a thread opens
And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, Strike upon the ground. And he struck three times, and stayed.
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 it happened, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
from II Kings 13:18
I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.
from Exodus 17:11
Thus will I bless you while I live: I will lift up my hands in your name.
from I Timothy 2:8 · a strong link
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
But Jesus answered and said, You know not what you ask. Are you able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say to him, We are able.
from John 18:11 · a strong link
Thus says your Lord the LORD, and your God that pleads the cause of his people, Look, I have taken out of your hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; you shall no more drink it again:
from Matthew 20:22
Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which have drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his fury; you have drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out.
from Isaiah 51:22 · 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,
That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
from Jude 1:24 · a strong link
Whom we preach, admonishing everyone, and teaching everyone in all wisdom; that we may present everyone mature in Christ Jesus:
from Ephesians 5:27
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
from Colossians 1:28 · a strong link
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone;
from Ephesians 4:11 · a strong link
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, Look, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believes will not panic.
from Ephesians 2:20 · a strong link
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.
And in process of time it happened, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to the LORD.
from Jude 1:11
All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer to the LORD, them have I given you.
from Genesis 4:3
The firstfruit also of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, shall you give him.
from Numbers 18:12
You shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven; they are the firstfruits to the LORD.
from Deuteronomy 18:4
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
But to the Son he says, Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom.
from Isaiah 9:6
Look, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom you seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom you delight in: look, he shall come, says the LORD of hosts.
from Hebrews 1:8
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?
But the LORD is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten.
from Luke 18:7
And they shall fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you; for I am with you, says the LORD, to deliver you.
from Jeremiah 20:11 · a strong link
And it happened, that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army,
from Jeremiah 1:19
Then Pharaoh’s army had come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem.
from Jeremiah 37:11
Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel; Thus shall you say to the king of Judah, that sent you to me to inquire of me; Look, Pharaoh’s army, which has come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land.
from Jeremiah 37:5
Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not to the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!
from Jeremiah 37:7
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 every one that has forsaken houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit eternal life.
from John 12:25
And another of his disciples said to him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
from Matthew 19:29 · a strong link
Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother;
from Matthew 8:21
You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.
from Leviticus 21:11
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from II Kings 13:18 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