Reading the Bible online
Chasten is a place to read the Bible online, and reading is all it asks of you. Type a reference such as John 3:16 or Psalm 23 into the search above and you are reading. Every chapter has its own page in each translation, and every verse has a page of its own that sets the translations side by side, with cross references and the verses around it. There is nothing to install and nothing to sign in to. It works on a phone in a waiting room and on a laptop at the kitchen table, and it remembers where you left off on this device.
The books of the Bible in order
The sixty-six books, in the order most Bibles print them: thirty-nine in the Old Testament, from Genesis to Malachi, and twenty-seven in the New, from Matthew to Revelation. The number beside each name is its chapters. Tap a book to see them, and tap a chapter to read. The Douay-Rheims 1899 also carries the seven books of the Catholic deuterocanon: Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Baruch, 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees.
Where to start
If the Bible is new to you, or you are coming back to it after a long time, start with John. It was written so that you would know who Jesus is, and it says so near its end. At one chapter a day it takes three weeks. Then Luke, the fullest telling of Jesus' life, and Acts, which carries the story into the first churches. Then Genesis, where everything begins and where the rest of the Bible keeps returning. Then Romans, where Paul explains what all of it means.
One chapter a day is a good pace. It leaves room to read slowly, to read a verse twice, and to sit with it. There is no streak to keep here; if you miss a week, the next chapter is waiting where you left it.
Thirteen translations, all free to read
Every translation here is public domain or openly licensed, which is why the whole Bible can be read free, quoted and shared. Chasten opens in the Berean Standard Bible, a clear modern English translation given to the public domain in 2020, and any chapter can be switched to another translation in a tap.
English
- Berean Standard BiblePublic domain
- King James VersionPublic domain
- World English BiblePublic domain
- American Standard VersionPublic domain
- Geneva Bible 1599Public domain
- Darby TranslationPublic domain
- Young's Literal TranslationPublic domain
- Bible in Basic EnglishPublic domain
- Douay-Rheims 1899Public domain
Español
- Reina Valera 1909Dominio público
- Versión Biblia LibreCC BY-SA 4.0
Português
- Bíblia LivreCC BY 4.0
- Nova Bíblia VivaCC BY-SA 4.0
Why there are no ads
Chasten is made by a small company, not by a platform that sells attention. The Bible in Chasten is free, always. There are no ads in the Word, because nothing should be sold beside the text you came to read, and there is no account to make before you read. Chasten takes no venture capital and no private equity, so no investor can ask it to change who it serves. Some optional features may carry a fee; reading never will. What Chasten earns goes back into the work and into the churches that use it. That is the covenant, and the Founder of Chasten signs it on the front page.
The Bible in Chasten is free. Always.