Iota
A free Bible reader that shows one word at a time, with the whole verse underneath, at the pace you set.
Make it plain, that he may run that reads it. Habakkuk 2:2
How long does it take to read the Bible?
Set your pace and every number follows: the whole Bible, each book, and a daily plan. Every figure is a word count from the full text divided by your pace.
The whole Bible at 238 words a minute
50 hr 54 min
Start reading at 238 words a minute- 3 min
- an average chapter
- 1 hr 17 min
- the Gospel of John
- 12 hr 2 min
- the New Testament
Common paces
Not sure of your pace? Time yourself on the opening of Ruth. It takes about 35 seconds.
At 15 minutes a day you finish the Bible in 204 days, about 7 months.
How long each book of the Bible takes to read
Times follow the pace you set above, 238 words a minute. Tap a book to open it in Iota at that pace.
Old Testament38 hr 51 min
- Genesis2 hr 27 min
- Exodus2 hr 2 min
- Leviticus1 hr 33 min
- Numbers2 hr
- Deuteronomy1 hr 48 min
- Joshua1 hr 8 min
- Judges1 hr 10 min
- Ruth10 min
- 1 Samuel1 hr 35 min
- 2 Samuel1 hr 18 min
- 1 Kings1 hr 34 min
- 2 Kings1 hr 31 min
- 1 Chronicles1 hr 18 min
- 2 Chronicles1 hr 41 min
- Ezra27 min
- Nehemiah40 min
- Esther21 min
- Job1 hr 10 min
- Psalms2 hr 50 min
- Proverbs59 min
- Ecclesiastes22 min
- Song of Solomon11 min
- Isaiah2 hr 23 min
- Jeremiah2 hr 46 min
- Lamentations14 min
- Ezekiel2 hr 31 min
- Daniel45 min
- Hosea21 min
- Joel8 min
- Amos16 min
- Obadiah3 min
- Jonah5 min
- Micah12 min
- Nahum5 min
- Habakkuk6 min
- Zephaniah6 min
- Haggai4 min
- Zechariah24 min
- Malachi7 min
New Testament12 hr 2 min
- Matthew1 hr 33 min
- Mark58 min
- Luke1 hr 40 min
- John1 hr 17 min
- Acts1 hr 34 min
- Romans40 min
- 1 Corinthians39 min
- 2 Corinthians25 min
- Galatians13 min
- Ephesians13 min
- Philippians9 min
- Colossians8 min
- 1 Thessalonians8 min
- 2 Thessalonians4 min
- 1 Timothy10 min
- 2 Timothy7 min
- Titus4 min
- Philemon2 min
- Hebrews28 min
- James9 min
- 1 Peter10 min
- 2 Peter6 min
- 1 John11 min
- 2 John1 min
- 3 John1 min
- Jude3 min
- Revelation47 min
How Iota works
- Tap to start. One word at a time appears at the center of the screen, one letter lit in gold where the eye reads fastest. Tap again to stop.
- Hold to brake. The words freeze while your finger is down. Slide left to walk back through them. Lift to carry on.
- The verse stays. The whole verse sits under the word with your place lit, so you can look back whenever you want.
- Your place is kept. Every chapter you finish fills in a map of the 66 books. Iota reopens where you stopped and keeps your streak and pace.
Why one word, and why the verse stays
A word is recognized fastest when the eye lands a little left of its middle (Brysbaert and Nazir, Journal of Research in Reading, 2005), so Iota holds that letter at one fixed point and brings the words to you. Readers who cannot look back understand less (Schotter, Tran and Rayner, Psychological Science, 2014), which is why the whole verse stays on screen with your word lit, and why Iota pauses at commas and rests for a beat after each sentence.
What is in it
- The Berean Standard Bible in modern English, with the King James Version one tap away.
- A voice mode that plays the King James narration in time with the words, at up to twice the speed.
- A verse map across the top of every chapter. Drag it to jump anywhere.
- A phrase mode, for reading in short phrases instead of single words.
- Streak, real pace, and a daily target if you set a finish date.
- Free, no ads, no account needed.
Questions
What is Iota?
Iota is a free Bible reader on Ambient Bible. It shows one word at a time at a fixed point on the screen, with the whole verse kept underneath, at a pace you set. Tap to start and stop, hold to brake. Your place, streak and progress are saved on your device.
How long does it take to read the Bible?
About 50 hours and 54 minutes at 238 words a minute, the average adult silent reading pace. That is every one of the 726,745 words in a modern English Bible, counted from the full text. The New Testament alone takes about 12 hours and 2 minutes.
Does reading one word at a time hurt comprehension?
It can when the word is all you see, because you cannot look back. Iota keeps the whole verse on screen with the current word lit so you can glance back any time, pauses at commas, and rests for a beat after each sentence.
Which Bible translations does Iota use?
The Berean Standard Bible, a modern English translation, and the King James Version. Both are in the public domain. The voice mode plays the King James narration in time with the words.
How fast should I read the Bible?
Iota starts at 250 words a minute, just above the adult average of 238. Slower keeps more. The calculator on this page shows how long the whole Bible, or any book, takes at the pace you choose.
Does Iota keep track of my progress?
Yes. Chapters you finish fill in a map of all 66 books. Iota keeps your streak, your real pace, and a daily target if you set a finish date. Everything is stored on your device.