a thread opens
And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the poles on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon the ark:
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.
As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.
from Exodus 40:20
And you shall beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with you: it shall be to you most holy.
from Exodus 16:34
And there I will meet with you, and I will commune with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim upon the ark of the covenant, of all things which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.
from Exodus 30:36
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 I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honored upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so.
from Leviticus 10:3
And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth my hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.
from Exodus 14:4 · a strong link
Thus says the LORD, In this you shall know that I am the LORD: look, I will strike with the rod in my hand upon the waters in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.
from Exodus 7:5 · a strong link
And it shall happen, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither listen to your voice, that you shall take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which you take out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.
from Exodus 7:17 · a strong link
And the LORD spoke to Moses, Say to Aaron, Take your rod, and stretch out your hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.
from Exodus 4:9
And the LORD spoke to Moses, Say to Aaron, Stretch forth your hand with your rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt.
from Exodus 7:19 · a strong link
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,
My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
from Jude 1:24
I have manifested your name to the men which you gave me out of the world: yours they were, and you gave them me; and they have kept your word.
from John 10:29
And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
from John 17:6
And Thomas answered and said to him, My Lord and my God.
from I John 5:20
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
from John 20:28
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.
But I have a few things against you, because you have there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.
from Jude 1:11
Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you:
from Revelation of John 2:14 · a strong link
And now are you anything better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them,
from Joshua 24:9
O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Acacia to Gilgal; that you may know the righteousness of the LORD.
from Judges 11:25
a thread opens
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things to himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
from Luke 2:14 · a strong link
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: look, your King comes to you: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon a donkey, and upon a colt the foal of a donkey.
from Colossians 1:20
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 9:9 · 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?
But the LORD is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten.
from Luke 18:7
By terrible things in righteousness will you answer us, O God of our salvation; who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are in the distance upon the sea:
from Jeremiah 20:11 · a strong link
Say to God, How terrible are you in your works! through the greatness of your power shall your enemies submit themselves to you.
from Psalms 65:5
For the LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth.
from Psalms 66:3
And said, I beg you, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keeps covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:
from Psalms 47:2
And showing mercy to thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
from Nehemiah 1:5
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
Therefore from now on we regard no one after the flesh: yes, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now from now on know we him no more.
from Deuteronomy 33:9
To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.
from II Corinthians 5:16
But when I saw that they were not walking in line according to the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, If you, being a Jew, live after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why do you compel the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?
from Galatians 2:5 · a strong link
Them that sin rebuke before all, so that others also may fear.
from Galatians 2:14
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Exodus 40:20 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