a thread opens
Yes, better is he than both they, which has not yet been, who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
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.
For, look, the days are coming, in which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the paps which never gave suck.
from Ecclesiastes 4:3
And woe to them that are with child, and to them that nurse in those days!
from Luke 23:29 · a strong link
And you shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters, which the LORD your God has given you, in the siege, and in the dire need, with which your enemies shall distress you:
from Matthew 24:19
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 I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah be too hard for me: the LORD shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness.
from II Samuel 16:10
I will early destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the LORD.
from II Samuel 3:39
All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.
from Psalms 101:8 · a strong link
But my horn shall you exalt like the horn of a wild ox: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.
from Psalms 75:10 · a strong link
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,
But rejoice, inasmuch as you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy.
from Jude 1:24
And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if perhaps we suffer with him, so that we may be also glorified together.
from I Peter 4:13 · a strong link
To an inheritance imperishable, and undefiled, and that fades not away, reserved in heaven for you,
from Romans 8:17
For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withers the grass, and its flower falls, and the grace of the fashion of it perishes: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.
from I Peter 1:4
My days are like a shadow that declines; and I have withered like grass.
from James 1:11
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 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.
from Numbers 18:12
Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When you have come into the land which I give to you, and shall reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest:
from Deuteronomy 18:4
a thread opens
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and everything that moves in it.
from Luke 2:14
For you shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
from Psalms 69:34
Sing, O you heavens; for the LORD has done it: shout, you lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it: for the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.
from Isaiah 55:12 · a strong link
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?
The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some men count slowness; but is patience toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
from Luke 18:7
But you, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, patience, and plenteous in mercy and truth.
from II Peter 3:9 · a strong link
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us,
from Psalms 86:15
And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.
from Ephesians 2:4
And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, says the LORD.
from Exodus 33:19
For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.
from Jeremiah 31:14
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.
Yes doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them as rubbish, so that I may win Christ,
from Luke 14:26 · a strong link
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming like him in his death;
from Philippians 3:8 · a strong link
Do you not know, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
from Philippians 3:10 · a strong link
The corresponding figure to which even baptism does also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
from Romans 6:3
Then Peter said to them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
from I Peter 3:21 · a strong link
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Ecclesiastes 4:3 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