a thread opens
Then came Isaiah the prophet to king Hezekiah, and said to him, What did these men say? and where did they come from to you? And Hezekiah said, They have come from a far country to me, even from Babylon.
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.
The LORD shall bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies; a nation whose tongue you shall not understand;
from Isaiah 39:3
Set the trumpet to your mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law.
from Deuteronomy 28:49 · a strong link
Look, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us! for we are plundered.
from Hosea 8:1
Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heaven: they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness.
from Jeremiah 4:13
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Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commands all men everywhere to repent:
from Acts 20:21
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,
from Acts 17:30 · a strong link
O praise the LORD, all you nations: praise him, all you people.
from Titus 2:11
After this I saw, and, look, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
from Psalms 117:1
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
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 you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have worked with you for my name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O you house of Israel, says the Lord GOD.
from Psalms 106:8
Nevertheless I withdrew my hand, and worked for my name’s sake, so that it should not be polluted in the sight of the pagans, in whose sight I brought them forth.
from Ezekiel 20:44
Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for your name’s sake.
from Ezekiel 20:22
For your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my iniquity; for it is great.
from Psalms 79:9
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.
Before the LORD; for he comes to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.
from Acts 17:31
Before the LORD: for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.
from Psalms 98:9
And I saw heaven opened, and look, a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he does judge and make war.
from Psalms 96:13 · a strong link
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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,
And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.
from Acts 4:27 · a strong link
There were present at that season some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
from Matthew 27:2
Look, O LORD, and consider to whom you have done this. Shall the women eat their fruit, and children of a span long? shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?
from Luke 13:1
And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend in the siege and dire need, with which their enemies, and they that seek their lives, shall straiten them.
from Lamentations 2:20 · a strong link
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You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do you.
And do not grieve the holy Spirit of God, by whom you are sealed to the day of redemption.
from Acts 7:51
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also give life to your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you.
from Ephesians 4:30
For as the Father raises up the dead, and gives them life; even so the Son gives life to whom he will.
from Romans 8:11 · a strong link
And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise.
from John 5:21
And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she served them.
from Luke 8:54
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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
By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:
from Acts 9:15
For I say, through the grace given to me, to every man among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith.
from Romans 1:5
Likewise, you younger, submit yourselves to the elder. Yes, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble.
from Romans 12:3 · a strong link
Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
from I Peter 5:5 · a strong link
For, brothers, you have been called to freedom; only do not use freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but by love serve one another.
from Ephesians 5:21
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Isaiah 39:3 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