Full NRSV one-year reading plans

The reading plans below are intended for use with an edition of the NRSV Bible which contains the Apocrypha. As I have seen many reading plans, and yet none have taken these works into consideration, I thought it helpful to construct these reading plans, not least because I wanted them for myself!

The first two plans are included in one table with dates in the left column. These plans use the same readings per day, but with two different options for the order of reading the Old Testament and Apocrypha, either in the order printed in the NRSV, or in the traditional order of the books as found in Eastern Orthodox Bibles.

The first plan, “Straight through the NRSV,” involves reading an average of four chapters per day, straight through the NRSV. The plan follows the order of books in the NRSV editions including the Apocrypha. The amount read is somewhat less in the New Testament.

The second plan utilizes the same amount of reading per day, but its order is a bit more complex. I’ve called it “In LXX-ish canonical order” as it essentially follows the order of the Septuagint as arranged in Eastern Orthodox Bibles. Some notes are in order regarding this series:

• Second Esdras is inserted in its position as found in Russian Bibles.
• Both versions of Esther are to be read. First the Hebrew, then the Greek version.
• The Prayer of Manasseh is included after the Psalms, after Psalm 151, as this is the location of the Odes in the Septuagint, where PrMan was to be found.
• Note the difference in order (from Hebrew) of the first half of the Twelve Minor Prophets.
• Note the insertion of the Prayer of Azariah/Song of the Three Youths between Daniel 3.23 and 3.24.
• Fourth Maccabees has been included at the end of the OT, as though in an appendix, which is the treatment this book receives in Greek editions of the Septuagint.

The third and fourth plans, Daily Old and New Testament Readings, are in two tables. This plan utilizes the order just described above, integrating the NRSV Apocrypha in the series of Old Testament readings. These daily OT readings are then paired with a daily New Testament reading. The difference in size between the two (OT + Apocrypha, NT) requires that the NT readings are repeated in full three times annually, with the OT (including Apocrypha) being read once annually. The average amount of reading is three OT chapters and two NT chapters, which is not really much at all, considering the amount of reading of newspapers and other extraneous garbage reading we tend toward during any given day. This plan is presented (by request) in two separate charts, one with a year beginning 1 January, and the other with a year beginning 1 September (which is the beginning of the Orthodox ecclesiastical year).

The fifth plan was devised by Esteban Vázquez, based upon the earlier plans I’d put up. He’s adjusted various of the readings to take into account subject changes and such. This is a necessary refintement. He provides the NRSV OT (including Apocrypha) readings along with dates for a year beginning 1 January and a year beginning 1 September.

As always, suggestions for improvement are welcome.

Daily Old and New Testament Readings

There are two charts here, one beginning on 1 January, and another on 1 September, which is the beginning of the ecclesiastical year among the Eastern Orthodox.

January through December

September through August

The following plan is based upon the above NRSV OT reading plan with certain adjustments.

This new plan was organized by Esteban V