This Bible reading plan takes you through most of the Holy Scriptures each weekday of the year. Each day has three Bible readings:
You're welcome to read one, two, or all three of the readings every weekday. And if you fall behind, don't worry! You can either use the weekends to catch up or you can simply dive in to the reading for that day, even if you've missed a few days, weeks, or even months!
You can download a foldable bookmark here: 2026
5:1 Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.
3 Honor widows who are truly widows. 4 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God. 5 She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day, 6 but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives. 7 Command these things as well, so that they may be without reproach. 8 But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
9 Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been the wife of one husband,1 10 and having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work. 11 But refuse to enroll younger widows, for when their passions draw them away from Christ, they desire to marry 12 and so incur condemnation for having abandoned their former faith. 13 Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not. 14 So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, manage their households, and give the adversary no occasion for slander. 15 For some have already strayed after Satan. 16 If any believing woman has relatives who are widows, let her care for them. Let the church not be burdened, so that it may care for those who are truly widows.
17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.” 19 Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 20 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. 21 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality. 22 Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure. 23 No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments. 24 The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. 25 So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden.
[1] 5:9
(ESV)
I have a confession to make. As a cyclist, I'm too much like a fisherman. You know how fishermen are; they've always got a story about the big one that got away. They always know how to make the one they caught weigh a little more, or seem a little bigger. Well, unfortunately I tend to do the same thing. If I rode 27 miles I like to say I rode 30. If I climbed 1067 feet I like to say it was 1100 feet. If I averaged 15.6 miles per hour I like to say I did 16. I always average up, never down. Truth is, I like to stretch the truth, especially when I think it makes me look better.
Stretching the truth, especially in things like cycling and fishing seems pretty harmless. But the truth is much more important when it comes to God. Four times in his Pastoral Epistles, Paul warns against "myths." In 1 Timothy 1:4 Paul urged Timothy to command certain men not to teach false doctrine or devote themselves to myths. In chapter 4 verse 7 Paul says: "Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales." In 2 Timothy 4:4 Paul warns against those who "turn aside to myths." And in Titus 1:14 Paul tells Titus to rebuke rebellious people who are teaching things they ought not to teach so that they will "pay no attention to Jewish myths."
Many of the religions of mankind are nothing but myth, made up stories about false gods and superheroes. What makes our Christian faith unique is the fact that it is firmly grounded in historical events that represent God's work in human history for our salvation. The Bible is not just a collection of spiritual or wise sayings. It's not just a bunch of laws or rules. It's not just tales about the supernatural realm. The facts in the Bible can be and have been checked against history and archaeology. The things God has done through his people Israel to bring us a Savior, and the things Jesus has done to accomplish our salvation are real. They actually took place, and we can stake our faith on them.
That's why it's so important that we don't turn aside from the truth to myths, whether they be "godless myths" that deny the truth of God's Word or "Jewish myths" that claim we must be circumcised or obey certain laws in order to be right with God. Have you ever heard someone say, "I don't know what the Bible says, but I think..."; that's what we need to avoid. We need to stick to the facts of how God has made Himself known to us in His Son and how He has acted in history for our salvation. We need to stick to God's Word. Then we'll be standing on solid ground.
14:1 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:
2 “Judah mourns,
and her gates languish;
her people lament on the ground,
and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.
3 Her nobles send their servants for water;
they come to the cisterns;
they find no water;
they return with their vessels empty;
they are ashamed and confounded
and cover their heads.
4 Because of the ground that is dismayed,
since there is no rain on the land,
the farmers are ashamed;
they cover their heads.
5 Even the doe in the field forsakes her newborn fawn
because there is no grass.
6 The wild donkeys stand on the bare heights;
they pant for air like jackals;
their eyes fail
because there is no vegetation.
7 “Though our iniquities testify against us,
act, O LORD, for your name’s sake;
for our backslidings are many;
we have sinned against you.
8 O you hope of Israel,
its savior in time of trouble,
why should you be like a stranger in the land,
like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?
9 Why should you be like a man confused,
like a mighty warrior who cannot save?
Yet you, O LORD, are in the midst of us,
and we are called by your name;
do not leave us.”
10 Thus says the LORD concerning this people:
“They have loved to wander thus;
they have not restrained their feet;
therefore the LORD does not accept them;
now he will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins.”
11 The LORD said to me: “Do not pray for the welfare of this people. 12 Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, and though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”
13 Then I said: “Ah, Lord GOD, behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’” 14 And the LORD said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds. 15 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name although I did not send them, and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not come upon this land’: By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed. 16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword, with none to bury them—them, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out their evil upon them.
17 “You shall say to them this word:
‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day,
and let them not cease,
for the virgin daughter of my people is shattered with a great wound,
with a very grievous blow.
18 If I go out into the field,
behold, those pierced by the sword!
And if I enter the city,
behold, the diseases of famine!
For both prophet and priest ply their trade through the land
and have no knowledge.’”
19 Have you utterly rejected Judah?
Does your soul loathe Zion?
Why have you struck us down
so that there is no healing for us?
We looked for peace, but no good came;
for a time of healing, but behold, terror.
20 We acknowledge our wickedness, O LORD,
and the iniquity of our fathers,
for we have sinned against you.
21 Do not spurn us, for your name’s sake;
do not dishonor your glorious throne;
remember and do not break your covenant with us.
22 Are there any among the false gods of the nations that can bring rain?
Or can the heavens give showers?
Are you not he, O LORD our God?
We set our hope on you,
for you do all these things.
(ESV)
Having lived in San Antonio for the past year, it is easy to identify with the curse of a drought. Last year's drought brought parched lawns that simply would not be revived with the spring rains. Jerusalem's situation was much worse. People would go to the wells and pools looking for water and come back with empty jars. The mourning is shared by all as they cover their heads in grief and shame. Even the wildlife is affected. God warned His people of this curse in Deuteronomy 28:22. It was among the many curses threatened if they broke God's covenant. In the face of such suffering the people confessed their sins, yet they wondered why God seemed distant and unable to help them. But God explained that although they expressed repentance the people still loved to wander. Once again, God commands Jeremiah not to pray for his people. Their outward ceremonies cannot rescue them. God tells Jeremiah to express his grief openly to the people as he mourns their suffering from not only drought and famine, but also from the sword of judgment. Jeremiah asks the LORD, "Have you utterly rejected Judah?" The people longed for peace and healing but there was none. Jeremiah prays, "for your name's sake... do not break your covenant with us." It was God's people, however, who broke the covenant, not God! Nevertheless, we know that God heard and answered the prophet's prayers, because God did preserve for Himself a remnant of Israel which He brought back from captivity and maintained until the coming of the Messiah, Jesus, God's own Son. Jeremiah reminds us that there is none among the idols who can bring rain to a parched land. Therefore, "We set our hope on you, for you do all these things."
11 The Lord gives the word;
the women who announce the news are a great host:
12 “The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”
The women at home divide the spoil—
13 though you men lie among the sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
its pinions with shimmering gold.
14 When the Almighty scatters kings there,
let snow fall on Zalmon.
15 O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;
O many-peaked1 mountain, mountain of Bashan!
16 Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,
at the mount that God desired for his abode,
yes, where the LORD will dwell forever?
17 The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands;
the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
18 You ascended on high,
leading a host of captives in your train
and receiving gifts among men,
even among the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there.
19 Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation. Selah
20 Our God is a God of salvation,
and to GOD, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.
21 But God will strike the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.
22 The Lord said,
“I will bring them back from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23 that you may strike your feet in their blood,
that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”
[1] 68:15
(ESV)