a thread opens
And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him a basket of reeds, and daubed it with bitumen and with pitch, and put the child in it; and she laid it in the reeds by the river’s brink.
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.
That sends ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of reeds upon the waters, saying, Go, you swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning until now; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have plundered!
from Exodus 2:3
In that time shall the present be brought to the LORD of hosts of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning until now; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have plundered, to the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, the mount Zion.
from Isaiah 18:2
And it shall happen, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
from Isaiah 18:7
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.
And said to me, You are my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
from Leviticus 10:3
Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you, and your fellows that sit before you: for they are men wondered at: for, look, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.
from Isaiah 49:3
Look, the days come, says the LORD, that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
from Zechariah 3:8 · a strong link
But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up to them.
from Jeremiah 23:5
Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
from Jeremiah 30:9
For the prophecy came not in ancient times by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
from Acts 2:30
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 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
To which I also labor, striving according to his working, which works in me mightily.
from Ephesians 3:20 · a strong link
Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, greets you, always wrestling for you in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.
from Colossians 1:29
Now I beg you, brothers, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;
from Colossians 4:12 · a strong link
Teach me to do your will; for you are my God: your spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.
from Romans 15:30
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
And they rose up before Moses, with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:
from Numbers 1:16
And these were the heads of the house of their fathers, even Epher, and Ishi, and Eliel, and Azriel, and Jeremiah, and Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty men of valor, famous men, and heads of the house of their fathers.
from Numbers 16:2
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
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you: not as the world gives, give I to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
from Romans 5:1 · a strong link
And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
from John 14:27 · 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?
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
And the nations were angry, and your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, so that they should be judged, and that you should give reward to your servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear your name, small and great; and should destroy them which destroy the earth.
And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all you his servants, and you that fear him, both small and great.
from Revelation of John 11:18 · a strong link
You that fear the LORD, praise him; all you the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all you the seed of Israel.
Bless the LORD, O house of Israel: bless the LORD, O house of Aaron:
from Psalms 22:23 · a strong link
O Israel, trust you in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.
from Psalms 135:19
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.
Who said to his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brothers, nor knew his own children: for they have observed your word, and kept your covenant.
from Luke 14:26
But as we were approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which tries our hearts.
from Deuteronomy 33:9
And he that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
from I Thessalonians 2:4
Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God tries the hearts and inmost thoughts.
from Romans 8:27
The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delights in his way.
from Psalms 7:9
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Exodus 2:3 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