a thread opens
Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born to him that is a hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
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 Sarah said, God has made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.
from Genesis 17:17 · a strong link
Sing, O barren, you that did not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, you that did not toil with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, says the LORD.
from Genesis 21:6 · a strong link
He makes the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise the LORD.
from Isaiah 54:1
They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren has born seven; and she that has many children is grew feeble.
from Psalms 113:9 · a strong link
She that has borne seven languishes: she has breathed her last; her sun has gone down while it was yet day: she has been ashamed and confounded: and the residue of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies, says the LORD.
from I Samuel 2:5 · a strong link
a thread opens
As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
from I Corinthians 8:4
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we saw his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
from I Timothy 2:5
And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.
from John 1:14 · a strong link
For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
from Isaiah 40:5 · a strong link
a thread opens
By this we perceive the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
For Christ also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, so that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit:
from I John 3:16
For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world has he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
from I Peter 3:18 · a strong link
Then shall the King say to them on his right hand, Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
from Hebrews 9:26 · a strong link
a thread opens
But the anointing which you have received of him remains in you, and you need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it has taught you, you shall remain in him.
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
from I John 2:27
Of his own will he fathered us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
from Hebrews 8:10
But we must give thanks always to God for you, brothers beloved of the Lord, because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
from James 1:18
O foolish Galatians, who has cast a spell on you, so that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been publicly portrayed, crucified among you?
And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him;
from Galatians 3:1
You have ascended on high, you have led captivity captive: you have received gifts for men; yes, for the rebellious also, so that the LORD God might dwell among them.
from Hebrews 5:9
a thread opens
And God has set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, varieties of tongues.
Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine.
from I Corinthians 12:28
And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.
from I Timothy 5:17 · a strong link
And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you, and your sons, and your daughters, and your menservants, and your maidservants, and the Levite within your gates; since he has no part nor inheritance with you.
from Luke 10:7
Therefore Levi has no part nor inheritance with his brothers; the LORD is his inheritance, according as the LORD your God promised him.
from Deuteronomy 12:12 · a strong link
The priests the Levites, and all the tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel: they shall eat the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and his inheritance.
from Deuteronomy 10:9
a thread opens
I know also, my God, that you try the heart, and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy your people, who are present here, to offer willingly to you.
You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you that believe:
from I Chronicles 29:17
But you have fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, perseverance, love, patience,
from I Thessalonians 2:10
But you know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he has served with me in the gospel.
from II Timothy 3:10 · a strong link
To this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether you be obedient in all things.
from Philippians 2:22
a thread opens
Clean out therefore the old leaven, so that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us:
And I saw, and, look, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
from I Corinthians 5:7
After this I saw, and, look, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
And you shall take you on the first day the boughs of fine trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Genesis 17:17 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