By The Water
Acts has 28 chapters and 1,007 verses. In the King James text that is 24,245 words, which takes about 2 hr 1 min to read at an ordinary pace of 200 words a minute — how a movement of a hundred and twenty people reached Rome in thirty years.
Acts in numbers
| Chapters | 28 |
|---|---|
| Verses | 1,007 |
| Words (KJV) | 24,245 |
| Reading time at 200 wpm | 2 hr 1 min |
| Testament | New Testament |
| Type of writing | Narrative history |
| Author | Traditionally attributed to Luke |
| Place in the Bible | Volume two, continuing directly from Luke’s gospel |
Counted from the King James text in the By The Water app, not estimated. See the same figures for all 66 books.
Acts is the bridge between the gospels and the letters, and reading it turns the letters from abstract theology into mail with a return address. It opens with the ascension and Pentecost, and ends with Paul under house arrest in Rome, still teaching.
The book turns on chapters 10 and 15, where the young church has to decide whether non-Jews can belong without becoming Jewish first. Everything after that decision — Paul’s journeys, the churches at Philippi, Corinth, Ephesus and Thessalonica, the letters they later received — follows from it.
At 28 chapters it is the third longest book in the New Testament, and one of the most readable: shipwrecks, prison breaks, riots, a young man who falls asleep during a long sermon and out of a third-storey window. Read it alongside Paul’s letters and both make far more sense.
Key chapters in Acts
- Acts 2 — Pentecost.
- Acts 9 — The road to Damascus.
- Acts 10 — Peter and Cornelius — the gospel goes to the Gentiles.
- Acts 15 — The Jerusalem council settles the question.
- Acts 17 — Paul in Athens at the Areopagus.
- Acts 27–28 — Shipwreck, and Rome.
Read Acts in a week
Split by verse count rather than by chapter, so the days come out even — no more than about 20 minutes on the heaviest day. Print it, or tick it off on screen.
| Done | Day | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Acts 1–4 | |
| Day 2 | Acts 5–8 | |
| Day 3 | Acts 9–12 | |
| Day 4 | Acts 13–15 | |
| Day 5 | Acts 16–19 | |
| Day 6 | Acts 20–24 | |
| Day 7 | Acts 25–28 |
Where Acts falls in a one-year plan
If you are reading the whole Bible in 2027, here is when you reach Acts in each of the four plans on this site — computed from the plans themselves, with 2027 dates.
| Plan | When you read Acts | Reading days |
|---|---|---|
| Bible in a Year | Days 125–163 (Wed, May 5 to Sat, Jun 12) | 28 days |
| Chronological | Days 317–346 (Sat, Nov 13 to Sun, Dec 12) | 13 days |
| Cover to Cover | Days 315–327 (Thu, Nov 11 to Tue, Nov 23) | 13 days |
| New to the Bible | Days 36–49 (Fri, Feb 5 to Thu, Feb 18) | 14 days |
Each plan is printable in full: compare all four reading plans.
Paper plans work — until you miss a day
A printed plan is a good start. The trouble usually comes in February: a busy week, three unticked boxes, then six, and the plan quietly ends. By The Water has this exact plan built in, and it is designed for the days life gets in the way.
- Today's reading, readyOpen the app and today's chapters are waiting on the Today tab. No hunting for where you left off.
- Every chapter tracked and savedEach chapter you read is checked off and saved to your account, so a new phone doesn't mean starting over.
- See how far you've comeA progress ring shows how much of the Bible you've read, and how far through the current book you are.
- A finish date that moves with you“Started Jan 2027 · Estimated finish: Dec 2027” updates as you read, so you always know where you stand.
- Miss a day without falling apartThe plan picks up at your next unread chapter, not a calendar date — so a missed week never becomes a wall of overdue readings.
- Reminders and streaksA daily reminder at the time you choose, and a reading streak to keep you coming back.
Free to start: the reading plans, progress tracking, streaks and reminders are all free in the app.
Nearby books
- The Book of John — 21 chapters, 1 hr 35 min
- The Book of Romans — 16 chapters, 47 min
- The Book of Luke — 24 chapters, 2 hr 10 min
- All 66 books — chapters, verses and reading time
- How long does it take to read the whole Bible?