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 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”1 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.
12 While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy.2 And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 13 And Jesus3 stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And he charged him to tell no one, but “go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” 15 But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. 16 But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.
17 On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal.4 18 And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, 19 but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. 20 And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 22 When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 25 And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. 26 And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”
27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.
29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. 30 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
33 And they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” 34 And Jesus said to them, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.” 36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’”5
[1] 5:10
[2] 5:12
[3] 5:13
[4] 5:17
[5] 5:39
(ESV)
The famed Aesop relays the story of a wagoner who was driving a heavy load of cargo along a road muddied by a recent rainstorm. The wagoner came to a spot where the road was especially treacherous and his wheels sunk deep into the mire. The harder the wagoner whipped his horses to pull, the deeper his wheels sank. Finally, the wagoner exited his chariot, knelt, and prayed to Hercules: "O Hercules, help me in this my hour of distress." Incredibly, Hercules appeared and responded: "Tut, man, don't sprawl there. Get up and put your shoulder to the wheel. The gods help those who help themselves." Such is the origin of this well-known cliché.
Not only is the above cliché well known, it is also widely believed, even among Christians. In fact, in a recent survey, some eighty percent of Christians who describe themselves as "born-again" believe that Aesop's moralism is a direct quote from the Bible!
As it is in our day, so it was in ancient antiquity. The sentiment that "God helps those who help themselves" was well regarded among the theological elite of Jesus' day. The rabbis taught, for instance, that God would not help sinners or liars. But then Jesus came to this earth. And Jesus, contrary to prevailing theological sentiments, believed and acted as if God, instead of only helping those who can help themselves, actually helps those who can't help themselves. Such is the case in our reading for today from Luke 5.
In this chapter, Luke introduces us to a paralytic - an archetypal image of a helpless man. By this point, Jesus' reputation as a healer has already spread so far and wide and that a huge crowd gathers, hoping to see another miraculous salving. But in the case of this paralytic, Jesus surprises everyone. Rather than soothing his sickness, Jesus says to this man: "Friend, your sins are forgiven" (verse 20). The crowd thought it was this man's paralysis that made him helpless. Jesus had another idea. It was his sin that left him truly helpless. For his sin paralyzed him not physically, but spiritually.
The rabbis taught, "A sick man does not recover from his sickness until all his sins are forgiven him" (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 41a). Jesus, in this instance, extols the salutariness of this rabbinical statement and does what is more vital first: he forgives this man's sins. Ironically, the religious leaders, contrary to their own teaching and tradition, become indignant: "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone" (verse 21)? Jesus, in order demonstrate his authority to forgive sins, responds, "That you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins... I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home" (verse 24). And the man does! The man is no longer helpless - physically or spiritually. For he has been healed and forgiven by Christ.
The unequivocal affirmation of Scripture is that we are all helpless. Sin has left us this way. And yet, God's good news is that "while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly" (Romans 5:6). God doesn't help those who can help themselves, he helps those who can't help themselves.
So where are you feeling helpless? Has your financial situation spiraled out of control? Is a relationship in shambles? Is there a sinful addiction you just can't break? Before you vainly try to help yourself, cry out to God for his help - for his strength, endurance, and forgiveness. Because it's then, and only then, that you can take appropriate and wise steps to help yourself - and others.
26:1 In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, ‘Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste,’ 3 therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. 4 They shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers, and I will scrape her soil from her and make her a bare rock. 5 She shall be in the midst of the sea a place for the spreading of nets, for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD. And she shall become plunder for the nations, 6 and her daughters on the mainland shall be killed by the sword. Then they will know that I am the LORD.
7 “For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar1 king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, and with horsemen and a host of many soldiers. 8 He will kill with the sword your daughters on the mainland. He will set up a siege wall against you and throw up a mound against you, and raise a roof of shields against you. 9 He will direct the shock of his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. 10 His horses will be so many that their dust will cover you. Your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen and wagons and chariots, when he enters your gates as men enter a city that has been breached. 11 With the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground. 12 They will plunder your riches and loot your merchandise. They will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses. Your stones and timber and soil they will cast into the midst of the waters. 13 And I will stop the music of your songs, and the sound of your lyres shall be heard no more. 14 I will make you a bare rock. You shall be a place for the spreading of nets. You shall never be rebuilt, for I am the LORD; I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD.
15 “Thus says the Lord GOD to Tyre: Will not the coastlands shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan, when slaughter is made in your midst? 16 Then all the princes of the sea will step down from their thrones and remove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground and tremble every moment and be appalled at you. 17 And they will raise a lamentation over you and say to you,
“‘How you have perished,
you who were inhabited from the seas,
O city renowned,
who was mighty on the sea;
she and her inhabitants imposed their terror
on all her inhabitants!
18 Now the coastlands tremble
on the day of your fall,
and the coastlands that are on the sea
are dismayed at your passing.’
[1] 26:7
(ESV)
As he had done repeatedly, Ezekiel gave the exact date when the Word of the LORD came to him concerning Tyre. This precision, along with the fulfillment of the all the prophecies that Ezekiel made, give us great confidence that this book, like all the others in Scripture, is the inspired, inerrant Word of God. Tyre was an important seaport on the Mediterranean, and its merchants had amassed great wealth and power. Like the other nations surrounding Israel, however, they took great delight in the downfall of Jerusalem. God therefore decreed their own destruction. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon would lay siege to this great city for 13 years before it was brought down. God said that its wealth would be plundered and it would be laid bare like a rock beside that sea that was good for nothing other than as a place for fishermen to dry their nets. The siege of this great city and her "daughters," that is, the other Phoenician towns that were of lesser importance (including Sidon), was described in great detail. The coastal defenses on islands off the mainland "would shake at the sound of your fall." These island outposts held out against Nebuchadnezzar and remained intact until they were demolished by Alexander the Great. Their lament would mourn the destruction of the "city renowned, who was mighty on the sea." When Jesus saw the impenitence of Korazin and Bethsaida, where His many miracles failed to produce repentance, He made a comparison to Tyre. "If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you." (Matthew 11:21-22) To this day Tyre remains a desolate ruin, even as Ezekiel prophesied.
129 Your testimonies are wonderful;
therefore my soul keeps them.
130 The unfolding of your words gives light;
it imparts understanding to the simple.
131 I open my mouth and pant,
because I long for your commandments.
132 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
as is your way with those who love your name.
133 Keep steady my steps according to your promise,
and let no iniquity get dominion over me.
134 Redeem me from man’s oppression,
that I may keep your precepts.
135 Make your face shine upon your servant,
and teach me your statutes.
136 My eyes shed streams of tears,
because people do not keep your law.
137 Righteous are you, O LORD,
and right are your rules.
138 You have appointed your testimonies in righteousness
and in all faithfulness.
139 My zeal consumes me,
because my foes forget your words.
140 Your promise is well tried,
and your servant loves it.
141 I am small and despised,
yet I do not forget your precepts.
142 Your righteousness is righteous forever,
and your law is true.
143 Trouble and anguish have found me out,
but your commandments are my delight.
144 Your testimonies are righteous forever;
give me understanding that I may live.
(ESV)