a thread opens
O you king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honor:
The Vigil
Today’s scroll, one verse at a time — each linked to the last by the cross-references rather than by any model of you. The same vigil for everyone, and a different one tomorrow.
You, O king, are a king of kings: for the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
from Daniel 5:18
Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time.
from Daniel 2:37
Then sent the king an answer to Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions that dwell in Samaria, and to the rest beyond the river, Peace, and at such a time.
from Ezra 7:12
a thread opens
Then Moses said to Aaron, This is it that the LORD spoke, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come near me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.
And say, Thus says the Lord GOD; Look, I am against you, O Sidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of you: and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her.
from Leviticus 10:3
And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honored upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so.
from Ezekiel 28:22
And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
from Exodus 14:4
And the LORD said to Moses, Pharaoh shall not listen to you; that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.
from Exodus 7:3 · a strong link
And the LORD said to Moses, Go in to Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, so that I might show these my signs before him:
from Exodus 11:9
And the LORD said to Moses, When you go to return into Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in your hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.
from Exodus 10:1
a thread opens
Now to him that is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
Now to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
from Jude 1:24
Even the mystery which has been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
from Romans 16:25
And he said to them, To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but to them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
from Colossians 1:26
For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not you judge them that are within?
from Mark 4:11
Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, making the most of the time.
from I Corinthians 5:12
a thread opens
Woe to them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And why he slew him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
from Jude 1:11 · a strong link
An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.
from I John 3:12
Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate you? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against you?
from Proverbs 29:27
And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Should you help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath upon you from before the LORD.
from Psalms 139:21
a thread opens
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
from Luke 2:14
Look, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
from Isaiah 9:6 · a strong link
And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.
from Matthew 1:23
a thread opens
And shall not God give justice to his own elect, which cry day and night to him, though he bear long with them?
But the LORD is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten.
from Luke 18:7
And I will make you to this people a fenced bronze wall: and they shall fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you: for I am with you to save you and to deliver you, says the LORD.
from Jeremiah 20:11 · a strong link
A Song of Ascents. Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say:
from Jeremiah 15:20
When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
from Psalms 129:1
And you shall say to Pharaoh, Thus says the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:
from Hosea 11:1 · a strong link
They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, in which they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
from Exodus 4:22 · a strong link
a thread opens
If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives to the death.
from Luke 14:26 · a strong link
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith:
Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
from II Timothy 4:7
Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.
from Proverbs 23:23
So that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding;
from Proverbs 4:5
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Daniel 5:18 along this chain. Today’s own vigil is laid separately.
Each verse follows the one before it along the chain a study Bible draws — a century old, public, and compiled by people arguing about Scripture rather than about how long you stay. Every card says which verse it came from and opens the chapter it belongs to. Today’s vigil is the same for every reader and is worked out from the date alone, so there is no account, no counter, and nothing stored in your browser or ours.
The text is the Lantern Modern Standard. The links are openbible.info’s cross-reference set (CC BY), the same apparatus behind the reader’s Echoes drawer. Read a whole book · Today’s table