a thread opens
And Saul said, Thus shall you say to David, The king desires not any dowry, but a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king’s enemies. But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.
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 Saul said to David, Look, my elder daughter Merab, her will I give you to wife: only be valiant for me, and fight the LORD’s battles. For Saul said, Let not my hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.
from I Samuel 18:25 · a strong link
And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Therefore Saul said to David, You shall this day be my son-in-law in the one of the two.
from I Samuel 18:17
And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king’s son-in-law: and the days were not expired.
from I Samuel 18:21
a thread opens
Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
from Acts 20:21
But go and learn what that means, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
from Matthew 4:17
Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and insolent: but I obtained mercy, because I did it in ignorance in unbelief.
from Matthew 9:13 · a strong link
For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins,
from I Timothy 1:13
And you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this;
from Hebrews 10:26
a thread opens
Be it known to you therefore, men and brothers, that through this man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins:
I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.
from Acts 13:38
Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake, so that he might make his mighty power to be known.
from I John 2:12
And in very deed for this cause have I raised you up, to show in you my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
from Psalms 106:8 · a strong link
And I, look, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honor upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.
from Exodus 9:16
And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honored upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so.
from Exodus 14:17
What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much patience the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
from Exodus 14:4 · a strong link
a thread opens
Because he has appointed a day, in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he has ordained; of which he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead.
But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved to fire for the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
from Acts 17:31
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
from II Peter 3:7
My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that has gone out of my lips.
from Matthew 24:35 · a strong link
a thread opens
For truly against your holy child Jesus, whom you have anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
By stretching forth your hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of your holy child Jesus.
from Acts 4:27 · a strong link
Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
from Acts 4:30
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues;
from Acts 3:6
Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?
from Mark 16:17 · a strong link
a thread opens
You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do you.
Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
from Acts 7:51
Seek the LORD, and you shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel.
from Jeremiah 4:4
For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel, Seek me, and you shall live:
from Amos 5:6
Incline your ear, and come to me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
from Amos 5:4
And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.
from Isaiah 55:3 · a strong link
a thread opens
And he said to me, Depart: for I will send you far hence to the Gentiles.
But the Lord said to him, Go your way: for he is a chosen vessel to me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
from Acts 22:21 · a strong link
At my first defense no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.
from Acts 9:15
And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
from II Timothy 4:16 · a strong link
And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
from Acts 7:60
And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as you will.
from Luke 22:41
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross.
from Matthew 26:39 · a strong link
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from I Samuel 18:25 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