a thread opens
And God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her, and opened her womb.
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 they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the LORD, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the LORD remembered her.
from Genesis 30:22 · a strong link
And the man knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bore Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
from I Samuel 1:19
And I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; it shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
from Genesis 4:1
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
And the king said, What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the LORD has said to him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Why have you done so?
from Psalms 39:9
Then Jesus said to Peter, Put up your sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father has given me, shall I not drink it?
from II Samuel 16:10
He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, your will be done.
from John 18:11
And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as you will.
from Matthew 26:42 · a strong link
But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.
from Matthew 26:39
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 able to do immeasurably more than all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
from Jude 1:24 · a strong link
But as it is written, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him.
from Ephesians 3:20 · a strong link
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
from I Corinthians 2:9 · a strong link
Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
from John 3:16 · a strong link
For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
from John 11:25
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.
Which have forsaken the right way, and have gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
from Jude 1:11 · a strong link
Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when you came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.
from II Peter 2:15
Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, so that he should curse them: however our God turned the curse into a blessing.
from Deuteronomy 23:4
Nevertheless the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam; but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing to you, because the LORD your God loved you.
from Nehemiah 13:2
a thread opens
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Saying, Blessed be the King that comes in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.
from Luke 2:14 · a strong link
And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord:
from Luke 19:38
For I say to you, You shall not see me from now on, till you shall say, Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.
from Mark 11:9 · 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?
Cast not away therefore your confidence, which has great reward.
from Luke 18:7
And you shall be blessed; for they cannot recompense you: for you shall be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.
from Hebrews 10:35
He that has pity upon the poor lends to the LORD; and that which he has given will he pay him again.
from Luke 14:14
Cast your bread upon the waters: for you shall find it after many days.
from Proverbs 19:17
To the director of music, A Psalm of David. Blessed is he that considers the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.
from Ecclesiastes 11:1
If there is among you a poor man of one of your brothers within any of your gates in your land which the LORD your God gives you, you shall not harden your heart, nor shut your hand from your poor brother:
from Psalms 41:1
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
And this I do for the gospel’s sake, so that I might be its partaker with you.
from Mark 8:35
Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
from I Corinthians 9:23
You therefore endure hardship, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
from II Timothy 2:10
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Genesis 30:22 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