a thread opens
For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart.
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.
Gird your sword upon your thigh, O most mighty, with your glory and your majesty.
from Hebrews 4:12 · a strong link
And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shines in his strength.
from Psalms 45:3 · a strong link
And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write; These things says he who has the sharp sword with two edges;
from Revelation of John 1:16 · a strong link
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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 I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honored upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so.
from Leviticus 10:3
And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
from Exodus 14:4
And the LORD said to Moses, When you go to return into Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in your hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.
from Exodus 7:3 · a strong link
Therefore has he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardens.
from Exodus 4:21 · a strong link
And with all wicked deception in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, so that they might be saved.
from Romans 9:18
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
from II Thessalonians 2:10 · a strong link
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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 the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
from Jude 1:24
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
from Hebrews 13:20
And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach to me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach to me? says the LORD.
from Hebrews 10:22
I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brothers, like you, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak to them all that I shall command him.
from Jeremiah 30:21
The LORD your God will raise up to you a Prophet from the midst of you, of your brothers, like to me; to him you shall listen;
from Deuteronomy 18:18 · a strong link
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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.
Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And why he slew him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
from Jude 1:11 · a strong link
An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.
from I John 3:12
Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate you? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against you?
from Proverbs 29:27
I saw the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not your word.
from Psalms 139:21 · a strong link
a thread opens
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
And every creature in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be to him that sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb for ever and ever.
from Luke 2:14
And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look on it.
For I saw, and there was no man; even among them, and there was no counselor, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word.
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?
The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some men count slowness; but is patience toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
from Luke 18:7
Which sometime were disobedient, when once the patience of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
from II Peter 3:9
And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him:
from I Peter 3:20
The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
from Genesis 8:18
He keeps the paths of judgment, and preserves the way of his saints.
from Psalms 121:8
The LORD preserves all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.
from Proverbs 2:8
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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.
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 Luke 14:26 · a strong link
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.
from Acts 20:24
Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all.
from II Timothy 4:6 · a strong link
You also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
from Philippians 2:17
Let my prayer be set forth before you as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
from I Peter 2:5
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Hebrews 4:12 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