a thread opens
Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with you.
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 there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as swift of foot as a wild gazelle.
from I Samuel 26:6
And of the Gadites there separated themselves to David into the stronghold to the wilderness men of might, and warriors fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the gazelles upon the mountains;
from II Samuel 2:18 · a strong link
And he also that is valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt: for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and they which are with him are valiant men.
from I Chronicles 12:8
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 let the priests also, which come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them.
from Leviticus 10:3
And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD.
from Exodus 19:22
And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.
from Exodus 24:5
And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.
from Exodus 18:12
Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brothers to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and stayed all night in the mount.
from Exodus 24:11
And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.
from Genesis 31:54
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,
That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
from Jude 1:24 · a strong link
But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
from Ephesians 5:27
Take heed therefore to yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he has purchased with his own blood.
from I Peter 1:19
As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.
from Acts 20:28
To which I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
from Acts 13:2 · 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.
Which have forsaken the right way, and have gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
from Jude 1:11 · a strong link
They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them.
from II Peter 2:15
And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.
from Proverbs 28:4 · a strong link
I wrote to you in a letter not to associate with the sexually immoral:
from Ephesians 5:11
a thread opens
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and everything that moves in it.
from Luke 2:14
Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD has comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
from Psalms 69:34 · a strong link
For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found in it, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
from Isaiah 49:13
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
O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you hear not; and in the night season, and am not silent.
from Psalms 88:1 · a strong link
My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually say to me, Where is your God?
from Psalms 22:2
As with a sword in my bones, my enemies reproach me; while they say daily to me, Where is your God?
from Psalms 42:3
Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the portico and the altar, and let them say, Spare your people, O LORD, and give not your heritage to reproach, that the pagans should rule over them: why should they say among the people, Where is their God?
from Psalms 42:10
Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to the LORD on the altar of the LORD, which he had built before the portico,
from Joel 2:17
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.
Whom have I in heaven but you? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside you.
from Luke 14:26 · a strong link
Because your loving devotion is better than life, my lips shall praise you.
from Psalms 73:25 · a strong link
I beg you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
from Psalms 63:3
If there is therefore any comfort in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,
from Romans 12:1
And he that keeps his commandments dwells in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he remains in us, by the Spirit which he has given us.
from Philippians 2:1
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from I Samuel 26:6 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