a thread opens
And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.
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 Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.
from I Samuel 8:11 · a strong link
When you have come to the land which the LORD your God gives you, and shall possess it, and shall dwell in it, and shall say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me;
from I Samuel 10:25 · a strong link
Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, No; but we will have a king over us;
from Deuteronomy 17:14 · a strong link
As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you.
from I Samuel 8:19
Now if you are ready that at what time you hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if you worship not, you shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?
from Jeremiah 44:16
a thread opens
As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
from I Corinthians 8:4 · a strong link
I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded you, though you have not known me:
from Deuteronomy 6:4
It is God that girds me with strength, and makes my way perfect.
from Isaiah 45:5
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our competence is from God;
from Psalms 18:32
a thread opens
By this we perceive the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
As the Father knows me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
from I John 3:16
Who gave himself for our sins, so that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:
from John 10:15
And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us, and has given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a fragrant offering.
from Galatians 1:4
a thread opens
But the anointing which you have received of him remains in you, and you need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it has taught you, you shall remain in him.
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
from I John 2:27
For this is my covenant to them, when I shall take away their sins.
from Hebrews 8:10 · a strong link
As for me, this is my covenant with them, says the LORD; My spirit upon you, and my words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, nor out of the mouth of your seed, nor out of the mouth of your seed’s seed, says the LORD, from now on and for ever.
from Romans 11:27
Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
from Isaiah 59:21 · a strong link
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
from II Corinthians 3:17 · a strong link
If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
from John 8:32 · a strong link
a thread opens
And God has set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, varieties of tongues.
Obey your leaders, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
from I Corinthians 12:28 · a strong link
And Moses returned to the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.
from Hebrews 13:17
You shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall you make to you gods of gold.
from Exodus 32:31 · a strong link
And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the LORD, and that swear by Malcham;
from Exodus 20:23
And the altars on the top of the upper room of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, did the king beat down, and broke them down from there, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.
from Zephaniah 1:5
a thread opens
I know also, my God, that you try the heart, and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy your people, who are present here, to offer willingly to you.
For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart.
from I Chronicles 29:17
And he has made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand has he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver has he hid me;
from Hebrews 4:12 · a strong link
And I have put my words in your mouth, and I have covered you in the shadow of my hand, so that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say to Zion, You are my people.
from Isaiah 49:2
For thus says the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he has established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.
from Isaiah 51:16
a thread opens
Clean out therefore the old leaven, so that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us:
For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.
from I Corinthians 5:7
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you are called in one body; and be thankful.
from I Corinthians 10:17
There is one body, and one Spirit, even as you are called in one hope of your calling;
from Colossians 3:15
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from I Samuel 8:11 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