By The Water
Exodus has 40 chapters and 1,213 verses. In the King James text that is 32,684 words, which takes about 2 hr 43 min to read at an ordinary pace of 200 words a minute — slavery, a burning bush, ten plagues, a sea that opens and a law given on a mountain.
Exodus in numbers
| Chapters | 40 |
|---|---|
| Verses | 1,213 |
| Words (KJV) | 32,684 |
| Reading time at 200 wpm | 2 hr 43 min |
| Testament | Old Testament |
| Type of writing | Narrative and law |
| Author | Traditionally attributed to Moses |
| Place in the Bible | Second book of the Torah, continuing directly from Genesis |
Counted from the King James text in the By The Water app, not estimated. See the same figures for all 66 books.
Exodus is the Old Testament’s defining rescue. Genesis ends with Jacob’s family safe in Egypt; Exodus opens four hundred years later with their descendants enslaved, and with a king who has never heard of Joseph. The first half is pure narrative and moves fast — the baby in the basket, the burning bush, the plagues, the Passover, the sea.
The second half changes gear completely, and this is where most one-year plans lose people. After Sinai the book becomes law, then instructions for building the tabernacle, then a near-identical account of those instructions being carried out. The repetition is deliberate: the point of the rescue was not just getting Israel out of Egypt, but God coming to live in the middle of them.
Read it knowing the shape in advance and the second half stops feeling like a wall. Chapters 25–40 are describing a building, and they read much better if you look at a tabernacle diagram alongside them.
Key chapters in Exodus
- Exodus 3 — The burning bush and the name “I AM.”
- Exodus 12 — The Passover — the night the New Testament keeps pointing back to.
- Exodus 14 — The sea opens.
- Exodus 20 — The Ten Commandments.
- Exodus 32 — The golden calf, six weeks after the rescue.
Read Exodus in a month
Split by verse count rather than by chapter, so the days come out even — no more than about 9 minutes on the heaviest day. Print it, or tick it off on screen.
| Done | Day | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Exodus 1–2 | |
| Day 2 | Exodus 3 | |
| Day 3 | Exodus 4–5 | |
| Day 4 | Exodus 6 | |
| Day 5 | Exodus 7–8 | |
| Day 6 | Exodus 9 | |
| Day 7 | Exodus 10–11 | |
| Day 8 | Exodus 12 | |
| Day 9 | Exodus 13 | |
| Day 10 | Exodus 14–15 | |
| Day 11 | Exodus 16 | |
| Day 12 | Exodus 17–18 | |
| Day 13 | Exodus 19 | |
| Day 14 | Exodus 20–21 | |
| Day 15 | Exodus 22 | |
| Day 16 | Exodus 23 | |
| Day 17 | Exodus 24–25 | |
| Day 18 | Exodus 26 | |
| Day 19 | Exodus 27 | |
| Day 20 | Exodus 28 | |
| Day 21 | Exodus 29 | |
| Day 22 | Exodus 30 | |
| Day 23 | Exodus 31–32 | |
| Day 24 | Exodus 33 | |
| Day 25 | Exodus 34 | |
| Day 26 | Exodus 35 | |
| Day 27 | Exodus 36–37 | |
| Day 28 | Exodus 38 | |
| Day 29 | Exodus 39 | |
| Day 30 | Exodus 40 |
Where Exodus falls in a one-year plan
If you are reading the whole Bible in 2027, here is when you reach Exodus in each of the four plans on this site — computed from the plans themselves, with 2027 dates.
| Plan | When you read Exodus | Reading days |
|---|---|---|
| Bible in a Year | Days 20–35 (Wed, Jan 20 to Thu, Feb 4) | 16 days |
| Chronological | Days 32–46 (Mon, Feb 1 to Mon, Feb 15) | 15 days |
| Cover to Cover | Days 19–33 (Tue, Jan 19 to Tue, Feb 2) | 15 days |
| New to the Bible | Days 67–80 (Mon, Mar 8 to Sun, Mar 21) | 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 Genesis — 50 chapters, 3 hr 11 min
- The Book of Job — 42 chapters, 1 hr 30 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?