a thread opens
In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters.
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.
Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.
from Daniel 7:1
In the third year of his reign, he made a feast to all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him:
from Daniel 5:1 · a strong link
And when a convenient day had come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee;
from Esther 1:3
Then the king made a great feast to all his princes and his servants, even Esther’s feast; and he made a release to the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the state of the king.
from Mark 6:21 · a strong link
So his father went down to the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do.
from Esther 2:18
a thread opens
As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.
Thus says the LORD, your redeemer, and he that formed you from the womb, I am the LORD that makes all things; that stretches forth the heavens alone; that spreads abroad the earth by myself;
from I Corinthians 8:4
Doubtless you are our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: you, O LORD, are our father, our redeemer; your name is from everlasting.
from Isaiah 44:24
Thus says the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
from Isaiah 63:16
Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What you see, write in a book, and send it to the seven churches in Asia; to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamum, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.
from Isaiah 44:6
a thread opens
By this we perceive the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
from I John 3:16 · a strong link
And he said, Lay not your hand upon the lad, neither do you anything to him: for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son from me.
from John 3:16 · a strong link
And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife’s sake.
from Genesis 22:12
a thread opens
But the anointing which you have received of him remains in you, and you need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it has taught you, you shall remain in him.
As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk you in him:
from I John 2:27
He who says that he remains in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
from Colossians 2:6
And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us, and has given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a fragrant offering.
from I John 2:6
But as for brotherly love you need not that I write to you: for you yourselves are taught of God to love one another.
from Ephesians 5:2
And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
from I Thessalonians 4:9 · a strong link
Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is passing away, and the true light now shines.
from I John 3:23
a thread opens
And God has set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, varieties of tongues.
Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine.
from I Corinthians 12:28
Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?
from I Timothy 5:17
For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But every man has his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.
from I Corinthians 9:5
But he said to them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.
from I Corinthians 7:7 · a strong link
He answered them, Because it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
from Matthew 19:11
a thread opens
I know also, my God, that you try the heart, and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy your people, who are present here, to offer willingly to you.
For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conduct in the world, and more abundantly toward you.
from I Chronicles 29:17
For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.
from II Corinthians 1:12 · a strong link
But have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
from II Corinthians 2:17 · a strong link
Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
from II Corinthians 4:2
a thread opens
Clean out therefore the old leaven, so that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us:
Seven days shall you eat unleavened bread; even the first day you shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.
from I Corinthians 5:7
But the man that is clean, and is not in a journey, and forbears to keep the Passover, even the same soul shall be cut off from among his people: because he brought not the offering of the LORD in his appointed season, that man shall bear his sin.
from Exodus 12:15 · a strong link
And those men said to him, We are defiled by the dead body of a man: why are we kept back, so that we may not offer an offering of the LORD in his appointed season among the children of Israel?
from Numbers 9:13
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Daniel 7:1 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