a thread opens
And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai sat in the king’s gate.
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 let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, so that they may gather together all the fair young virgins to Susa the palace, to the house of the women, to the custody of Hege the king’s eunuch, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given them:
from Esther 2:19
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:)
from Esther 2:3
It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom;
from Esther 1:1
And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.
from Daniel 6:1
a thread opens
Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear to myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
from Acts 20:21
By Silvanus, a faithful brother to you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand.
from Acts 20:24
Moreover, brothers, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you have received, and in which you stand;
from I Peter 5:12 · a strong link
I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ to another gospel:
from I Corinthians 15:1
You did run well; who did hinder you that you should not obey the truth?
from Galatians 1:6 · a strong link
a thread opens
Be it known to you therefore, men and brothers, that through this man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins:
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 Acts 13:38
While Peter yet spoke these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all them which heard the word.
from Acts 2:38 · a strong link
And God, who knows the hearts, bore them witness, giving them the Holy Spirit, even as he did to us;
from Acts 10:44
And they prayed, and said, You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show whether of these two you have chosen,
from Acts 15:8 · a strong link
Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
from Acts 1:24
Therefore I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you by the putting on of my hands.
from Acts 6:6 · a strong link
a thread opens
Because he has appointed a day, in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he has ordained; of which he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead.
But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved to fire for the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
from Acts 17:31
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall grow old like a garment, and they that dwell in it shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.
from II Peter 3:7
Truly, truly, I say to you, He that hears my word, and believes on him that sent me, has eternal life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death to life.
from Isaiah 51:6
a thread opens
For truly against your holy child Jesus, whom you have anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
By stretching forth your hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of your holy child Jesus.
from Acts 4:27 · a strong link
Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
from Acts 4:30
Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor bronze in your purses,
from Acts 3:6
And he said to them, When I sent you without purse, and pouch, and shoes, lacked you anything? And they said, Nothing.
from Matthew 10:9 · a strong link
a thread opens
You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do you.
Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
from Acts 7:51
And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your seed, to love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, that you may live.
from Jeremiah 4:4 · a strong link
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.
from Deuteronomy 30:6 · a strong link
Jesus answered him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
from Ezekiel 36:26 · a strong link
And he said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
from John 3:3 · a strong link
a thread opens
And he said to me, Depart: for I will send you far hence to the Gentiles.
But the Lord said to him, Go your way: for he is a chosen vessel to me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
from Acts 22:21 · a strong link
But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,
from Acts 9:15 · a strong link
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God,
from Galatians 1:15
Before I formed you in the belly I knew you; and before you came forth out of the womb I sanctified you, and I ordained you a prophet to the nations.
from Romans 1:1
And now, says the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength.
from Jeremiah 1:5 · a strong link
While he yet spoke, look, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and look, a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear him.
from Isaiah 49:5
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Esther 2:19 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