a thread opens
Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Beth-lehem-judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul.
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 Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.
from I Samuel 17:12 · a strong link
And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Beth-lehem-judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.
from Genesis 35:19
But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall he come forth to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
from Ruth 1:2
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
But he said to her, You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
from Psalms 39:9 · a strong link
And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there: the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
from Job 2:10 · a strong link
Every man also to whom God has given riches and wealth, and has given him power to eat of it, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God.
from Job 1:21
A man to whom God has given riches, wealth, and honor, so that he wants nothing for his soul of all that he desires, yet God gives him not power to eat of it, but a stranger eats it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.
from Ecclesiastes 5:19 · a strong link
And I have also given you that which you have not asked, both riches, and honor: so that there shall not be any among the kings like you all your days.
from Ecclesiastes 6:2
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 the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me to his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
from Jude 1:24
The LORD shall preserve you from all evil: he shall preserve your soul.
from II Timothy 4:18 · a strong link
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
from Psalms 121:7
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you:
from Romans 8:35 · a strong link
In which you greatly rejoice, though now for a while, if need be, you are in grief through manifold temptations:
from I Peter 4:12 · 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.
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
Foods for the belly, and the belly for foods: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.
For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that you should abstain from sexual immorality:
from I Corinthians 6:13
That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
from I Thessalonians 4:3
a thread opens
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
I have glorified you on the earth: I have finished the work which you gave me to do.
from Luke 2:14
If you keep my commandments, you shall remain in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and remain in his love.
from John 17:4
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not burdensome.
from John 15:10
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?
Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusts in God, and continues in supplications and prayers night and day.
from Luke 18:7
Honor widows that are widows indeed.
from I Timothy 5:5 · a strong link
He does execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loves the stranger, in giving him food and apparel.
from I Timothy 5:3
The LORD preserves the strangers; he relieves the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turns upside down.
from Deuteronomy 10:18 · a strong link
A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
from Psalms 146:9
Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.
from Psalms 68:5
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
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 Philippians 3:8
Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, struck of God, and afflicted.
from Isaiah 53:11
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, He took our weaknesses, and bore our sicknesses.
from Isaiah 53:4 · a strong link
Now all this was done, so that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
from Matthew 8:17
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from I Samuel 17:12 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