If you’ve ever started a Bible-in-a-Year plan in January and quietly
stopped sometime in March, you’re not alone — that’s most of us. The
plan wasn’t the problem. The plan-to-you fit was.
When we built DiviNav, my husband Robert and I made
a decision that surprises some people: instead of offering one “best”
Bible reading plan, we built three. We did this on purpose. None of them
is better in the abstract — but one of them is almost certainly better
for you, depending on how your brain works, what you’ve tried
before, and where you are right now.
This post is a plain-English comparison of the three approaches we
offer. Read to the end and you should know — without taking a quiz —
which one is yours.
The three plans, in one
sentence each
| Plan | What you read each day | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Bible in Order | The whole Bible, Genesis to Revelation, in order | People who want the full story, in sequence, the way it’s written |
| Daily OT + NT Mix | A portion of Old Testament + a portion of New Testament, every day |
People who don’t want to wait nine months to get to the Gospels |
| Alternating Weeks | One week on OT, then one week on NT, alternating | People who need variety to stay engaged but want each book to breathe |
All three finish the whole Bible in one year. All three use the
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) — a modern, accurate,
public-domain translation we picked specifically so it would be free for
our readers without licensing strings.
That’s the summary. Now let’s get specific.
Plan 1: Bible in Order
This is the simplest possible Bible-in-a-Year plan. You start at
Genesis 1 on Day 1. You finish Revelation 22 on Day 365. Nothing more
clever than that.
Why it’s powerful. The Bible was assembled in a
specific order for reasons. When you read Genesis before Exodus before
Leviticus, you’re inhabiting a story that builds. The Law makes more
sense after the Patriarchs. The Prophets land differently after the
Kings. The Gospels arrive like the answer to a question that took 39
books to ask.
Why it’s hard. Leviticus comes in February. Numbers
and Deuteronomy stack on top of that. Many beautiful, year-defining
promises live in Isaiah and Jeremiah — but you don’t reach them until
October. If your engagement depends on emotional momentum, the long
stretches of legal code and king-lists can be where the plan dies.
Choose Bible in Order if: – You’ve never read the
whole Bible cover-to-cover before – You’re a “finish what you start”
person who can grind through dry stretches – You’re studying alongside a
friend or group going at the same pace – You’re genuinely curious about
how the Old Testament narrative builds (and you’ll cheat to Wikipedia to
look up the kings — that’s fine, do that)
Plan 2: Daily OT + NT Mix
Every day, you read a portion of the Old Testament and a portion of
the New Testament. Both texts move forward each day. You spend about
15–20 minutes per day instead of 10, but you never go more than 24 hours
without time in the Gospels or Epistles.
Why it’s powerful. Reading the OT and NT in parallel
teaches you the relationship between them in a way that sequential
reading rarely does. You’ll find yourself recognizing patterns — a story
in Genesis suddenly echoes a parable in Luke; a prophet’s lament
suddenly explains a tone in Romans. The Bible starts to feel like one
book about one God instead of two collections that share a binding.
Why it’s hard. It’s more reading per day. If your
minutes are tight, this plan asks more of them. And neither testament
gets your full attention, which can frustrate readers who want to
inhabit a single book for a stretch.
Choose Daily OT + NT Mix if: – You’ve read the Bible
before and want a richer, more connected reading this time – You can do
15–20 minutes daily without missing – You like seeing the whole picture
— OT and NT illuminating each other – You’ve quit a one-book-at-a-time
plan before because “I need the New Testament right now, this week”
Plan 3: Alternating Weeks
A week of Old Testament, then a week of New Testament, alternating
all year. Each week you’re in one testament long enough to inhabit it,
but you never stay so long that you burn out.
Why it’s powerful. This is the plan I personally
use, so I’ll say more about it. The alternation gives the brain
both depth and variety. A week in Genesis is enough to actually
settle into the world of the patriarchs; then a week in Matthew lets the
Gospel of the Kingdom land with full attention. When you come back to
the OT, you’re rested. When you come back to the NT, you’re hungry. By
design, every two weeks is a small reset.
Why it’s hard. If you miss a few days, the rhythm
gets confusing — you have to decide whether to catch up or just pick up
where you’d be on the schedule. Some weeks the OT stretch lands in a
hard book (looking at you, Leviticus) and you’ll be tempted to peek
ahead.
Choose Alternating Weeks if: – You like a sense of
rhythm and reset – You want depth in each book without committing to a
whole testament at a time – You’ve done a one-year plan before and want
to try something with more variety this time – You read better in
concentrated blocks than scattered daily nibbles
“Which one will I actually
finish?”
Honest answer: the one that lines up with how you already work.
If you’re a structured, finish-what-you-start person who reads novels
straight through, Bible in Order matches your
wiring.
If you’re a multi-thread reader — three books going at once on your
nightstand, all of them eventually finished — Daily OT + NT
Mix matches yours.
If you’re a person who needs novelty to stay engaged, who alternates
between fiction and nonfiction to keep things fresh, Alternating
Weeks matches yours.
There’s a fourth option that nobody talks about in these articles:
try a sample week of the one that sounds right, and if it feels
wrong, switch. That’s actually what we recommend — and it’s why
every DiviNav plan starts with a free sample.
A word about the translation
We picked the Berean Standard Bible (BSB) for all
three plans for two reasons. First, it’s translated from the original
Hebrew and Greek manuscripts and reads in clean, modern English. Second,
it’s public domain. We don’t pay licensing fees per book, which means we
don’t pass them on to you, and you’ll never hit a “you’ve quoted enough
scripture, please pay us more” wall if you start copying verses into
your journal or sharing them with friends.
There are other excellent translations (ESV, NIV, CSB, NASB), and if
you’re already comfortable with one of those, you can absolutely
substitute. The reading order works regardless of the translation you
have on your shelf. But if you don’t have a strong preference, the BSB
is a good, modern, faithful default.
What we built around the
plans
Each plan is delivered as a PDF reading schedule — date by date —
plus a journal-style companion that gives you space to write the verse
that caught you, the question it raised, and the prayer it became. We
don’t include commentary by default. We want the text to do its work,
and we want your own reflection to be the second voice in the room, not
ours.
If you’d like to try a free sample of any of the three plans — first
month, no payment required — you can grab one here. It’s the same thing we send our paying
readers, just a slice of it. Try the rhythm. See if it fits.
And if you decide a plan is yours, the Lifetime
Bundle ($129, one-time) gives you all three plans permanently —
so you can rotate years, or share with a friend, or just keep the door
open for the season when you outgrow the one you started with.
The honest closing thought
I’ll tell you what I tell my own kids: the best Bible reading
plan is the one you don’t quit. Choose one, give it a real 30-day
shot, and if it isn’t fitting, switch — without guilt — to one that
does. The goal was never the plan. The goal was the year of being in the
text. The plan is just the trail.
Whatever you pick — start. The first day is the only day that
matters.
— Mindi DiviNav · A family of believers, Donnelly, Idaho
Want to try a sample of any of the three plans, free? Start
here →