a thread opens
For the king said to Joab the commander of the army, which was with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, and number you the people, that I may know the number of the people.
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.
Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, to the LORD in Mizpah.
from II Samuel 24:2
And Samuel called the people together to the LORD to Mizpah;
from Judges 20:1
And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray for you to the LORD.
from I Samuel 10:17
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
Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you, and your fellows that sit before you: for they are men wondered at: for, look, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.
from Isaiah 49:3
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
from Zechariah 3:8 · a strong link
In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up to David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.
from Isaiah 11:1
And speak to him, saying, Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, saying, Look, the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:
from Jeremiah 33:15
Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the LORD of hosts.
from Zechariah 6:12
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,
In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and blameless and above reproach in his sight:
from Jude 1:24 · a strong link
Who gave himself for us, so that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify to himself a people for his own possession, zealous of good works.
from Colossians 1:22
For you are a holy people to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for his own possession, above all the nations upon the earth.
from Titus 2:14
Now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure to me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
from Deuteronomy 14:2 · a strong link
But the LORD has taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be to him a people of inheritance, as you are this day.
from Exodus 19:5
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.
But I have a few things against you, because you have there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.
from Jude 1:11
And Israel remained in Acacia, and the people began to commit prostitution with the daughters of Moab.
from Revelation of John 2:14 · a strong link
And they pitched by Jordan, from Beth-jesimoth even to Abel-acacia in the plains of Moab.
from Numbers 25:1
You shall also make a table of acacia wood: two cubits shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height.
from Numbers 33:49
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 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.
And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
from Revelation of John 5:6 · 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
Look, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation.
from Psalms 88:1
The LORD is my strength and song, and he has become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him a habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
from Isaiah 12:2 · a strong link
Moreover he said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
from Exodus 15:2
And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his robe, and went out, and stood in the entrance of the cave. And there came a voice to him, and said, What do you do here, Elijah?
from Exodus 3:6
And he came there to a cave, and lodged there; and indeed, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, What do you do here, Elijah?
from I Kings 19:13 · a strong link
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.
Yes doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them as rubbish, so that I may win Christ,
from Luke 14:26 · a strong link
Thus says the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
from Philippians 3:8 · a strong link
Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seems to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, so that he may be wise.
from Jeremiah 9:23
Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
from I Corinthians 3:18
Now as they were making their hearts merry, look, the men of the city, certain wicked men, beset the house around, and beat at the door, and spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into your house, that we may know him.
from I Corinthians 6:9
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from II Samuel 24:2 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