a thread opens
And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house; and there he judged Israel; and there he built an altar to the LORD.
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.
Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel to Ramah,
from I Samuel 7:17
And he said to Moses, Come up to the LORD, you, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship you in the distance.
from I Samuel 8:4
And take to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, so that he may minister to me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.
from Exodus 24:1
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 there you shall eat before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice in all that you put your hand to, you and your households, in which the LORD your God has blessed you.
from Exodus 18:12
You shall eat it before the LORD your God year by year in the place which the LORD shall choose, you and your household.
from Deuteronomy 12:7
And you shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks; that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.
from Deuteronomy 15:20
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,
Now to him that is able to do immeasurably more than all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
from Jude 1:24 · a strong link
And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be perfect.
from Ephesians 3:20 · a strong link
And Paul, earnestly seeing the council, said, Men and brothers, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.
from Genesis 17:1
I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of you in my prayers night and day;
from Acts 23:1 · a strong link
But this I confess to you, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:
from II Timothy 1:3
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
That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom you slew between the temple and the altar.
from Hebrews 11:4 · a strong link
And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it happened, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
from Matthew 23:35
a thread opens
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things to himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
from Luke 2:14 · a strong link
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: look, your King comes to you: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon a donkey, and upon a colt the foal of a donkey.
from Colossians 1:20
Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the scepter of your kingdom is a right scepter.
from Zechariah 9:9
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?
Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to repay with affliction those who afflict you;
from Luke 18:7
If I sharpen my glittering sword, and my hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to my enemies, and will reward them that hate me.
from II Thessalonians 1:6
For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.
from Deuteronomy 32:41
And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, says the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother.
from Isaiah 66:16
Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it:
from Ezekiel 38:21
Son of man, when the land sins against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out my hand upon it, and will break its staff of the bread, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it:
from Ezekiel 14:17
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.
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
But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
from Philippians 3:8
For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
from Philippians 3:7
But Abraham said, Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and you are tormented.
from Matthew 16:26 · a strong link
From men which are your hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly you fill with your hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their possessions to their babes.
from Luke 16:25
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from I Samuel 7:17 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