a thread opens
Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry.
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 you said, I will surely do you good, and make your seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
from I Kings 4:20
And indeed, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac: the land on which you lie, to you will I give it, and to your seed;
from Genesis 32:12
And the LORD appeared to him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham your father: do not fear, for I am with you, and will bless you, and multiply your seed for my servant Abraham’s sake.
from Genesis 28:13
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.
Speak to Aaron, saying, Whoever he be of your seed in their generations that has any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God.
from Leviticus 10:3
Blessed is the man whom you choose, and cause to approach to you, so that he may dwell in your courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, even of your holy temple.
from Leviticus 21:17
According as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, so that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
from Psalms 65:4
The beast that you saw was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the abyss, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
from Ephesians 1:4
And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the abyss shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
from Revelation of John 17:8 · a strong link
I saw, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
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,
And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.
from Jude 1:24
Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and says of him, Look, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
Blessed is the man to whom the LORD imputes not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
from John 1:47
Namely, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses to them; and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
from Psalms 32:2
Look, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
from II Corinthians 5:19
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.
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
By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaks.
from I John 3:12 · a strong link
And in process of time it happened, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to the LORD.
from Hebrews 11:4 · a strong link
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
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
And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.
from Isaiah 9:6
For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God: for God gives not the Spirit by measure to him.
from John 1:16
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?
Cast not away therefore your confidence, which has great reward.
from Luke 18:7
Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so they persecuted the prophets before you.
from Hebrews 10:35
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 Matthew 5:12
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.
from Philippians 2:17 · a strong link
For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
from II Timothy 4:6 · a strong link
And Jesus said to him, Truly I say to you, Today shall you be with me in paradise.
from Philippians 1:23
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.
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives to the death.
from Luke 14:26 · a strong link
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
from Revelation of John 12:11 · a strong link
(For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;)
from II Corinthians 10:3
So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it happened, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.
from II Corinthians 10:4
And it shall happen, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.
from Joshua 6:20
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from I Kings 4:20 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