Today, September 1, 2025, I’m launching a brand new project that will take about 18 months to complete. I invite you to join me in The Bible in 10, a listening adventure through the Bible in ten minute increments, accessible via email or podcast app. Every day of the week except Sundays, subscribers to The Bible in 10 will receive an email with that day’s (approximately) 10 minute chunk of the Bible. If you are a podcast listener, you can also subscribe via your podcast app of choice.

Here are some frequently asked questions to get you started:

There are so many audio versions of the Bible online already. Why make another one?

I haven’t read the Bible all the way through in many years. The last time was 2017-18, when I led a group of folks at my church on an epic 18-month journey through the entire Bible. Before this study, called “Genesis 2 Revelation,” I read the Bible in full during seminary and also once before that. Often, to motivate myself to do something I really ought to be doing anyway, I need to make it a project. So, reading the Bible aloud is something I’m doing for myself, which I thought others might like to participate in as well.

Are you reading the Bible in order?

The short answer is “No.” Here’s the longer answer. The “correct order” of the Bible depends on your religion. The Jewish Tanakh orders the Hebrew Scriptures by category (Torah, Prophets, Writings). The Christian Old Testament has the same books but puts them more or less in chronological order. I will bounce back and forth from Old to New Testament so as not to get bogged down in Leviticus and Numbers, which happens to so many people who try to read the Bible from cover to cover. In any case, I will read an entire book at a time, except the Psalms, which I will scatter throughout.

Are you really going to read aloud the chapters that are just a genealogical list of people’s names?

Yes. Yes I am. And I’ll try not to butcher them too badly.

How long will it take to read the entire Bible out loud in ten minute increments?

My back of the napkin math says about 500 days give or take, so let’s call it 15 to 18 months. I won’t be stopping at exactly 10 minutes each day, but that should be about the average. My reading of Genesis 1 took 4.5 minutes and it’s 690 words. I don’t know the exact word count of the CEB, but it’s reasonable to put it at around 700,000. If I’m reading about 700 words every five minutes, then that’s 500 days.

Why choose the Common English Bible (CEB) version?

It’s my favorite translation of the Bible. The text reads like modern English, without being so contemporary that the vernacular feels dated due to overuse of slang. The reading level and conscious word choice allow full participation in the text by people who speak English as a second language. I also had the honor of keynoting the United Methodist Publishing House’s Board of Directors’ Annual Banquet in 2011, the year the CEB was launched, so the translation holds a special place in my heart.

Why read the Bible out loud?

There are several reasons. Here’s an incomplete list:

1. Reading out loud engages our physical bodies in a way that reading silently does not. We use our lungs, diaphragms, vocal cords, tongues, mouths, lips, and facial muscles to speak aloud. The use of our embodied selves to read the text honors the physical Creation God continues to make, bless, and delight in.
2. When we read silently, we often skip over words and phrases. Reading out loud forces us to read every word.
3. Reading out loud offers us the chance to make choices about how dialogue and narration sound given our interpretation of the text. In this, we are like actors decided how to say their lines. These folks might go through several variations before they find the one that fits. This can help us “try on” various interpretations of the biblical text.
4. You might call reading aloud “authentic performance practice” for the day and age in which the Bible was written down. The vast majority of people would have heard the text read aloud, rather than reading it for themselves. Indeed, during the time of the spread of the Gospel and Paul’s letters, people would memorize entire portions of the text and perform them like one-person plays.

Bonus Question: Does anyone read scripture aloud within the text of the Bible itself?

Yes! There are plenty of examples of scripture being read aloud in ceremonial settings. Jesus’ appearance in the gathering in his home town, in which he reads from the Prophet Isaiah, comes to mind (Luke 4). But my favorite example is the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8. He is also reading the Prophet Isaiah when Philip comes up to him on the road. How does Philip know what the man is reading? Because he’s reading out loud!