a thread opens
And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where did you come from? and where will you go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.
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 the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, Where are you?
from Genesis 16:8
And the LORD said to Cain, Where is Abel your brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?
from Genesis 3:9
He that covers his sins shall not prosper: but whoever confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy.
from Genesis 4:9
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.
No man that has a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come near to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he has a blemish; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God.
from Leviticus 10:3
They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.
from Leviticus 21:21
And you shall not let any of your seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.
from Leviticus 21:6 · a strong link
Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.
from Leviticus 18:21
Woe to you, Moab! you are undone, O people of Chemosh: he has given his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites.
from I Kings 11:7 · a strong link
And the high places before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.
from Numbers 21:29 · 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,
In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and blameless and above reproach in his sight:
from Jude 1:24 · a strong link
According as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, so that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
from Colossians 1:22
Listen, my beloved brothers, Has not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to them that love him?
from Ephesians 1:4 · a strong link
And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed are you poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.
from James 2:5 · a strong link
Do not fear, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
from Luke 6:20
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
Therefore thus says the LORD, Look, I will lay stumbling blocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbor and his friend shall perish.
Again, When a righteous man does turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die: because you have not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at your hand.
from Jeremiah 6:21
And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
from Ezekiel 3:20
a thread opens
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
I have glorified you on the earth: I have finished the work which you gave me to do.
from Luke 2:14
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 John 17:4
Delivering you from the people, and from the Gentiles, to whom now I send you,
from Acts 20:24
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?
Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusts in God, and continues in supplications and prayers night and day.
from Luke 18:7
And he spoke a parable to them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
from I Timothy 5:5
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and to that end with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
from Luke 18:1 · a strong link
Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,
from Ephesians 6:18
I say to you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repents, more than over ninety-nine just persons, which need no repentance.
from Philippians 1:4
And he spoke this parable to certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
from Luke 15:7 · a strong link
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
And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
from John 12:25
And he that takes not his cross, and follows after me, is not worthy of me.
from Luke 9:23 · a strong link
And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:
from Matthew 10:38
And when they had come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.
from John 19:17 · a strong link
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Genesis 16:8 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