THE BIBLE, OPENED UP
Every book.
A place to begin.
Explore the whole World English Bible with a guide to each book, an outline of its chapters, and thoughtful questions for your reading.
Explore the libraryDifferent voices. One library to explore.
Old Testament
Stories of beginnings and covenant, poetry and wisdom, prophets and the life of Israel.
New Testament
Four accounts of Jesus, the story of the early church, letters, and the visions of Revelation.
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Choose a book for its story, setting, outline and a place to begin.
66 books
Genesis
50 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Creation, fractured relationships and a promise to bless the nations open the Bible. The story narrows to Abraham’s family, following trust and failure through to Joseph in Egypt. Notice how the promise continues through people who are far from flawless.
Exodus
40 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
God hears an enslaved people and leads them out of Egypt. Freedom is followed by learning to live together: covenant, worship and the tabernacle give shape to Israel’s life, while the golden calf exposes how fragile its trust remains.
Leviticus
27 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Offerings, purity, festivals and everyday conduct all belong to Israel’s life before a holy God. Read the instructions as a connected pattern of worship and communal responsibility, paying attention to the care required for neighbors, strangers and the land.
Numbers
36 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Israel journeys through the wilderness, but fear and rebellion repeatedly interrupt the way. Between censuses, camp instructions and conflicts, a new generation prepares to enter the land. The journey shows both the cost of distrust and continuing provision.
Deuteronomy
34 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Before Israel enters the land, Moses retells the journey and calls the people to remember. Love for God takes concrete form in justice, worship and care for vulnerable neighbors. The closing chapters place blessing, responsibility and the future before the community.
Joshua
24 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Israel crosses the Jordan, faces conflict and receives its allotted land. The accounts include both faithfulness and failure, and end with a call to choose whom to serve. Read the violent scenes within this particular story rather than as permission for violence today.
Judges
21 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Repeated cycles of oppression and rescue give way to deepening disorder. Even the deliverers are compromised, and the final stories expose devastating harm within Israel. The book invites an honest reading of power and violence, not admiration for every action it records.
Ruth
4 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Bereavement and hunger bring Naomi and Ruth to Bethlehem. Small acts of loyalty, gleaning and generous protection open a future for this family. Ruth’s place as a foreign widow makes the story’s attention to welcome and practical care especially striking.
1 Samuel
31 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Hannah’s prayer and Samuel’s calling lead into Israel’s demand for a king. Saul’s rise and failure unfold alongside David’s unexpected anointing. The story repeatedly asks what faithful leadership looks like when appearance, fear and power pull in another direction.
2 Samuel
24 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
David’s reign brings a united kingdom and a promise concerning his house. It also brings abuse of power, family violence and rebellion. Read the achievements together with the suffering caused by his actions; the narrative does not hide the king’s responsibility.
1 Kings
22 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Solomon’s temple and wisdom are followed by divided loyalties and a divided kingdom. As kings turn toward other gods, prophets challenge their rule. Elijah’s story brings the conflict over worship into focus, alongside the treatment of people with little power.
2 Kings
25 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
The stories of Elijah and Elisha give way to the long decline of Israel and Judah. Reforms interrupt the pattern but do not erase its consequences. The fall of both kingdoms and the exile leave a question of hope beyond political collapse.
1 Chronicles
29 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Long lists of names place individual lives within the story of Israel. The account then centers on David, the ark and preparations for the temple. Worship is shown as shared work involving musicians, gatekeepers, leaders and the wider community.
2 Chronicles
36 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Solomon’s temple opens a story of Judah’s kings measured by their response to God. Reform, prayer and renewed worship recur alongside stubbornness and injustice. Even after Jerusalem falls, the closing proclamation points toward return and rebuilding.
Ezra
10 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Returning exiles rebuild the altar and temple amid opposition and delay. Ezra later calls the community to renewed faithfulness to the law. The closing conflict over marriages is painful: read the community’s concern for identity alongside the human cost the account raises.
Nehemiah
13 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls is only part of the task. Nehemiah also confronts debt, exploitation and the need to hear the law together. The final chapters show that repairing a city does not automatically repair the habits of its people.
Esther
10 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Esther and Mordecai face a plot against the Jewish people within the Persian court. Banquets, hidden identity and reversals shape the story. Esther’s decision to speak places personal risk beside responsibility for others, and the rescue becomes a shared act of remembrance.
Job
42 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Job’s suffering opens a long argument about justice, blame and the limits of explanation. His friends speak confidently, but the ending challenges their account of God. Follow the changing voices without treating every speech as the book’s final answer.
Psalms
150 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Praise, protest, confession and trust all find words in the Psalms. These prayers do not require every day to feel the same. Notice who is speaking, what is being asked and whether a psalm moves toward confidence or leaves its pain unresolved.
Proverbs
31 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Wisdom speaks into speech, work, money, friendship and restraint. The short sayings invite careful judgment about ordinary life. Read them as wisdom to consider in context, rather than as a promise that every good action will bring an immediate reward.
Ecclesiastes
12 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
The speaker tests work, pleasure, wisdom and achievement against time and death. Easy answers repeatedly fall short. Alongside this searching are invitations to receive ordinary gifts, acknowledge limits and live responsibly before God.
Song of Solomon
8 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Poetic voices describe desire, beauty, absence and delight in another person. Images of gardens, seasons and searching carry the conversation. Listen to the alternating speakers and the repeated attention to love’s timing rather than forcing the poems into a simple plot.
Isaiah
66 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Warnings about injustice and misplaced trust stand beside visions of peace, comfort and renewed creation. The book moves through judgment and the hope of restoration. Follow how its pictures of holiness, the servant and a gathered people challenge easy confidence in power.
Jeremiah
52 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Jeremiah challenges false security while Jerusalem moves toward disaster. His grief and conflicts belong to the message, not just its background. Warnings of uprooting stand alongside promises of return and a covenant written on the heart.
Lamentations
5 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Five poems mourn a devastated Jerusalem. The voices describe hunger, abandonment and the search for mercy without rushing past their pain. A statement of hope in the middle does not silence the cries that follow; the collection ends with a plea.
Ezekiel
48 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Ezekiel’s visions confront a people in exile with the loss of Jerusalem and the depth of their unfaithfulness. Later images of a new heart, restored life and a renewed dwelling place open a future. The striking symbols call for patient reading within each vision.
Daniel
12 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Stories of faithfulness in foreign courts lead into visions of threatening kingdoms and their limits. Daniel and his companions face pressure to compromise their worship. The visions place imperial power within a larger hope rather than offering a simple timetable for current events.
Hosea
14 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Hosea uses the painful imagery of a broken relationship to confront Israel’s unfaithfulness. Accusation and grief are joined by persistent calls to return. Read the relational images alongside the book’s insistence on mercy, knowledge of God and the possibility of healing.
Joel
3 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
A devastating loss of crops becomes a summons to lament and gather before God. The call to return is followed by promises of restoration and the outpouring of the Spirit. Judgment and refuge remain together in the closing vision.
Amos
9 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Amos confronts comfortable worship that coexists with exploitation. The accusations move from neighboring nations to Israel itself, refusing the idea that belonging to God excuses injustice. Visions of judgment lead to a final promise of restoration.
Obadiah
1 chapterWEB
Old Testament
Obadiah addresses Edom’s pride and its conduct when Jerusalem was in danger. Standing aside, rejoicing and taking advantage of another people’s disaster are brought into judgment. The short book closes by looking toward restoration and God’s rule.
Jonah
4 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
A prophet runs from his calling, then resents the mercy his message makes possible. The storm, the fish and Nineveh’s response all lead toward God’s final question. Watch how the concern of the story expands beyond Jonah’s own safety and preferences.
Micah
7 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Micah exposes land grabbing, corrupt leadership and worship used to conceal wrongdoing. Visions of peace and a renewed remnant interrupt the warnings. The book holds practical justice, faithful love and humble life with God together.
Nahum
3 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Nahum announces the fall of Nineveh, depicting the end of a city marked by violence and exploitation. Its fierce poetry speaks from the shadow of oppressive power. Read its images with attention to those who have lived under that power.
Habakkuk
3 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Habakkuk questions God about unchecked violence, then struggles with the answer he receives. Complaint, watchful waiting and a prayer of trust shape the book. The final confidence does not deny empty fields or failed harvests; it is voiced in their presence.
Zephaniah
3 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Warnings of the day of the Lord confront complacency, injustice and pride. The scope reaches from Judah to the nations, then turns toward a humble, restored people. The ending pictures gathering, renewed joy and the lifting of disgrace.
Haggai
2 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
The people attend to their own houses while the temple remains unfinished. Haggai calls them to reconsider their priorities and begin again. Discouragement about the modest rebuilding is met with an assurance of God’s presence and a call to persevere.
Zechariah
14 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
Night visions encourage a community rebuilding its life and worship. Calls to justice and sincere fasting keep renewal from becoming merely a building project. Later pictures of a king, shepherds and a transformed Jerusalem widen the horizon of hope.
Malachi
4 chaptersWEB
Old Testament
A series of disputes exposes careless worship, broken faithfulness and doubts about justice. The people’s questions are answered with calls to honor God in their relationships and offerings. A coming messenger and the day of the Lord shape the closing expectation.
Matthew
28 chaptersWEB
New Testament
Matthew presents Jesus through his teaching, his actions and repeated connections with Israel’s Scriptures. The kingdom of heaven challenges familiar measures of greatness. Follow the movement from his birth and public ministry to the cross, resurrection and commission to make disciples.
Mark
16 chaptersWEB
New Testament
Mark moves quickly through Jesus’ encounters, healings and conflicts. The disciples often struggle to understand him, especially when he speaks about suffering. Keep the question of his identity beside the question of what it means to follow his path of service.
Luke
24 chaptersWEB
New Testament
Luke attends closely to prayer, meals and people pushed to the edges of community life. Jesus’ journey toward Jerusalem brings teaching about mercy, possessions and welcome. The resurrection turns confused witnesses toward a renewed understanding of Scripture and their coming task.
John
21 chaptersWEB
New Testament
John unfolds Jesus’ identity through signs, extended conversations and encounters that invite belief. Images of light, bread, water and life run through the account. The farewell teaching places love and abiding at the center before the cross and resurrection.
Acts
28 chaptersWEB
New Testament
The risen Jesus sends witnesses, and the Spirit forms a community whose reach keeps widening. Jerusalem, new peoples and the journeys of Paul shape the movement of the story. Opposition and disagreement accompany the growth rather than disappearing from it.
Romans
16 chaptersWEB
New Testament
Paul unfolds his message of God’s righteousness, human need and grace through Jesus Christ. The argument moves through life in the Spirit and questions about Israel toward shared life in the community. Read individual sentences within that developing argument.
1 Corinthians
16 chaptersWEB
New Testament
A gifted church is divided over leaders, status and behavior. Paul addresses concrete conflicts about bodies, meals, worship and resurrection. His repeated concern is how freedom and spiritual gifts can serve the whole community instead of displaying personal importance.
2 Corinthians
13 chaptersWEB
New Testament
Paul writes through strain in his relationship with the Corinthians. He describes ministry shaped by weakness, reconciliation and costly care, then invites generous support for others. The closing defense asks the church to reconsider what trustworthy leadership looks like.
Galatians
6 chaptersWEB
New Testament
Paul contests the claim that Gentile believers must take on circumcision to belong. He appeals to the promise to Abraham and to life received through Christ. Freedom then takes a practical shape: serving one another in love and walking by the Spirit.
Ephesians
6 chaptersWEB
New Testament
The letter begins with God’s gifts in Christ and a vision of people brought together across division. Its later instructions connect that shared calling with speech, relationships and daily conduct. Unity is something to practice, not merely an idea to affirm.
Philippians
4 chaptersWEB
New Testament
Writing from imprisonment, Paul joins gratitude and joy with the real demands of partnership. Christ’s humility becomes the pattern for life together. The final chapter places contentment beside need and the community’s concrete generosity, rather than effortless success.
Colossians
4 chaptersWEB
New Testament
The letter centers on Christ’s fullness and the new life that follows from belonging to him. Warnings against substitutes for that life lead into concrete instructions about compassion, speech and relationships. The closing greetings make the teaching part of a network of people.
1 Thessalonians
5 chaptersWEB
New Testament
Gratitude for a young community stands beside concern for its endurance. Paul recalls his care for the Thessalonians, encourages holy and loving conduct, and addresses grief over those who have died. Hope for Christ’s return supports mutual encouragement in the present.
2 Thessalonians
3 chaptersWEB
New Testament
The community faces pressure and confusion about the day of the Lord. The letter urges steadiness rather than alarm and addresses disorder in shared life. Expectation of the future is connected with faithful, responsible activity in the present.
1 Timothy
6 chaptersWEB
New Testament
Timothy receives instructions for the community’s teaching, prayer, leadership and care for vulnerable members. Sound teaching is repeatedly connected with character and conduct. Read the practical arrangements alongside the letter’s warnings about ambition, harmful disputes and the love of money.
2 Timothy
4 chaptersWEB
New Testament
A personal call to endurance joins memories, affection and the reality of abandonment. Timothy is urged to guard what he has received, handle teaching faithfully and continue his work through difficulty. The closing names show both disappointment and enduring companionship.
Titus
3 chaptersWEB
New Testament
Titus is asked to support trustworthy leadership and teaching that shapes everyday conduct. Grace is presented as a teacher of a changed life. The letter’s practical aim is a community ready for good work, rather than absorbed in fruitless disputes.
Philemon
1 chapterWEB
New Testament
Paul appeals to Philemon concerning Onesimus, naming him as a beloved brother. The personal request brings faith into a relationship marked by unequal power. Attend to the language of welcome, debt and voluntary response, while keeping the reality of slavery in view.
Hebrews
13 chaptersWEB
New Testament
Hebrews encourages weary hearers by presenting Jesus as the Son, high priest and mediator of a better covenant. It reads Israel’s worship and stories as a framework for perseverance. Warnings and invitations repeatedly call the community to draw near and support one another.
James
5 chaptersWEB
New Testament
James tests the connection between professed faith and daily conduct. Listening, speech, treatment of the poor, wealth and patience all come under scrutiny. Its practical questions resist a faith that sounds convincing but leaves another person’s needs untouched.
1 Peter
5 chaptersWEB
New Testament
The letter addresses people living with pressure and rejection, grounding their hope in Jesus’ resurrection. Holiness, mutual care and a faithful response to suffering run together. Its instructions call for responsible conduct without treating suffering itself as a goal to seek.
2 Peter
3 chaptersWEB
New Testament
Growth in character and remembrance of the received message frame warnings about destructive teachers. The final chapter addresses impatience about the promised future. Waiting is connected with a holy and peaceable life, not with giving up present responsibility.
1 John
5 chaptersWEB
New Testament
The letter returns to light, truth, love and the identity of Jesus. Claims about knowing God are tested against conduct toward other people. Love is given concrete weight: it must reach beyond words to the needs of a brother or sister.
2 John
1 chapterWEB
New Testament
Truth and love belong together in this brief letter. Its appeal to walk in love stands beside a warning about teaching that denies Jesus Christ coming in the flesh. Hospitality is treated as a real form of participation that calls for discernment.
3 John
1 chapterWEB
New Testament
Gaius is commended for welcoming traveling believers, while Diotrephes is criticized for seeking prominence and excluding others. The contrast makes hospitality a question of both generosity and power. A brief personal letter reveals the effect of leadership on a community’s openness.
Jude
1 chapterWEB
New Testament
Jude warns about people whose conduct undermines the faith they claim. Vivid examples expose arrogance and exploitation. The final instructions turn toward the readers’ own response: building one another up, praying and showing mercy with discernment.
Revelation
22 chaptersWEB
New Testament
Letters to seven churches lead into visions of worship, conflict, judgment and renewed creation. The Lamb remains central amid the book’s striking symbols. Read the visions as a call to faithful witness and hope, resisting a quick equation of every image with a current event.
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