a thread opens
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Look, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
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 indeed, you shall conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name JESUS.
from Isaiah 7:14 · a strong link
And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
from Luke 1:31 · a strong link
Tell, and bring them near; yes, let them take counsel together: who has declared this from ancient time? who has told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Savior; there is none beside me.
from Matthew 1:21
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.
I was mute, I opened not my mouth; because you did it.
from Leviticus 10:3
And the king said, What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the LORD has said to him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Why have you done so?
from Psalms 39:9
Then Jesus said to Peter, Put up your sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father has given me, shall I not drink it?
from II Samuel 16:10
He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, your will be done.
from John 18:11
And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as you will.
from Matthew 26:42 · a strong link
But Jesus answered and said, You know not what you ask. Are you able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say to him, We are able.
from Matthew 26:39 · a strong link
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,
My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
from Jude 1:24
Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing in which they dealt proudly he was above them.
from John 10:29
Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? who is like you, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
from Exodus 18:11 · a strong link
The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.
from Exodus 15:11
He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.
from Psalms 145:17
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.
Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:
from Jude 1:11
And the sons of Izhar; Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri.
from Numbers 16:1
The son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah,
from Exodus 6:21
To the director of music, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. LORD, you have been favorable to your land: you have brought back the captivity of Jacob.
from I Chronicles 6:37
a thread opens
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Surely his salvation is near them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.
from Luke 2:14
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we saw his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
from Psalms 85:9
And the glory which you gave me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
from John 1:14
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?
Cast not away therefore your confidence, which has great reward.
from Luke 18:7
Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so they persecuted the prophets before you.
from Hebrews 10:35
And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the farmers, so that they might receive the fruits of it.
from Matthew 5:12
Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and show mercy and compassions every man to his brother:
from Matthew 21:34
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
from Zechariah 7:9
But go and learn what that means, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
from Matthew 23:23
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.
He that loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
from Luke 14:26 · a strong link
Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
from Matthew 10:37 · a strong link
And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
from Matthew 22:37 · a strong link
For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
from Mark 12:33 · a strong link
To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
from Hosea 6:6
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Isaiah 7:14 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