The Bible can be a jungle to those unfamiliar with it. You could use a guide to help you navigate your way through it – to help you find clearings where you can walk around without getting your feet caught in the underbrush. Elsewhere among the books appendixes, I give you a Bible Reading Plan (BRP). With this page, I am volunteering to read along with you. I remember well when I began reading the Bible at age 26, and I am giving you the help I wish I had received.
What you will find below are links to audio recordings of me reading and commenting on every chapter of the Bible. These audio files were originally recorded in 2015-2018 for podcasts and blogs (which is why I introduce myself at the beginning of each chapter); the podcasts and blogs no longer exist, but I’m preserving those recordings for you here. The average length of each New Testament chapter recording is 20 minutes, and usually stays in the range of 10-30; the Old Testament chapter recordings average about half that length.
You can access these chapters in any order, but I always recommend becoming familiar with the New Testament before trying to tackle the Old Testament. The point of the Bible is Jesus Christ, and the New Testament speaks about Him more explicitly than does the Old Testament. When you do get to the Old Testament, you will hear me introducing each chapter with the title I chose for those podcasts: “Reading the Old Testament with Jesus in mind.” All that said, you are welcome to access these recordings randomly as well as sequentially. You will find Jesus Christ the focal point of every single one.
New Testament
Matthew 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Mark 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Luke 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
John 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Acts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Romans 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
1 Corinthians 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
2 Corinthians 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Galatians 1 2 3 4 5 6
Ephesians 1 2 3 4 5 6
Philippians 1 2 3 4
Colossians 1 2 3 4
1 Thessalonians 1 2 3 4 5
2 Thessalonians 1 2 3
1 Timothy 1 2 3 4 5 6
2 Timothy 1 2 3 4
Titus 1 2 3
Philemon 1
Hebrews 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
James 1 2 3 4 5
1 Peter 1 2 3 4 5
2 Peter 1 2 3
1 John 1 2 3 4 5
2 John 1
3 John 1
Jude 1
Revelation 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Old Testament
Genesis 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Exodus 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
Leviticus 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
Numbers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
Deuteronomy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34
Joshua 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Judges 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Ruth 1 2 3 4
1 Samuel 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
2 Samuel 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
1 Kings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
2 Kings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
1 Chronicles 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
2 Chronicles 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
Ezra 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Nehemiah 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Esther 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Job 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42
Psalm 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119:1-16 119:17-48 119:49-80 119:81-112 119:113-144 119:145-176 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150
Proverbs 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Ecclesiastes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Song of Solomon 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Isaiah 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66
Jeremiah 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52
Lamentations 1 2 3 4 5
Ezekiel 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48
Daniel 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Hosea 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Joel 1 2 3
Amos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Obadiah 1
Jonah 1 2 3 4
Micah 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Nahum 1 2 3
Habakkuk 1 2 3
Zephaniah 1 2 3
Haggai 1 2
Zechariah 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Malachi 1 2 3 4
The Duty of a Man 
These have been so helpful to me. God has blessed me with time, which I was previously wasting scrolling through my phone. Then he gently revealed to me that he wanted me to spend this time in His Word getting to know Him more and I remembered these podcasts I downloaded from you years ago. At first I listened to one a day, but it didn’t take long for me to get so excited that now I’m listening to them any chance I get. Thank you for taking the time to make these and for being willing to share them with others. I am learning so much.
Listening to your podcasts- reading through the Bible. “the abomination that causes desolation” – can you explain what this means? What was Jesus referring to when he referenced it in the book of Mark?
Matthew’s Gospel indicates that Jesus said he was quoting from Daniel. (Compare Mark 13:14 with Matthew 24:15, and then compare both to Daniel 11:31 and 12:11.) I think it also relates to what Jesus had said to the Pharisees just before he spoke to His disciples in Matthew 24 and Mark 13; I’m referring specifically to Matthew 23:37-39, most specifically to verse 38.
The general idea is that when God’s people alienate God through their flagrant sinning, He eventually lets them have their way – leaving “their” house to them desolate. It was “His” house, but they, in effect, drove Him out by their godless behavior. Thus also did Jesus speak in Matthew 21:43.
This is what is happening in America today. This nation was raised up through calling upon the Lord. (Read God in America’s Founding Documents.) It’s certainly what happened to Israel in 70 AD when Jerusalem was destroyed, which Jesus described in 33 AD when He spoke the prophecies we read in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 (and Luke 21).
When we keep worshiping something God has used in the past but has left in the present, we commit idolatry. (See 2 Kings 18:4.) Let us worship a living God, and let us worship Him in spirit and in truth.
Luke 16 23: “ “In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and *saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.”
he lifted his eyes up. So hades is down and Abraham and Lazarus were somewhere higher then Hades where the rich man was?
Abraham and Lazarus were both in Hades – just in a higher part of it. Everyone who died went below to Hades (Sheol).
You talk a lot in Luke 16 about getting to heaven and possibly feeling shame and regret for not doing gods will here on earth or not living righteous lives. Do you think we can live in heaven and feel jealousy and shame and regret? Like the rich man did in hades?
I don’t know about jealousy, but I do think shame and regret can be part of our experience in heaven. That’s but one of the reasons that repentance is so valuable to us here on earth. It gives us a way to process our shame and regret, transforming that energy into a more righteous way of living. Postponing full-scale repentance until heaven postpones all that shame and regret. I want to be caught up with all my chores so that when I go on vacation I can enjoy it without having my mind burdened by what I left undone at home.
Thank you Mike for taking time to answer my questions. I’m trying to understand things I haven’t before. In Luke 20- “but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage;”
Seems like it’s clear here not all are resurrected from the dead but only those worthy.
Taking this verse in isolation, I can see why you might think this. But we must remember that none of us was worthy of resurrection on our own; Jesus’ sacrifice made us worthy. We should also remember that the same Luke who is quoting Jesus here quotes Paul as saying, “there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked” (Acts 24:15). That is, Jesus is the righteous and we are the wicked.
Especially when we encounter difficult-to-understand verses, we must interpret them in the light of all of Scripture. Let every important fact be confirmed “by two or three witnesses” (2 Cor 13:1; 1 Cor 14:29; and elsewhere).
“But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
Luke 20:37 NASB1995
Moses showed that the dead are raised would mean Abraham Isaac and Jacob were raised?
Not that they had been raised, but that they would be raised…when the dead were raised. Remember that Jesus said no one had ascended into heaven (John 3:13) before Him and that He Himself was named the firstborn from the dead (Col 1:18; Rev 1:5). Paul lays out the sequence of events, with the resurrection of Christ coming first and then the resurrection of everyone else at the coming of the kingdom, in 1 Cor 15:12-57.
The Old Testament is full of hope for the resurrection of the dead (Acts 23:6-8), even though the Sadducees didn’t share it. “That’s why they were sad, you see?”
I explain this “resurrection two-step” at length in Chapter 7 – “The First Resurrection,” and Chapter 8 – “The Resurrection of the Rest of the Dead” of The Biblical Case for Everyone Going to Heaven.
Notice also in Luke 20:37 that Jesus doesn’t say that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are raised because they are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…but because they are dead. Thus everyone is resurrected.
Only the living die, and only the dead are raised. Thus everyone is going to heaven…all because of Jesus…and Jesus alone.
Yes that makes sense! Thank you so much for explaining. I have been talking with people who think there was this intermediate place above earth that’s not heaven but also not below that people like Abraham and Moses and Jacob and went. I wish these verses were clearer.
The Scriptures paint a clear and simple picture of the unseen realm. It was three-tiered from creation until the second coming: heaven above, earth here, and Sheol (Hades) below. It has been two-tiered ever since: heaven above, earth here. The purpose of The Biblical Case for Everyone Going to Heaven was to convey the before, the after, and the transition in between. If you’ve read the book, it sounds like I failed at my purpose. If you haven’t read it yet, I still have hope that it can help you see the simplicity of what God created, and how He redeemed it.
As the Lord said to Jeremiah, is not the potter allowed to remake a spoiled vessel into something else? (Jer 18:1-10) Sin spoiled the first creation, so God made a new creation from the old. Likewise, He did not make an entirely new human race but rather is resurrecting the one He already has.
Just wanted to let you know your audio file of reading Acts 25 cuts off after verse 19.
Thanks for letting me know. I made a notation above.
In Isaiah 52:15, what do you think it means when it says “Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him; For what has not been told them they will see, And what they had not heard they will understand.”
Everyone knows that the New Testament is about Jesus Christ, but one of the important things that the New Testament teaches is that the Old Testament is also about Him. Therefore, no matter what part of the Bible I’m reading, I always look for Jesus Christ. Of course, sometimes He’s easier to find than others.
The NASB translators set off Isaiah 52:13-15 as a paragraph. Seeing Isaiah 52:15 in that context makes is a part of the Bible where it’s easier to find Jesus than in others. That is, Isaiah was prophesying of the Messiah. His appearance was “marred” in His crucifixion and death, just as He was “high and lifted up and greatly exalted” in His resurrection from the dead and ascension into heaven. He “sprinkled many nations” with His blood (1 Peter 1:2). And the kings who “had not been told” and “had not heard” were, of course, the Gentile kings who heard the gospel message, beginning as described in the book of Acts. Jesus is “the King of the nations,” as one of Isaiah’s fellow prophets called Him (Jeremiah 10:7).