The Vigil

from Isaiah 40:18

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.

a thread opens

Isaiah 40:18

To whom then will you liken God? or what likeness will you compare to him?

Isaiah 46:5

To whom will you liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like?

from Isaiah 40:18 · a strong link

Deuteronomy 4:15

Take therefore good heed to yourselves; for you saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spoke to you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:

from Isaiah 40:25


a thread opens

Leviticus 10:3

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.

Leviticus 21:17

Speak to Aaron, saying, Whoever he be of your seed in their generations that has any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God.

from Leviticus 10:3

Psalms 65:4

Blessed is the man whom you choose, and cause to approach to you, so that he may dwell in your courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, even of your holy temple.

from Leviticus 21:17

Psalms 84:4

Blessed are they that dwell in your house: they will be still praising you. Selah.

from Psalms 65:4 · a strong link

Psalms 27:4

One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to see the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.

from Psalms 84:4

Luke 2:37

And she was a widow of about eighty and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.

from Psalms 27:4

I Timothy 5:5

Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusts in God, and continues in supplications and prayers night and day.

from Luke 2:37


a thread opens

Jude 1:24

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,

Romans 16:25

Now to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,

from Jude 1:24

Ephesians 3:9

And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world has been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

from Romans 16:25

Matthew 28:19

Go therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit:

from Ephesians 3:9

Romans 1:7

To all that are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

from II Corinthians 13:14


a thread opens

Jude 1:11

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.

I John 3:12

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

Proverbs 29:27

An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.

from I John 3:12


a thread opens

Luke 2:14

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Romans 5:1

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

from Luke 2:14

I Samuel 25:6

And thus shall you say to him that lives in prosperity, Peace be both to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.

from Luke 10:5


a thread opens

Luke 18:7

And shall not God give justice to his own elect, which cry day and night to him, though he bear long with them?

Romans 8:33

Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifies.

from Luke 18:7

Romans 8:1

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

from Romans 8:33

Titus 2:11

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,

from Romans 8:1 · a strong link

II Thessalonians 2:16

Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which has loved us, and has given us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,

from Titus 2:11


a thread opens

Luke 14:26

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.

John 12:25

He that loves his life shall lose it; and he that hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal.

from Luke 14:26 · a strong link

Matthew 19:29

And every one that has forsaken houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit eternal life.

from John 12:25

Matthew 25:34

Then shall the King say to them on his right hand, Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

from Matthew 19:29 · a strong link

James 2:5

Listen, my beloved brothers, Has not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to them that love him?

from Matthew 25:34 · a strong link

James 1:12

Blessed is the man that endures temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love him.

from James 2:5 · a strong link

That is the whole thread.

Every verse the cross-references reach from Isaiah 40:18 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