a thread opens
The firstfruit also of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, shall you give him.
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 shall not delay to offer the first of your ripe fruits, and of your liquors: the firstborn of your sons shall you give to me.
from Deuteronomy 18:4
And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of your labors, which you have sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when you have gathered in your labors out of the field.
from Exodus 22:29
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
from Exodus 23:16
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.
I was mute, I opened not my mouth; because you did it.
from Leviticus 10:3
And the king said, What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the LORD has said to him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Why have you done so?
from Psalms 39:9
And David said, What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should this day be adversaries to me? shall there any man be put to death this day in Israel? for do not I know that I am this day king over Israel?
from II Samuel 16:10 · a strong link
And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day: for today the LORD has worked salvation in Israel.
from II Samuel 19:22 · a strong link
For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the LORD worked a great salvation for all Israel: you saw it, and did rejoice: why then will you sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause?
from I Samuel 11:13 · a strong link
My soul is continually in my hand: yet do I not forget your law.
from I Samuel 19:5
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 the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
from Jude 1:24
For you were as sheep going astray; but are now returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
from Hebrews 13:20
Tell me, O you whom my soul loves, where you feed, where you make your flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turns aside by the flocks of your companions?
from I Peter 2:25
It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.
from Song of Solomon 1:7
I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, says the LORD of hosts.
from Isaiah 13:20
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.
And in process of time it happened, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to the LORD.
from Jude 1:11
All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer to the LORD, them have I given you.
from Genesis 4:3
The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in his mother’s milk.
from Numbers 18:12
And to bring the firstfruits of our ground, and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, to the house of the LORD:
from Exodus 23:19
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
He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
from Isaiah 9:6 · a strong link
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
from Romans 8:32
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?
Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to repay with affliction those who afflict you;
from Luke 18:7
And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, do you not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
from II Thessalonians 1:6
Beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place to wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord.
Rejoice, O you nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful to his land, and to his people.
from Romans 12:19
To the director of music, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. LORD, you have been favorable to your land: you have brought back the captivity of Jacob.
from Deuteronomy 32:43
To the director of music, Maschil, for the sons of Korah. As the deer pants after the water brooks, so pants my soul after you, O God.
from Psalms 85:1
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.
Whom have I in heaven but you? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside you.
from Luke 14:26 · a strong link
Because your loving devotion is better than life, my lips shall praise you.
from Psalms 73:25 · a strong link
For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
from Psalms 63:3
And Jesus said to him, Truly I say to you, Today shall you be with me in paradise.
from Philippians 1:23
Come now, and let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
from Luke 23:43 · a strong link
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Deuteronomy 18:4 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