If you are like me, you may often make excuses for not reading Scripture, the most common of which is “there’s not enough time!” But the reality is that there is enough time. We fill our schedules with other priorities while we neglect God’s Word. It can be helpful for us to realize just how much time reading the Bible actual takes. I’ve compiled a list of each book of the Bible ranked according to word count and how long they take to read (based on a slow reader’s speed of 100 words per minute).
Almost half the books in the Bible take less than a half-hour to read. Twenty-three of them can be read in under twenty minutes! That’s one episode of your favourite episode on Netflix (and let’s be honest, you’re going to watch 3–7 episodes consecutively). That’s the amount of time you probably spend checking Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter on any given morning. That’s the amount of half a lunch break at work.
I hope this list will help you to see that reading whole books of the Bible is an attainable goal if we make it a priority.
Shortest to Longest
3 John – 219 words, 2.2 minutes
2 John – 245, 2.5 minutes
Philemon – 335, 3.5 minutes
Obadiah – 440, 4.5 minutes
Jude – 461, 4.6 minutes
Titus – 659, 7 minutes
2 Thessalonians – 823, 8 minutes
Nahum – 855, 8.5 minutes
Haggai – 926, 9 minutes
Habakkuk 1,011, 10 minutes
Jonah – 1,082, 10 minutes
2 Peter – 1,099, 10 minutes
Zephaniah – 1,141, 10 minutes
2 Timothy – 1,238, 12 minutes
Malachi – 1,320, 13 minutes
Joel – 1,447, 15 minutes
1 Thessalonians – 1,481, 15 minutes
Colossians – 1,582, 16 minutes
1 Timothy – 1,591, 16 minutes
Philippians – 1,629, 16 minutes
1 Peter – 1,684, 17 minutes
James – 1,742, 17.5 minutes
Song of Songs – 2,020, 20 minutes
Ruth – 2,039, 20 minutes
Micah – 2,118, 21 minutes
1 John – 2,141, 21 minutes
Galatians – 2,230, 22 minutes
Lamentations – 2,324, 23 minutes
Ephesians – 2,422, 24 minutes
Amos – 3,027, 30 minutes
Hosea – 3,615, 36 minutes
2 Corinthians- 4,477, 45 minutes
Ecclesiastes – 4,537, 45 minutes
Zechariah – 4,855, 48 minutes
Esther – 4,932, 49 minutes
Hebrews – 4,953, 50 minutes
Ezra – 5,605, 56 minutes
1 Corinthians – 6,830, 68 minutes
Romans – 7,111, 71 minutes
Nehemiah – 8,507, 85 minutes
Daniel – 9,001, 90 minutes
Revelation – 9,851, 98 minutes
Proverbs – 9,921, 99 minutes
Mark – 11,304, 113 minutes
Job – 12,674, 126 minutes
Judges – 15,385, 153 minutes
John – 15,635, 156 minutes
Joshua – 15,671, 156 minutes
1 Chronicles – 16,664, 166 minutes
2 Samuel- 17,170, 171 minutes
Matthew – 18,346, 183 minutes
Acts – 18,450, 184 minutes
2 Kings – 18,784, 187 minutes
Leviticus – 18,852, 188 minutes
Luke – 19,482, 194 minutes
1 Kings – 20,361, 203 minutes
1 Samuel – 20,837, 208 minutes
2 Chronicles – 21,349, 213 minutes
Deuteronomy- 23,008, 230 minutes
Numbers – 25,048, 250 minutes
Isaiah – 25,608, 256 minutes
Exodus – 25,957, 259 minutes
Ezekiel – 29,918, 299 minutes
Psalms – 30,147, 301 minutes
Genesis – 32,046, 320 minutes
Jeremiah – 33,002, 330 minutes