a thread opens
And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him? And Ziba said to the king, Jonathan has yet a son, which is lame on his feet.
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 Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took him up, and fled: and it happened, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.
from II Samuel 9:3 · a strong link
And the son of Jonathan was Merib-baal: and Merib-baal fathered Micah.
from II Samuel 4:4
And the son of Jonathan was Merib-baal; and Merib-baal fathered Micah.
from I Chronicles 9:40
And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Micha. And all that dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth.
from I Chronicles 8:34
And Shaharaim fathered children in the country of Moab, after he had sent them away; Hushim and Baara were his wives.
from II Samuel 9:12
a thread opens
As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
from I Corinthians 8:4
And for this cause he is the mediator of the new covenant, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
from I Timothy 2:5
So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and to them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin to salvation.
from Hebrews 9:15
Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, in which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
from Hebrews 9:28
a thread opens
By this we perceive the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. To him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
from I John 3:16 · a strong link
Truly, truly, I say to you, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and you receive not our witness.
Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
from John 3:11 · a strong link
a thread opens
But the anointing which you have received of him remains in you, and you need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it has taught you, you shall remain in him.
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
from I John 2:27
I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
from Hebrews 8:10 · 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 Matthew 22:32 · a strong link
And it happened at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word.
from Exodus 3:6
Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beg you, save you us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you are the LORD God, even you only.
from I Kings 18:36
Hear in heaven your dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calls to you for: that all people of the earth may know your name, to fear you, as do your people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have built, is called by your name.
from II Kings 19:19
a thread opens
And God has set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, varieties of tongues.
Greet all your leaders, and all the saints. They of Italy greet you.
from I Corinthians 12:28 · a strong link
Obey your leaders, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
from Hebrews 13:24 · a strong link
Shepherd the flock of God among you, taking its oversight, not by constraint, but willingly; not for dishonest gain, but of a ready mind;
from Hebrews 13:17 · a strong link
For an overseer must be blameless, as the steward of God; not arrogant, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for dishonest gain;
from I Peter 5:2 · a strong link
But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
from Titus 1:7
a thread opens
I know also, my God, that you try the heart, and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy your people, who are present here, to offer willingly to you.
For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conduct in the world, and more abundantly toward you.
from I Chronicles 29:17
But have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
from II Corinthians 1:12
Knowing therefore the fear of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest to God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.
from II Corinthians 4:2 · a strong link
And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
from II Corinthians 5:11 · a strong link
a thread opens
Clean out therefore the old leaven, so that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us:
But God judges those outside. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
from I Corinthians 5:7
Then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them with stones that they die; the young woman, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he has humbled his neighbor’s wife: so you shall put away evil from among you.
from I Corinthians 5:13
Then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she has committed folly in Israel, to play the prostitute in her father’s house: so shall you put evil away from among you.
from Deuteronomy 22:24
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from II Samuel 9:3 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