The Whole Bible in 15 Minutes
February 29, 2024 | Ray Pritchard
What follows is an attempt to summarize the Bible’s essential message using only Scripture, starting in Genesis and ending in Revelation.
In putting this together, I used several Bible versions, including the Christian Standard Bible, the Berean Standard Bible, and the NIV. I also interspersed a few New Testament verses that highlight some of the key Old Testament events.
I can’t guarantee that you can read this out loud in 15 minutes. If you read fast, you can get through it in 13 minutes. If a bit slower, in 20 minutes. But you get the idea.
I hope this project sparks your interest in doing your own version. Feel free to use this as a starting point.
Let’s get started and see if we can go through the whole Bible in 15 minutes!
Genesis 1:1-5
In the beginning God created
the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was formless and
empty, darkness covered
the surface of the watery depths,
and the Spirit of God was hovering
over the surface of the waters.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
4 God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.
5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”
There was an evening, and there was a morning: the first day.
Genesis 1:26-28
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.
They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock,
the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.”
27 So God created man
in his own image;
he created him in the image of God;
he created them male and female.
28 God blessed them, and God said to them,
“Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth,
and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea,
the birds of the sky,
and every creature that crawls
on the earth.”
Genesis 1:31
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed.
Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.
So the heavens and the earth
and everything in them were completed.
Genesis 2:18
8 Then the Lord God said,
“It is not good for the man to be alone.
I will make a helper corresponding to him.”
Genesis 2:21-23
21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep
to come over the man, and he slept.
God took one of his ribs and
closed the flesh at that place.
22 Then the Lord God made the rib
he had taken from the man into a woman
and brought her to the man.
23 And the man said:
This one, at last, is bone of my bone
and flesh of my flesh;
this one will be called “woman,”
for she was taken from man.
Genesis 3:1-7
Now the serpent was the most cunning of
all the wild animals that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God really say,
‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent,
“We may eat the fruit from the treesin the garden.
3 But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden,
God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “No! You will certainly not die,”
the serpent said to the woman.
5 “In fact, God knows that when you eat it
your eyes will be opened and
you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 The woman saw that the tree was
good for food and delightful to look at,
and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom.
So she took some of its fruit and ate it;
she also gave some to her husband,
who was with her, and he ate it.
7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened,
and they knew they were naked;
so they sewed fig leaves together
and made coverings for themselves.
Romans 5:12
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man,
and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people,
because all sinned.
Genesis 3:14-15
14 So the Lord God said to the serpent: Because you have done this,
15 I will put hostility between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring.
He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.
Genesis 6:5-7
5 When the Lord saw that human wickedness
was widespread on the earth and that every
inclination of the human mind was
nothing but evil all the time,
6 the Lord regretted that he had made man
on the earth, and he was deeply grieved.
7 Then the Lord said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I created,
off the face of the earth, together with the animals,
creatures that crawl, and birds of the sky—for I regret that I made them.”
Genesis 7:6
8 Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth.
Genesis 9:14-15
14 And God said, Whenever I form clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds,
15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all the living creatures:
water will never again become a flood to destroy every creature.
Genesis 12:1-3
The Lord said to Abram:
Go from your land, your relatives,and your father’s house
to the land that I will show you.
2 I will make you into a great nation,
I will bless you,
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt,
and all the peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.
Hebrews 11:8
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance,
obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.
Genesis 15:6
6 Abraham believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
Genesis 21:3
3 Abraham named his son who was born to him Isaac.
Acts 7:8
Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.
Genesis 50:19-20
22 Joseph said to his brothers, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?
20 You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good to bring about
the present result—the survival of many people.
Exodus 1:8
8 A new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt.
Exodus 2:10
10 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter,
and he became her son.
She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”
Hebrews 11:24
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known
as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
Exodus 3:13-14
Then Moses asked God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them,
‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me,
‘What is his name?’ what should I tell them?”
14 God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.
This is what you are to say to the Israelites:
I AM has sent me to you.”
Exodus 12:13
The Lord said, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.
No plague will be among you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”
Exodus 20:1-2
Then God spoke all these words:
2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
out of the place of slavery.
3 Do not have other gods besides me.
Psalm 105:39
He spread a cloud as a covering and gave a fire to light up the night.
Hebrews 11:30
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.
Joshua 24:15
Joshua said to all the people, “As for me and my family, we will worship the Lord.”
Judges 21:25
In those days there was no king in Israel.
Every man did what was right in his own eyes.
Acts 13:21-22
Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul
After removing him, he raised up David as their king
1 Kings 2:12
Solomon sat on the throne of his father David
2 Chronicles 36:14
14 All the leaders of the priests and the people multiplied their unfaithful deeds,
imitating all the detestable practices of the nations,
and they defiled the Lord’s temple that he had consecrated in Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 36:19-20
19 Then the Chaldeans burned God’s temple. They tore down Jerusalem’s wall,
burned all its palaces, and destroyed all its valuable articles.
Those who escaped from the sword
he carried away to Babylon,
Daniel 1:8
8 Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king’s food
or with the wine he drank.
2 Chronicles 36:23
This is what King Cyrus of Persia says:
The Lord, the God of the heavens, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth
and has appointed me to build him a temple at Jerusalem in Judah.
Any of his people among you may go up, and may the Lord his God be with him.
Nehemiah 6:15
15 The wall was completed in fifty-two days.
Isaiah 7:14
4 Isaiah said, The Lord himself will give you a sign:
See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.
Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
and the government will be on his shoulders.
He will be named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
Galatians 4:4
When the time had fully come,
God sent forth His Son,
born of a woman, born under the law.
John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
John 1:14
14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son
from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Luke 2:7
7 Then she gave birth to her firstborn son,
and she wrapped him tightly in cloth and laid him in a manger,
because there was no guest room available for them.
Acts 10:38
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power.
He went about doing good and healing all who were under the tyranny of the devil,
because God was with him.
Matthew 16:13-16
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi,
he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied,
“Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah;
and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Mathew 16:18
Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
Luke 19:37-38
37 Now he came near the path down the Mount of Olives,
and the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully
with a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen:
38 Blessed is the King who comes
in the name of the Lord.
John 13:5
5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet,
drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
John 13:21
21 Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified,
“Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.”
John 13:27
27 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.
John 18:12
12 Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus.
Mark 14:50
50 Then everyone deserted him and fled.
Mark 14:61-62
Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
62 “I am,” said Jesus.
John 19:5-6
5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe,
Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”
6 As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him,
they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
John 19:30
0 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.”
With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
John 19:41
At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden,
and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid.
Matthew 28:5; Luke 24:5
The angel said to the women, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?
Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.
6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.
Matthew 28:18-20
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth
has been given to me.
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Acts 1:8-9
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes,
and a cloud hid him from their sight.
Acts 13:49
The word of the Lord spread through the whole region.
Romans 1:16
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings
salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
2 Peter 3:9
9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.
Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish,
but everyone to come to repentance.
Revelation 1:1
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him
to show his servants
what must soon take place.
Revelation 11:15
15 The seventh angel blew his trumpet,
and there were loud voices in heaven saying,
The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ,
and he will reign forever and ever.
Revelation 21:1-2
21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth
had passed away, and the sea was no more.
2 I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.
Revelation 21:4
4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying,
and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.
Revelation 22:1-5
Then he showed me the river of the water of life, clear as crystal,
flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb
2 down the middle of the city’s main street.
The tree of life was on each side of the river, bearing twelve kinds of fruit,
producing its fruit every month.
The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations,
3 and there will no longer be any curse.
The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city,
and his servants will worship him.
4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
5 Night will be no more; people will not need the light of a lamp
or the light of the sun, because the Lord God will give them light,
and they will reign forever and ever.
Revelation 22:17
17 Both the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!”
Let anyone who hears, say, “Come!”
Let the one who is thirsty come.
Let the one who desires take the water of life freely.
Revelation 22:20-21
20 He who testifies about these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with everyone. Amen.