My take on Professor Horner’s Bible-Reading System

Origin

I have recently taken up a new Bible reading plan, or system in this case, that I find quite enjoyable and beneficial. This plan was originated by Professor Grant Horner and consists of 10 chapters a day. Though it doesn’t feel like you’re reading 10 chapters. Professor Horner accomplished this by the way you are taking in the chapters. You start with 10 lists of books of the Bible—more on that later—and read one chapter from each. By doing this, you will constantly jump around the Bible. This is great because, as the Reformers said, ‘Scripture interprets Scripture’. One chapter is also just long enough so you don’t feel like you’re constantly changing subjects in a herky-jerky manner.

This system can also last as long as you want because once you finish a list, you repeat it. So some lists are shorter and will be read more often than others. Here are Professor Horner’s original lists:

1. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John | 89 chapters / days
2. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy | 187 chapters / days
3. Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Hebrews | 78 chapters / days
4. 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation | 65 chapters / days
5. Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon | 62 chapters / days
6. Psalms | 150 chapters / days
7. Proverbs | 31 chapters / days
8. Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther | 249 chapters / days
9. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi | 250 chapters / days
10. Acts | 28 chapters / days

Customized

Now don’t get me wrong, it’s a good list, but I wanted my own version. I started by taking Acts and switching it with Romans and Hebrews. It was better, but I knew to be satisfied I was going to have to change more. I proceeded to go through multiple customized lists until I decided I need to move on and just start reading. Here is the one I landed on:

1. Genesis, Romans | 66 chapters / days
2. Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua | 161 chapters / days
3. Judges, Ruth, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations | 148 chapters / days
4. 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles | 167 chapters / days
5. Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon | 93 chapters / days
6. Psalms | 150 chapters / days
7. Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther | 160 chapters / days
8. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John | 89 chapters / days
9. Acts, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians | 77 chapters / days
10. 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation | 78 chapters / days

At first, this list might seem to follow little to no structure, which it mostly true. Though, there is a little structure that I will attempt to explain. First, I put Genesis and Romans together as a ‘Selected Scriptures’ list. Those two specifically can be changed in the future. In fact, I plan on changing all of this in the future, though perhaps a little further down the line. Second, I added Joshua with the rest of the Pentateuch to help even things out. In my version of the system, I wanted everything to be at least read twice a year. To do this, all lists have to be shorter than 180 chapters / days. That also resulted in Judges and Ruth joining some Prophets to make a separate list. Much of the rest is put in either order of the Bible or Chronological.

Practiced

While I do like Horner’s way of bouncing between the OT and NT, I find it more practical to read it in order of Genesis to Revelation. To do this, I bought this ESV Reader’s Bible and this bookmark (or this). The Reader’s Bible is perfect as a single volume containing only chapter numbers. I prefer to not have verse numbers for this type of reading because they can often be distracting. The Bible also has two ribbons of it is own. That, accompanied by the 8 ribbon bookmark, works perfectly for all 10 lists.

I also have come across some tips if you attempt this system.

1. Make sure your reading speed is more fast pace. Don’t stop to look something up or cross-reference.
2. If 10 chapters a day is too much, try less! Make a system with 8 or 5 lists.
3. You can also split up your time—morning and evening.
4. If you miss a day or two, keep going. With no deadlines, this system is super forgiving.

Now try it yourself! Or read Professor Horner’s PDF for more information.