a thread opens
There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:
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.
And it happened after this, that Ben-hadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria.
from Ecclesiastes 9:14
And Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty-two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it.
from II Kings 6:24 · a strong link
So Ben-hadad listened to king Asa, and sent the captains of the hosts which he had against the cities of Israel, and struck Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-beth-maachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.
from I Kings 20:1
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
Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.
from I Samuel 11:13
The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
from Exodus 14:30
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
Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
from Hebrews 13:20 · a strong link
Incline your ear, and come to me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
from Ezekiel 37:26 · a strong link
For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
from Isaiah 55:3
For the righteous LORD loves righteousness; his countenance looks on the upright.
from Isaiah 61:8
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 the sons of Eliab; Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. This is that Dathan and Abiram, which were famous in the congregation, who strove against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they strove against the LORD:
from Jude 1:11
These were the renowned of the congregation, princes of the tribes of their fathers, heads of thousands in Israel.
from Numbers 26:9 · a strong link
Furthermore over the tribes of Israel: the ruler of the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri: of the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maacah:
from Numbers 1:16
a thread opens
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and its fullness.
from Luke 2:14
The LORD reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be its glad.
from Psalms 96:11
The LORD reigns; let the people tremble: he sits between the cherubim; let the earth be moved.
from Psalms 97:1
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
And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious to you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.
from II Peter 3:9 · a strong link
Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has shed forth this, which you now see and hear.
from Isaiah 30:18
Him has God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
from Acts 2:33 · a strong link
And killed the Prince of life, whom God has raised from the dead; of which we are witnesses.
from Acts 5:31
Whom God has raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be held of it.
from Acts 3:15 · 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.
He that loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
from Luke 14:26 · a strong link
But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
from Matthew 10:37 · a strong link
The ransom of a man’s life are his riches: but the poor hears not rebuke.
from Philippians 3:7 · a strong link
If there is laid on him a sum of money, then he shall give for the ransom of his life whatever is laid upon him.
from Proverbs 13:8
When you take a census of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul to the LORD, when you number them; that there be no plague among them, when you number them.
from Exodus 21:30
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Ecclesiastes 9:14 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