a thread opens
But he said, As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused.
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.
But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Look, my master has spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: but, as the LORD lives, I will run after him, and take somewhat of him.
from II Kings 5:16
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that takes his name in vain.
from II Kings 5:20
Lest I be full, and deny you, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.
from Exodus 20:7
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.
And said to me, You are my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
from Leviticus 10:3
Look, my servant, whom I uphold; my elect, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
from Isaiah 49:3
He shall see of the toil of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
from Isaiah 42:1 · a strong link
A woman when she is in labor has sorrow, because her hour has come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembers no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.
from Isaiah 53:11
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman; and they shall not escape.
from John 16:21
And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
from I Thessalonians 5:3
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
Of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of his power.
from Ephesians 3:20 · a strong link
And what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
from Ephesians 3:7 · a strong link
To which I also labor, striving according to his working, which works in me mightily.
from Ephesians 1:19 · a strong link
But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
from Colossians 1:29 · 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.
The look on their faces bears witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe to their soul! for they have rewarded evil to themselves.
from Jude 1:11
But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.
from Isaiah 3:9 · a strong link
And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
from Genesis 13:13
And he said, What have you done? the voice of your brother’s blood cries to me from the ground.
from Genesis 18:20
a thread opens
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
from Luke 2:14 · a strong link
Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me.
from Luke 1:79
Teaching them to observe all things whatever I have commanded you: and, look, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. Amen.
from Psalms 23:4 · 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?
A Song or Psalm for the sons of Korah, to the director of music upon Mahalath Leannoth, Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite. O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before you:
from Luke 18:7 · a strong link
For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations around.
from Psalms 88:1
The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the farthest parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed, a greater than Solomon is here.
from I Kings 4:31
And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions.
from Matthew 12:42
And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised.
from I Kings 10:1
Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, Because the LORD has loved his people, he has made you king over them.
from Psalms 72:15
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: and whoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
from John 12:25 · a strong link
Save that the Holy Spirit witnesses in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions remain me.
from Matthew 16:25
And when he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus says the Holy Spirit, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owns this belt, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.
from Acts 20:23
Thus says the LORD to me, Go and get you a linen belt, and put it upon your loins, and put it not in water.
from Acts 21:11
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from II Kings 5:16 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