a thread opens
And Hagar bore Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bore, Ishmael.
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.
Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham:
from Genesis 16:15
And also of the son of the slave woman will I make a nation, because he is your seed.
from Genesis 25:12
And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: Look, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
from Genesis 21:13
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 let the priests also, which come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them.
from Leviticus 10:3
And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD.
from Exodus 19:22
And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.
from Exodus 24:5
Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brothers to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and stayed all night in the mount.
from Exodus 18:12
So Abner came to David to Hebron, and twenty men with him. And David made Abner and the men that were with him a feast.
from Genesis 31:54
And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.
from II Samuel 3:20
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 of power to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
from Jude 1:24
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
from Romans 16:25
Who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
from Matthew 13:35
(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, so that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calls;)
from II Timothy 1:9
(As it is written, I have made you a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickens the dead, and calls those things which are not as though they were.
from Romans 9:11
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.
The look on their faces bears witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe to their soul! for they have rewarded evil to themselves.
from Jude 1:11
But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.
from Isaiah 3:9 · a strong link
And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
from Genesis 13:13
For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is grown great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD has sent us to destroy it.
from Genesis 18:20
a thread opens
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
from Luke 2:14
For to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
from Isaiah 9:6 · a strong link
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
from Luke 2:11
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
If I sharpen my glittering sword, and my hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to my enemies, and will reward them that hate me.
from II Thessalonians 1:6
For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: look, it shall come down upon Edom, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.
from Deuteronomy 32:41
For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, so that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts has a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.
from Isaiah 34:5
Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
from Jeremiah 46:10 · a strong link
Howl; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
from Joel 1:15
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.
Yes doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them as rubbish, so that I may win Christ,
from Luke 14:26 · a strong link
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:
from Philippians 3:8
Making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
from Ephesians 4:13 · a strong link
A new commandment I give to you, That you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
from Ephesians 4:3
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
from John 13:34 · a strong link
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Genesis 16:15 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