Bible Reading Plan
Word for Today
This Bible reading plan takes you through most of the Holy Scriptures each weekday of the year. Each day has three Bible readings:
- The first reading is a chapter from the New Testament.
- The second reading is a section from Old Testament history.
- The third reading is from the books of Psalms and Proverbs.
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
Readings for
New Testament Reading
Revelation 12
The Woman and the Dragon
12:1 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. 4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. 5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule1 all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, 6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.
Satan Thrown Down to Earth
7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers2 has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. 12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”
13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. 15 The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. 16 But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. 17 Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood3 on the sand of the sea.
Footnotes
[1] 12:5
[2] 12:10
[3] 12:17
(ESV)
Pastoral Commentary for Revelation 12
Commentary from Pastor Zach McIntosh
In 1890, the then thriving Anchor Buggy Company, the largest producer of buggies in the world, published the ad pictured here. What this ad has to do with horse drawn buggies, I have no idea, but nevertheless, it featured what has become a world-famous optical illusion. Who is this woman? Is she young and in her prime or old and in her twilight years? It depends on how you look at it. Of course, one should not miss the caption under the picture: "You see my wife, but where is my mother-in-law?"
Anchor's business was never the same after that. After all, you never mess with a mother-in-law!
In our reading for today from Revelation 12, we see a strange sight:
A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. (verses 1-5)
What is John talking about here? A heavenly woman? A male child? A fierce dragon? Perhaps we know this story better as it's told by Luke:
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. (Luke 2:1-7)
The story of Revelation 12 is the story of Luke 2. It is the story of Jesus, told from a heavenly perspective. But from a heavenly perspective, it looks a little different. Rather than a quiet stable, we have a roaring dragon. Rather than a meager-looking infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, we have a conquering child wielding an iron scepter. Much like the Anchor Buggy Company's famed optical illusion, the story of Jesus has two sides: The side we see here on earth and the side seen by the angels in heaven. From an earthly perspective, it looks merely like a non-descript birth. From a heavenly perspective, however, it is revealed as a cosmic battle between God and Satan. It just depends on how you look at it.
Many times, the course of our lives can seem bewildering, confusing, and mystifying. Many times, we are left wondering where we are going, what we are doing, and how we will survive the heartaches and challenges of this world. It is during these times that we need to remember that our earthly perspective is not the only perspective there is. There is God's heavenly perspective as well. And God's heavenly perspective is this: That we have "overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony" (verse 11). From God's heavenly perspective, no matter what trial, tragedy, or trouble from Satan we may face, our victory is secure, for we have overcome the dragon by the blood of the Lamb. And so, when our earthly perspective leaves us feeling despondent and defeated, never forget that from God's heavenly perspective, the outcome of our trials is sure and certain: We have and we will overcome. And that's the way we should look at it.
Old Testament Reading
Ezekiel 8
Abominations in the Temple
8:1 In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, with the elders of Judah sitting before me, the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me there. 2 Then I looked, and behold, a form that had the appearance of a man.1 Below what appeared to be his waist was fire, and above his waist was something like the appearance of brightness, like gleaming metal.2 3 He put out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my head, and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the gateway of the inner court that faces north, where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy. 4 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw in the valley.
5 Then he said to me, “Son of man, lift up your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and behold, north of the altar gate, in the entrance, was this image of jealousy. 6 And he said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see still greater abominations.”
7 And he brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, there was a hole in the wall. 8 Then he said to me, “Son of man, dig in the wall.” So I dug in the wall, and behold, there was an entrance. 9 And he said to me, “Go in, and see the vile abominations that they are committing here.” 10 So I went in and saw. And there, engraved on the wall all around, was every form of creeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel. 11 And before them stood seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and the smoke of the cloud of incense went up. 12 Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of pictures? For they say, ‘The LORD does not see us, the LORD has forsaken the land.’” 13 He said also to me, “You will see still greater abominations that they commit.”
14 Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the LORD, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. 15 Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? You will see still greater abominations than these.”
16 And he brought me into the inner court of the house of the LORD. And behold, at the entrance of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs to the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east, worshiping the sun toward the east. 17 Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations that they commit here, that they should fill the land with violence and provoke me still further to anger? Behold, they put the branch to their3 nose. 18 Therefore I will act in wrath. My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”
Footnotes
[1] 8:2
[2] 8:2
[3] 8:17
(ESV)
Pastoral Commentary for Ezekiel 8
Commentary from Pastor Bob Nordlie
What we have in Chapter 8 is like the presentation of evidence in a trial to thoroughly document the guilt of the accused. Ezekiel mentioned the date on which God revealed these abominations to him so that there could be no question as to the truth of Ezekiel's vision and the fact that the events he witnessed were real and true. At the time of the vision the elders of Judah who were in exile with Ezekiel had come to his house to consult the prophet. This vision was God's answer to them concerning the reason for the events in Jerusalem that Ezekiel had prophesied about. As Ezekiel was spiritually transported to the temple in Jerusalem he saw again the vision of the LORD that he had seen before on the plain. Again, his description was carefully worded to show that though God does not have a human body, He had "a form that had the appearance of a man." There in the presence of the LORD Ezekiel saw "the image of jealousy," meaning the idol set up in the temple of the LORD that provoked God's wrath and jealousy, and drove God far from His sanctuary. Then Ezekiel was commanded to dig in the wall of the Temple court in order to see the abominations which the elders were committing in secret, where they thought they were unseen, as though once God has left His sanctuary He was incapable of seeing what went on there. On the walls of that secret room were all kinds of creatures that were being worshiped. One cannot help but think of Paul's words in Romans 1: 22: "Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles." While the vision continued, evidence was heaped up as Ezekiel saw women weeping for the Babylonian fertility goddess Tammuz, and men with their backs to the Temple of the LORD, worshipping the sun in the east. God then reminded Ezekiel that on top of all these abominations, the people of Judah had filled the land with violence. All of this was more than enough reason for God act upon His wrath and destroy Jerusalem.
Psalms/Proverbs Reading
Psalm 107:1–16
Book Five
Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So
107:1 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
whom he has redeemed from trouble1
3 and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to a city to dwell in;
5 hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
till they reached a city to dwell in.
8 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
9 For he satisfies the longing soul,
and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
prisoners in affliction and in irons,
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
they fell down, with none to help.
13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
and burst their bonds apart.
15 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
16 For he shatters the doors of bronze
and cuts in two the bars of iron.
Footnotes
[1] 107:2
(ESV)