a thread opens
Now it happened in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even to Ethiopia, over a hundred and seven and twenty provinces:)
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 in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote to him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
from Esther 1:1 · a strong link
In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;
from Ezra 4:6
Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him.
from Daniel 9:1
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.
Speak to Aaron, saying, Whoever he be of your seed in their generations that has any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God.
from Leviticus 10:3
And he spoke to Korah and to all his company, saying, Even tomorrow the LORD will show who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near to him: even him whom he has chosen will he cause to come near to him.
from Leviticus 21:17
Nevertheless the foundation of God stands sure, having this seal, The Lord knows them that are his. And, Let every one that names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
from Numbers 16:5
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us: but they went out, so that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
from II Timothy 2:19
Certain men, the wicked men, have gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which you have not known;
from I John 2:19
Now the sons of Eli were wicked men; they knew not the LORD.
from Deuteronomy 13:13
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 to him that is able to do immeasurably more than all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
from Jude 1:24 · a strong link
Of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of his power.
from Ephesians 3:20 · a strong link
Who also has made us able ministers of the new covenant; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life.
from Ephesians 3:7
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?
from II Corinthians 3:6
But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,
from I Corinthians 3:5
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.
Which have forsaken the right way, and have gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
from Jude 1:11 · a strong link
And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. Spots they are and blemishes, reveling with their own deceivings while they feast with you;
from II Peter 2:15
Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and sensuality, not in strife and envying.
from II Peter 2:13 · a strong link
For when they speak loud boasts of folly, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much sensuality, those that were barely escaped from them who live in error.
from Romans 13:13
a thread opens
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
from Luke 2:14
For he is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the dividing wall between us;
from Romans 5:1
And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.
from Ephesians 2:14
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?
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 Luke 18:7 · a strong link
Beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place to wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord.
But I say to you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
from Romans 12:19
If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again.
from Luke 6:27
See that none repay evil for evil to any man; but always seek to do good, both among yourselves, and to all people.
from Exodus 23:4
Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
from I Thessalonians 5:15
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.
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives to the death.
from Luke 14:26 · a strong link
Who is he that overcomes the world, but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
Whoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him, and he in God.
from I John 5:5 · a strong link
Whoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father in heaven.
from I John 4:15
Therefore the LORD God of Israel says, I said indeed that your house, and the house of your father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD says, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
from Matthew 10:32
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Esther 1:1 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