By The Water
Isaiah has 66 chapters and 1,292 verses. In the King James text that is 37,040 words, which takes about 3 hr 5 min to read at an ordinary pace of 200 words a minute — 66 chapters of judgement and comfort, and the servant the New Testament quotes constantly. That makes it the fifth longest book in the Bible by word count.
Isaiah in numbers
| Chapters | 66 |
|---|---|
| Verses | 1,292 |
| Words (KJV) | 37,040 |
| Reading time at 200 wpm | 3 hr 5 min |
| Testament | Old Testament |
| Type of writing | Prophecy in poetry |
| Author | Isaiah son of Amoz |
| Place in the Bible | Ministry in Jerusalem from roughly 740 BC |
Counted from the King James text in the By The Water app, not estimated. See the same figures for all 66 books.
Isaiah is the longest prophetic book and the one the New Testament quotes most after Psalms. It divides cleanly in two. Chapters 1–39 are warning, addressed to a kingdom heading for disaster and refusing to believe it. Chapters 40–66 change tone entirely: “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people” — written to people who have already lost everything.
The second half contains the four servant songs, including Isaiah 53, which describes a servant “wounded for our transgressions” and is the passage the Ethiopian official is reading in Acts 8 when Philip explains it to him. If you only read one chapter of the prophets, read that one.
Isaiah is demanding, and it is normal to find chapters 13–23 hard going — they are oracles against nations that no longer exist. Knowing they are a block, and that chapter 40 is where the book turns, is most of what you need to get through it.
Key chapters in Isaiah
- Isaiah 6 — Isaiah’s vision in the temple: “Here am I; send me.”
- Isaiah 9 and 11 — “Unto us a child is born” and the shoot from the stump of Jesse.
- Isaiah 40 — Where the book turns from judgement to comfort.
- Isaiah 53 — The suffering servant — the most quoted prophetic chapter in the New Testament.
- Isaiah 55 — “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters.”
- Isaiah 65–66 — New heavens and a new earth.
Read Isaiah 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 | Isaiah 1–2 | |
| Day 2 | Isaiah 3–4 | |
| Day 3 | Isaiah 5–6 | |
| Day 4 | Isaiah 7–8 | |
| Day 5 | Isaiah 9–10 | |
| Day 6 | Isaiah 11–12 | |
| Day 7 | Isaiah 13–14 | |
| Day 8 | Isaiah 15–17 | |
| Day 9 | Isaiah 18–20 | |
| Day 10 | Isaiah 21–22 | |
| Day 11 | Isaiah 23–25 | |
| Day 12 | Isaiah 26–27 | |
| Day 13 | Isaiah 28–29 | |
| Day 14 | Isaiah 30–31 | |
| Day 15 | Isaiah 32–33 | |
| Day 16 | Isaiah 34–36 | |
| Day 17 | Isaiah 37 | |
| Day 18 | Isaiah 38–39 | |
| Day 19 | Isaiah 40–41 | |
| Day 20 | Isaiah 42 | |
| Day 21 | Isaiah 43–44 | |
| Day 22 | Isaiah 45–46 | |
| Day 23 | Isaiah 47–48 | |
| Day 24 | Isaiah 49–51 | |
| Day 25 | Isaiah 52–53 | |
| Day 26 | Isaiah 54–56 | |
| Day 27 | Isaiah 57–59 | |
| Day 28 | Isaiah 60–61 | |
| Day 29 | Isaiah 62–64 | |
| Day 30 | Isaiah 65–66 |
Where Isaiah falls in a one-year plan
If you are reading the whole Bible in 2027, here is when you reach Isaiah in each of the four plans on this site — computed from the plans themselves, with 2027 dates.
| Plan | When you read Isaiah | Reading days |
|---|---|---|
| Bible in a Year | Days 267–293 (Fri, Sep 24 to Wed, Oct 20) | 27 days |
| Chronological | Days 183–208 (Fri, Jul 2 to Tue, Jul 27) | 18 days |
| Cover to Cover | Days 207–222 (Mon, Jul 26 to Tue, Aug 10) | 16 days |
| New to the Bible | Days 242–257 (Mon, Aug 30 to Tue, Sep 14) | 16 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 Proverbs — 31 chapters, 1 hr 15 min
- The Book of Psalms — 150 chapters, 3 hr 33 min
- The Book of Daniel — 12 chapters, 58 min
- All 66 books — chapters, verses and reading time
- How long does it take to read the whole Bible?