66 books · 1,189 chapters · Free to read
Read the Bible.
Choose a Testament, explore a book, or search for a topic or verse.
39 books
Old Testament.
Genesis.
Genesis follows creation, humanity’s turning from God, and the beginnings of God’s covenant with Abraham’s family. Through imperfect people and painful circumstances, it introduces promises of blessing that shape the rest of the Bible.
Explore book 40 chaptersExodus.
Exodus tells how God delivers Israel from slavery in Egypt and forms them into a covenant people. The journey through the wilderness leads to instructions for worship and a sanctuary where God’s presence dwells among them.
Explore book 27 chaptersLeviticus.
Leviticus explains worship, sacrifice, purity, and holiness in Israel’s covenant life. Its instructions connect approaching God with how people treat neighbors, care for the vulnerable, and order their shared life.
Explore book 36 chaptersNumbers.
Numbers follows Israel’s journey from Sinai toward the promised land, including repeated rebellion and its consequences. Alongside wilderness failures, the book shows God preserving the people and preparing a new generation to enter the land.
Explore book 34 chaptersDeuteronomy.
Deuteronomy presents Moses’ final teaching before Israel enters the promised land. He recalls God’s faithfulness, renews the covenant, and urges the people to love God through wholehearted, practical obedience.
Explore book 24 chaptersJoshua.
Joshua recounts Israel’s entry into Canaan, the division of the land, and the renewal of the covenant. It connects the gift of the land with the call to faithfulness, while describing warfare in Israel’s ancient setting.
Explore book 21 chaptersJudges.
Judges follows a repeated cycle of Israel abandoning God, suffering oppression, and receiving deliverance through judges. Its increasingly troubled stories expose the damage caused by idolatry, violence, and leadership without faithfulness.
Explore book 4 chaptersRuth.
Ruth tells how a Moabite widow’s loyalty to her mother-in-law becomes part of a larger story of provision and belonging. Through Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz, ordinary acts of faithfulness lead toward the family line of David.
Explore book1 Samuel.
First Samuel traces Israel’s transition from judges to kings through Samuel, Saul, and David. It contrasts outward status with the kind of obedience, humility, and trust required of those who lead God’s people.
Explore book 24 chapters2 Samuel.
Second Samuel follows David’s reign, God’s promise concerning his royal house, and the devastating consequences of David’s sins. The account holds together covenant faithfulness, moral responsibility, grief, and the cost of misused power.
Explore book 22 chapters1 Kings.
First Kings begins with Solomon’s reign and the building of the temple, then follows the kingdom’s division. The ministries of prophets such as Elijah confront rulers and people who turn from God toward injustice and idolatry.
Explore book 25 chapters2 Kings.
Second Kings follows the divided kingdoms toward the fall of Samaria and Jerusalem. Prophetic warnings, moments of reform, and persistent unfaithfulness explain the exile while leaving a small opening for future hope.
Explore book 29 chapters1 Chronicles.
First Chronicles retells Israel’s history through genealogies and David’s reign, emphasizing worship, the temple, and the covenant. For a community looking back after exile, it links present identity with God’s enduring purposes.
Explore book 36 chapters2 Chronicles.
Second Chronicles follows Solomon and the kings of Judah with particular attention to the temple and worship. Accounts of reform and decline lead to exile, then end with an invitation for the people to return and rebuild.
Explore book 10 chaptersEzra.
Ezra recounts the return from exile, the rebuilding of the temple, and renewed attention to God’s law. The community faces opposition and difficult questions about covenant identity, worship, and faithfulness after a long displacement.
Explore book 13 chaptersNehemiah.
Nehemiah describes rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls and renewing the community’s covenant life. Alongside practical leadership and persistent opposition, it emphasizes prayer, economic justice, public Scripture reading, and the continuing need for reform.
Explore book 10 chaptersEsther.
Esther tells how a Jewish queen and her cousin Mordecai respond to a plot against their people in Persia. Although God is not named explicitly, the story explores courage, reversals of fortune, and responsibility in a moment of danger.
Explore book 42 chaptersJob.
Job wrestles with undeserved suffering and the limits of human explanations. Through lament, debate, and God’s response, the book challenges the assumption that prosperity always proves goodness or suffering always proves personal wrongdoing.
Explore book 150 chaptersPsalms.
Psalms gathers songs and prayers of praise, lament, confession, thanksgiving, and trust. These poems give language for bringing the whole of life before God, including joy, anger, fear, waiting, and hope.
Explore book 31 chaptersProverbs.
Proverbs offers wisdom for everyday choices involving speech, work, money, relationships, and self-control. Its sayings describe patterns of wise living under the fear of the Lord, rather than automatic guarantees about every circumstance.
Explore book 12 chaptersEcclesiastes.
Ecclesiastes reflects on work, pleasure, injustice, time, and mortality from the perspective of life’s limits. It questions the pursuit of lasting security in temporary things and invites reverence for God alongside gratitude for ordinary gifts.
Explore book 8 chaptersSong of Solomon.
Song of Solomon is a collection of love poetry celebrating desire, beauty, longing, and mutual affection. Its imagery has also shaped Christian reflection on love, while its immediate language centers on the relationship of the lovers.
Explore book 66 chaptersIsaiah.
Isaiah confronts Judah’s injustice and misplaced trust while announcing judgment, restoration, and hope for the nations. Visions of God’s holiness, the servant, and a renewed creation give the book its broad movement from warning toward comfort.
Explore book 52 chaptersJeremiah.
Jeremiah records warnings before Jerusalem’s fall and the prophet’s painful calling among an unresponsive people. Alongside judgment and grief, it promises restoration and a new covenant written on the heart.
Explore book 5 chaptersLamentations.
Lamentations mourns Jerusalem’s destruction through five poems of grief, confession, and pleading. It gives suffering a voice and places fragile hope in God’s mercy without minimizing the reality of devastation.
Explore book 48 chaptersEzekiel.
Ezekiel speaks to a people in exile through visions, symbolic actions, and prophetic messages. The book moves from judgment on corruption toward promises of a new heart, restored life, and God’s presence among a renewed people.
Explore book 12 chaptersDaniel.
Daniel combines stories of faithfulness under foreign rule with visions of kingdoms, conflict, and God’s final rule. It encourages steadfastness when earthly powers demand allegiance that belongs to God.
Explore book 14 chaptersHosea.
Hosea portrays Israel’s covenant unfaithfulness through the painful image of a broken marriage. God confronts idolatry and injustice while calling the people back with promises of mercy and healing.
Explore book 3 chaptersJoel.
Joel uses the devastation of a locust plague to call the community to repentance and prayer. Its vision of the day of the Lord includes restoration, judgment, and the outpouring of God’s Spirit.
Explore book 9 chaptersAmos.
Amos confronts oppression, dishonest wealth, and worship that leaves injustice untouched. Speaking to a prosperous but divided society, he insists that covenant privilege brings responsibility and ends with a promise of restoration.
Explore book 1 chapterObadiah.
Obadiah condemns Edom’s pride and its treatment of Judah during disaster. The brief prophecy connects violence against a neighboring people with accountability before God and hope for the restoration of Zion.
Explore book 4 chaptersJonah.
Jonah follows a reluctant prophet sent to Nineveh and exposes his resistance to God’s mercy toward others. The story asks whether those who receive compassion can welcome it when it reaches people they resent.
Explore book 7 chaptersMicah.
Micah speaks against corrupt leaders, exploitation, and false confidence in religious privilege. Its warnings are joined by hope for a faithful ruler, restored community, and a life shaped by justice, mercy, and humility before God.
Explore book 3 chaptersNahum.
Nahum announces the fall of Nineveh, the capital of a violent empire. Its vivid poetry presents judgment on oppression as relief for those who have lived under cruelty and domination.
Explore book 3 chaptersHabakkuk.
Habakkuk brings questions about injustice and violent power into conversation with God. The book moves from complaint and waiting toward a prayer of trust that does not depend on visible prosperity.
Explore book 3 chaptersZephaniah.
Zephaniah warns of the day of the Lord against Judah and the nations. The prophecy also calls the humble to seek God and ends with a vision of a restored people rejoicing in God’s presence.
Explore book 2 chaptersHaggai.
Haggai urges the returned exiles to rebuild the temple and reconsider their priorities. Its messages address discouragement and connect renewed obedience with the assurance that God remains with the community.
Explore book 14 chaptersZechariah.
Zechariah encourages the rebuilding community through visions, calls to repentance, and promises about Jerusalem’s future. Images of a humble king, a pierced figure, and God’s coming reign invite hope beyond the community’s immediate weakness.
Explore book 4 chaptersMalachi.
Malachi confronts careless worship, broken commitments, injustice, and cynicism about God’s faithfulness. The book calls the community to return to God and looks ahead to a messenger preparing the way.
Explore bookScripture for everyday life.
Return to the passages explored in our Christian living articles.
King James Version (KJV). Bible text supplied by eBible.org and the CrossWire Bible Society. Summaries are written with AI assistance and are separate from Scripture. Read the chapter itself when considering its meaning.