a thread opens
Again, I considered all toil, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbor. This is also vanity and trouble of spirit.
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.
I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and trouble of spirit.
from Ecclesiastes 4:4 · a strong link
Then I looked on all the works that my hands had worked, and on the labor that I had labored to do: and indeed, all was vanity and trouble of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.
from Ecclesiastes 1:14 · a strong link
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
from Ecclesiastes 2:11
Beloved, I beg you as strangers and exiles, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
from I John 2:16
I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a burial place with you, so that I may bury my dead out of my sight.
from I Peter 2:11
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 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 I Corinthians 8:4
Now therefore, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you are the LORD, even you only.
from Isaiah 44:6 · a strong link
And it happened at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word.
from Isaiah 37:20
Hear in heaven your dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calls to you for: that all people of the earth may know your name, to fear you, as do your people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have built, is called by your name.
from I Kings 18:36
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.
But God commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
from I John 3:16 · a strong link
To the praise of the glory of his grace, in which he has made us accepted in the beloved.
from Romans 5:8 · a strong link
Look, my servant, whom I uphold; my elect, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
from Ephesians 1:6
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.
Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it remain in the vine; no more can you, except you remain in me.
from I John 2:27
But you, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,
from John 15:4
Let no unwholesome talk proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of building up, so that it may minister grace to the hearers.
from Jude 1:20
Then they that feared the LORD spoke often one to another: and the LORD listened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.
from Ephesians 4:29
You tell my wanderings: put you my tears into your bottle: are they not in your book?
from Malachi 3:16 · a strong link
Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; do not keep silent at my tears: for I am a stranger with you, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.
from Psalms 56:8 · a strong link
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.
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone;
from I Corinthians 12:28
For we are laborers together with God: you are God’s husbandry, you are God’s building.
from Ephesians 2:20
For as the earth brings forth her bud, and as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
from I Corinthians 3:9
Violence shall no more be heard in your land, wasting nor destruction within your borders; but you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.
from Isaiah 61:11
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
from Isaiah 60:18
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 we have great joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.
from I Chronicles 29:17
The Lord give mercy to the house of Onesiphorus; for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain:
from Philemon 1:7
Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.
from II Timothy 1:16 · a strong link
And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came to them.
from II Timothy 4:19 · a strong link
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:
And I saw, and, look, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
from I Corinthians 5:7
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is mute, so he opens not his mouth.
But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said to him, Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?
from Isaiah 53:7 · a strong link
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Ecclesiastes 4:4 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