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
1:1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram,1 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph,2 8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos,3 and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel,4 and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ5 took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed6 to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
[1] 1:3
[2] 1:7
[3] 1:10
[4] 1:12
[5] 1:18
[6] 1:18
(ESV)
The other day, as I was on my way to work, I was listening to the WOAI morning show where the question of the day was, "At your child's college graduation, do you stay for the complete ceremony, or do you quietly leave after their name is read?" Caller after caller voiced their opinions on both sides of the issue. Some insisted that you should stay for the whole ceremony out of deference to your child's classmates while others admitted that they intentionally find excuses to excuse themselves from such a long-winded ceremony. Whatever the opinion expressed, however, one thing was for certain: None of the callers really enjoyed sitting through long litanies of names rattled off at most college graduations. Sure, some insisted that a person should stay through the entire ceremony for the sake of politeness, but no one stood elated at the prospect listening to unfamiliar name after unfamiliar name just so they could hear the one name of the person whom they loved.
Oftentimes, whenever we encounter a biblical genealogy, the lengthy list of names contained therein strikes us to be a bit like the innumerable inventories of names announced at college graduations To use the old King James language: "And Zabad begat Ephlal, and Ephlal begat Obed, and Obed begat Jehu, and Jehu begat Azariah, and Azariah begat Helez, and Helez begat Eleasah, and Eleasah begat Sisamai, and Sisamai begat Shallum, and Shallum begat Jekamiah, and Jekamiah begat Elishama" (1 Chronicles 2:37-41).
Now for a brief time of personal confession. Did you read the above genealogy carefully and studiously? Did you ponder over each name, perhaps even looking up a few of the names in a Bible dictionary to learn more about them? Or, did you just skim over the names in bored indifference? How about in our reading for today from Matthew 1? Did you read each name carefully or did you just skip Matthew's opening verses to get to the interesting part where Jesus is born?
I know it can be tempting to breeze through biblical genealogies. Admittedly, I myself have far too often paid little attention to these lengthy lists of names. And yet, these genealogies are much more intriguing, interesting, and invaluable than they might first appear. For behind each name lies a life who is part of God's unfolding story of salvation. Take, for instance, a sampling of the names which appear in Matthew's genealogy. Tamar (verse 3), a woman who pretended to be a prostitute so that she could coax her father-in-law into sleeping with her. King David (verse 6), a murderer as well as an adulterer. Solomon (verse 6), a son of David, who worshipped false and abhorrent gods. Or how about Jeconiah (verse 12), a king who did such terrible evil in the eyes of the Lord that God cursed his family line. These are the names that Matthew marshals to record the family history of none other than "Jesus, who is called Christ" (verse 16).
Hmmm. Perhaps Matthew should have done some selective editing and left a few of these less savory characters out of the family tree of the Savior of the world. After all, this kind of a sordid genealogical reckoning doesn't exactly speak well of Jesus' pedigree. But this is exactly Matthew's point. For Matthew is seeking to remind his reader exactly why we need a Savior. We need a Savior because of Tamar and because of David and because of Solomon and because of Jeconiah... and because of you and me.
The Greek word for "genealogy" is genesis, meaning "origin" or "beginning." Perhaps you are better familiar with this word as the namesake for the first book of the Bible: Genesis. This book's name actually describes its contents. It is a history of the origin of humanity and of Israel. But now in Matthew's gospel, this word has returned, not to describe a garden named Eden, but a person named Jesus. For Jesus is bringing about a new Genesis - a new beginning. A new beginning that is marked not by transgression and folly, but one that is marked by righteousness and compassion. In a very real sense, Jesus is redoing Genesis. Except that Jesus, unlike us, actually gets Genesis right. He does not sin as do Adam and Eve.
This, then, is the sequence of Matthew's genealogy: He begins with the old Genesis and with all of the sinfulness and brokenness that marks its people. But he ends with the new Genesis - "Jesus, who is called the Christ." And the new Genesis does everything well. That's the point of all those boring names. For all those boring names point us to Jesus. Then again, now that you know some of the raucous stories behind those names, perhaps they aren't so boring after all.
16 “After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD, saying: 17 ‘Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you. 18 You show steadfast love to thousands, but you repay the guilt of fathers to their children after them, O great and mighty God, whose name is the LORD of hosts, 19 great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, rewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds. 20 You have shown signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day in Israel and among all mankind, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day. 21 You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and outstretched arm, and with great terror. 22 And you gave them this land, which you swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. 23 And they entered and took possession of it. But they did not obey your voice or walk in your law. They did nothing of all you commanded them to do. Therefore you have made all this disaster come upon them. 24 Behold, the siege mounds have come up to the city to take it, and because of sword and famine and pestilence the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What you spoke has come to pass, and behold, you see it. 25 Yet you, O Lord GOD, have said to me, “Buy the field for money and get witnesses”—though the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.’”
26 The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 27 “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me? 28 Therefore, thus says the LORD: Behold, I am giving this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall capture it. 29 The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city shall come and set this city on fire and burn it, with the houses on whose roofs offerings have been made to Baal and drink offerings have been poured out to other gods, to provoke me to anger. 30 For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth. The children of Israel have done nothing but provoke me to anger by the work of their hands, declares the LORD. 31 This city has aroused my anger and wrath, from the day it was built to this day, so that I will remove it from my sight 32 because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah that they did to provoke me to anger—their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 33 They have turned to me their back and not their face. And though I have taught them persistently, they have not listened to receive instruction. 34 They set up their abominations in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. 35 They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
(ESV)
After transacting his business, Jeremiah prayed to the LORD. In his prayer the prophet acknowledged God's greatness and righteousness. He spoke of God's justice: "you reward everyone according to his conduct and as his deeds deserve." Jeremiah remembered God's goodness in bringing His people out of Egypt and bringing them into the Promised Land. Then Jeremiah admitted the sins that God's people had committed: "they did not obey you or follow your law." Jeremiah confessed that the siege ramps that were built up to take the city, and its inevitable downfall because of the sword, famine and plague were all the result of their sins. In spite of this, God's command to Jeremiah was to buy the field of his relative. By ending on this note in his prayer, Jeremiah may have been asking God to strengthen his faith that he had done the right thing, and that God's promise would be fulfilled. In response to Jeremiah's prayer God answered: "I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?" Yes, God was about to hand Jerusalem over to the king of Babylon. The city whose people had worshiped idols from the rooftops would soon be leveled. Because of their prolonged and repeated sins God's anger was provoked and He was going to remove Jerusalem from His sight. The evils they had committed in the name of Baal and Molech, and their other false gods were unspeakable. Because God's people had turned their backs on Him, He was about to turn His back on them—but only for a season. No, nothing was too hard for the God of all mankind, not even restoring Israel after He chastened them through the Babylonian exile.
79:1 O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy temple;
they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2 They have given the bodies of your servants
to the birds of the heavens for food,
the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.
3 They have poured out their blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there was no one to bury them.
4 We have become a taunt to our neighbors,
mocked and derided by those around us.
5 How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever?
Will your jealousy burn like fire?
(ESV)