting it in a version that is NOT the KJV. If you're bored with a section, skip it. I was crazy when I was younger. Do make it fun though - I'd say whatever you do, don't try to use it as a punishment or way to try to make yourself 'better' by forced reading, but I think that was more of a sign of my prior sickness then a natural thing XD.

[Sheenar]

The first time I read the Bible all the way through, I followed a reading plan that alternated between the Old and New Testaments. You'd start with Genesis, then read Matthew, then read Exodus, and so on. It was helpful to break it up like that.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

I did once, when I was in Year 5. It was the Good News version. I took 4 months to get through the whole thing. I don't know why I did it. Probably wanted to challenge myself. Yes, I even read the books of Law. I haven't read it all the way through since (it's not the best way to read the Bible).

[Warrior4Christ]

On the other hand, it is helpful in reading the less popular books that are commonly skipped over....

[Mithrandir]

You may want to consider looking for a lectionary schedule you can read from, which breaks the bible up into little bits to read each day. I recommend this one:

http://www2.nlnc.org/~gloria/lect/

... but I'm biased. It's run by a friend of mine, who may show up on CAA in the not to terribly distant future.

[Okami]

While I have read the Bible cover-to-cover in the past (the first time reading it, I did this), I also agree that it's not the greatest way to read through the Bible.

Over the past three semesters I've read Matthew, Mark, Luke; Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 1 + 2 Samuel; Acts; Amos, Hosea, Micah, Isaiah, Nahum, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Obadiah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Jonah, Joel; 1 + 2 Thessalonians, 1 + 2 Corinthians, Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Philemon, Colossians, 1 + 2 Timothy, Titus, Hebrews, James, 1 + 2 Peter, and Jude (where ; denotes divisions between classes.)

So that is what I have read over the past year and a half...on top of carefully outlining and analyzing the text (with the exception of the Gospels, because that was a "basic" level theology class - but I am going to do the same with Matthew, soon. )

All I gotta say is, the deeper you dig, the less boring it becomes. It really does become more and more fresh, more and more alive. You start finding you like the most random of people (For instance, I love Ebed-melech in the book of Jeremiah! XD) and the more you learn, the more you want to know. (I am itching to continue into my third semester of Old Testament classes!)

It takes time to find the right fit in the direction you want to take in learning Scripture more deeply. For me, I've challenged myself currently in getting to know the time of the conquest and entering into the promised land. And on top of this, I'm going to do an in-depth outline to the book of Matthew. /nerd.

[Kaori]

Yes, and there really is a great deal to be said for the understanding that comes from having a big-picture view of the Bible as a whole, so setting a goal of reading the entire Bible is a very good thing.

I agree with everyone else in that reading all the books of the Bible in the order they are printed are not the best way to read the entire Bible. Many people who try to do so end up quitting somewhere among the first five books (since they have some places that are a bit dry), and in addition to that, there are also some places where the books immediately next to each other are very repetitive. First and Second Chronicles repeat the history of First and Second Kings, just with a different emphasis; Matthew, Mark, and Luke repeat many of the same stories.

There have been some suggestions for scripture reading plans already, so I will just add this: I recommend choosing a plan and a pace that you like. If you read about 3-4 chapters per day, you can read the entire Bible in a year, and there are plenty of plans like that which can be found online, but I think it’s best to choose a pace that’s realistic for you (whatever that is) rather than setting an unrealistic goal and then feeling guilty if you fail to meet it.

[rocklobster]

I would also recommend getting one of those study bibles that have great articles in the sidebars to read. Mine has these and they really help you understand the text.

[Hiryu]

I have, but I didn't read it word for word. I can safely say that I've 100% read the new testament. The old testament, not so much. I've skipped over a large amount of material in some of the old testament books, such as leviticus and job. It just seems to me like it's very monotonous and not very important.

[K. Ayato]

I used to think the same thing, Hiryu, but then I saw that reading one book I saw as boring helped me understand other books. Also, Job is referenced in the New Testament by name . Okay, it's one small phrase, but it's there. That to me means something.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Much of Leviticus and Numbers bored the crap out of me but I don't know how anyone can think Job is monotonous and unimportant.

[Yuki-Anne]

When I was a kid my dad read the Bible to us every night, using a "read the Bible in a year" plan. And then when I got older we took turns. So I'm not sure if I've officially with my own eyes read every single word of the Bible but I know I've definitely heard every single word at least 15 times. And I tend to cycle through different books at different times, so it's entirely possible that I've read the whole thing since then. But I'm not sure.

[Cognitive Gear]

I've read it all, but I haven't read it from front to back. I started in Matthew, worked my way through the gospels and the rest of the New Testament, then went back to the Old Testament.

It was the order that made the most sense to me, really. If Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God to man, then everything in the Bible should be read through the lens of Christ's teachings.

[Hiryu]

Much of Leviticus and Numbers bored the crap out of me but I don't know how anyone can think Job is monotonous and unimportant.

Well not all of it is unimportant. The beginning and end is fine. The middle... not so much. The back and forth between Job and his friends for...10+ chapters doesn't really appeal to me.

[TopazRaven]

I'm actually trying to do this now. There where many many places when I was nearly put to sleep I was so bored and tired of reading the same thing over and over again. I probably had the most trouble with Leviticus, Deutoronomy, Numbers, 1 Chronicals, 2 Chronicals and Job. I'll agree with Hiryu that the beginning and ending of Job is great, but I got bored by the middle and just wanted it to end already. It was like they kept saying the same things over and over again, just with different words. I'm going to admit the Bible's writting style kind of annoys the heck out of me, I really don't like the way in which it is written, but considering its over 2,000 years old I gues I should have expected that. As a Christian I think I should try to read the whole thing in least once. I'm currently in Psalms now and starting to get bored with this one to. I made it through all the previous books though so I'll do the same with this one.

[Nanao]

I've read the Bible all the way through a couple of times, but never from page 1 to the end. I've always used a reading plan as others have suggested before. It's really up to you. Some friends of mine prefer reading it cover to cover, others don't. I think the main thing is not to be legalistic about it, and be open to learn what God has to teach you. I haven't read all of the Bible for a while now. Now days I mostly use a study or reading plan that has some more focus.

[armeck]

i've read the entire bible but i read all the books in a very random order

[Mouse2010]

I've read it from cover to cover, starting at Genesis and reading to Revelation. I did that two or three times when I was pretty young (starting when I was maybe 12?). About the only thing I can say for sure that I gained from reading the whole thing then is an affection for the RSV. Since that was the translation I read when I was younger, it still seems like "the Bible" to me.

When I was quite a bit older, I used one of those Bible-in-a-year programs. I actually bought a Bible that was divided into the readings for each day, which makes it easy to do the reading. I much prefer to that to the old start-in-Genesis-and-read-to-the-end method.