By The Water
Daniel has 12 chapters and 357 verses. In the King James text that is 11,602 words, which takes about 58 min to read at an ordinary pace of 200 words a minute — the fiery furnace, the lions’ den, the writing on the wall — and four chapters of visions.
Daniel in numbers
| Chapters | 12 |
|---|---|
| Verses | 357 |
| Words (KJV) | 11,602 |
| Reading time at 200 wpm | 58 min |
| Testament | Old Testament |
| Type of writing | Court narrative and apocalyptic vision |
| Author | Daniel, in exile in Babylon |
| Place in the Bible | Set during the Babylonian and Persian empires |
Counted from the King James text in the By The Water app, not estimated. See the same figures for all 66 books.
Daniel is two books in one, and knowing that before you start saves a lot of confusion. Chapters 1–6 are some of the best-told stories in the Bible: four young exiles refusing the king’s food, a furnace heated seven times hotter, a hand writing on a palace wall, a night in a den of lions. They are stories about staying faithful while living inside an empire that owns you.
Chapters 7–12 are something else entirely — apocalyptic visions of beasts, horns, kingdoms and a set number of weeks. They have been interpreted in wildly different ways for two thousand years, and the honest thing to say is that sincere readers disagree about almost every detail.
You do not need to resolve those debates to read Daniel well. The two halves make the same point from different directions: empires look permanent and are not, and the people who quietly keep faith inside them are the ones the book calls wise.
Key chapters in Daniel
- Daniel 1 — The exiles refuse the king’s food.
- Daniel 3 — The fiery furnace — “but if not.”
- Daniel 5 — Belshazzar’s feast and the writing on the wall.
- Daniel 6 — The lions’ den.
- Daniel 7 — The four beasts and the Son of Man — the chapter Jesus alludes to at his trial.
- Daniel 9 — Daniel’s prayer of confession.
Read Daniel in a week
Split by verse count rather than by chapter, so the days come out even — no more than about 11 minutes on the heaviest day. Print it, or tick it off on screen.
| Done | Day | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Daniel 1–2 | |
| Day 2 | Daniel 3 | |
| Day 3 | Daniel 4–5 | |
| Day 4 | Daniel 6 | |
| Day 5 | Daniel 7–8 | |
| Day 6 | Daniel 9–10 | |
| Day 7 | Daniel 11–12 |
Where Daniel falls in a one-year plan
If you are reading the whole Bible in 2027, here is when you reach Daniel in each of the four plans on this site — computed from the plans themselves, with 2027 dates.
| Plan | When you read Daniel | Reading days |
|---|---|---|
| Bible in a Year | Days 334–339 (Tue, Nov 30 to Sun, Dec 5) | 6 days |
| Chronological | Days 221–253 (Mon, Aug 9 to Fri, Sep 10) | 5 days |
| Cover to Cover | Days 255–259 (Sun, Sep 12 to Thu, Sep 16) | 5 days |
| New to the Bible | Days 164–167 (Sun, Jun 13 to Wed, Jun 16) | 4 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 Isaiah — 66 chapters, 3 hr 5 min
- The Book of Proverbs — 31 chapters, 1 hr 15 min
- The Book of Psalms — 150 chapters, 3 hr 33 min
- All 66 books — chapters, verses and reading time
- How long does it take to read the whole Bible?