a thread opens
Look, the hand of the LORD is upon your cattle in the field, upon the horses, upon the donkeys, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous plague.
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 now, look, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a while. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
from Exodus 9:3
Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O you my friends; for the hand of God has touched me.
from Acts 13:11
But put forth your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.
from Job 19:21
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
But he said to her, You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
from Psalms 39:9 · a strong link
Out of the mouth of the most High proceeds not evil and good?
from Job 2:10
For thus says the LORD; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them.
from Lamentations 3:38
And it shall happen, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, says the LORD.
from Jeremiah 32:42 · a strong link
Thus shall you say to him, The LORD says thus; Look, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land.
from Jeremiah 31:28
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,
And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.
from Jude 1:24
That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Therefore, beloved, seeing that you look for such things, be diligent that you may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
from Ephesians 5:27
To the end he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.
from II Peter 3:14 · a strong link
And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Look, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his saints,
from I Thessalonians 3:13
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.
Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:
from Jude 1:11
And the sons of Izhar; Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri.
from Numbers 16:1
The son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah,
from Exodus 6:21
To the director of music, Maschil, for the sons of Korah. As the deer pants after the water brooks, so pants my soul after you, O God.
from I Chronicles 6:37
a thread opens
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)
from Luke 2:14
Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God has made that same Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
from Acts 10:36
And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
from Acts 2:36
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?
Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to repay with affliction those who afflict you;
from Luke 18:7
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 II Thessalonians 1:6
Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which you have had indignation these seventy years?
from Revelation of John 6:10 · a strong link
For thus says the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
from Zechariah 1:12
And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed on it: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: for the LORD their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity.
from Jeremiah 29:10
And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
from Zephaniah 2:7
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 his life shall lose it; and he that hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal.
from Luke 14:26 · a strong link
For whoever will save his life shall lose it; but whoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.
from John 12:25 · a strong link
Whoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.
from Mark 8:35
He that finds his life shall lose it: and he that loses his life for my sake shall find it.
from Luke 17:33 · a strong link
According to my eager expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.
from Matthew 10:39
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Exodus 9:3 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