A New Plan for Reading through the Greek New Testament in 2023

A language that you don’t use is a language you’ll lose—which is why so many pastors who labored so hard over Greek vocabulary and verb paradigms in seminary end up losing most of what they learned. The only way to maintain your knowledge of another language is to use that language regularly. And so, my goal in this post is to provide you with a unique reading plan that will help you not only to keep your Greek but also to multiply your ability to read New Testament Greek fluently.

Keeping Your Greek

So what’s my plan for helping you to keep your Greek?

First off, if you have any interest at all in maintaining your knowledge of Greek, be sure to subscribe to Daily Dose of Greek, a free video series from my friend and colleague Rob Plummer.

Alongside Daily Dose of Greek, however, it’s crucial to read sections from the Greek New Testament every day.

What I want to give you is a supplementary tool to strengthen your daily reading of the Greek New Testament. For years, I used a reading plan developed by Lee Irons and reworked by Denny Burk that takes you through the New Testament in a year. Over the past year or so, I’ve been developing a different yearly plan, aimed at the needs of students who want to strengthen their Greek and keep it sharp.

A New Reading Plan for the Greek New Testament

Here’s what’s different about the plan that I’ve developed: It begins with the easiest Greek in the New Testament and gradually progresses into more and more difficult Greek.

1. Stage 1: Starting Simple: In January, you’ll build speed and confidence by reading John’s Gospel, 1 John, and then the Gospel According to Mark. In March and April, the Gospel According to Matthew will begin to challenge you a bit. The grammar in Revelation will feel odd at first and you’ll run into some words you’ve never seen before, but it’s not particularly difficult.
2. Stage 2: Stepping Beyond Simplicity: By summer, you’ll be reading Luke’s Gospel and the early chapters of Acts, and your Greek will be reaching a new level. I save the latter chapters of Acts until later in the year, because Luke’s style grows more difficult when he begins describing Paul’s journeys.
3. Stage 3: Growing in Complexity: I’ve arranged Paul’s letters according to how difficult they seem to me, but you’ll notice that 2 Corinthians 1–9 isn’t included quite yet. That’s because those chapters in 2 Corinthians are some of the hardest chapters in the entire New Testament. And so, instead of translating those chapters, you’ll read James and the latter chapters of Acts. Peter’s first letter is quite elegant Greek; his second letter isn’t. I don’t find the Greek in 2 Peter and Jude to be enjoyable at all, but these texts are no less inspired than John’s Gospel and you’ll profit from working through the oddities of these two epistles.
4. Stage 4: Growing toward Mastery: Last of all in my reading plan, you’ll translate 2 Corinthians 1–9 and Hebrews. I’ve provided plenty of flex days to catch up, and I’ve arranged the books in smaller segments. Even with these accommodations, you will almost certainly struggle. But don’t get discouraged! Even after earning straight A’s in six semesters of Greek and teaching Elementary Greek for two years, there are constructions in 2 Corinthians 1–9 and Hebrews that I can’t untangle without using outside resources.

In case you’re an overachiever and you don’t need to use the flex days to catch up, I’ve also included some recommended readings from the Septuagint. I’ve drawn these readings from a variety of locations in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, selected to provide you with a sampling of the different styles found in the Septuagint.

If you want to join me in this reading plan, please download the PDF linked below and follow it throughout the upcoming year! You can print the document on both sides of one sheet, fold it, and fit it inside your Greek New Testament:

DOWNLOAD YOUR ONE-YEAR GREEK NEW TESTAMENT TRAINING PLAN

A Few Final Suggestions for Sharpening Your Greek and Using It Well

Here are a handful of other suggestions that may be helpful:

1. Read the text out loud every day, even if you’re in a coffee shop and it causes other people to think you’re insane. You will be amazed at how much more you remember when you read aloud.
2. Purchase a reader’s Greek New Testament, which provides definitions of less-frequent words at the bottom of every page. There are several reader’s editions available, but my favorite is The Greek New Testament: Reader’s Edition, published by Crossway using the Greek text from Tyndale House, Cambridge. The font is perfect, difficult verb forms are parsed, and the binding is sturdy enough to last for many years.
3. One last reminder for all of us: Yes, this is about learning and retaining a language, but we learn this language so that we may be transformed by God’s inerrant and sufficient Word. Never allow your knowledge of Greek to putrefy into mere academic achievement or arrogance. If your increased knowledge of Greek does not correlate with increased humility and love, you’re doing it wrong.