a thread opens
And a certain man was there, which had a weakness thirty-eight years.
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 he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came to him? And he said, Of a child.
from John 5:5
And there he found a certain man named Eneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was paralyzed.
from Mark 9:21
And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from his birth.
from Acts 9:33
a thread opens
Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
I tell you, No: but, except you repent, you shall all likewise perish.
from Acts 20:21
And saying, Repent you: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
from Luke 13:3
The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some men count slowness; but is patience toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
from Matthew 3:2
However for this cause I obtained mercy, so that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all patience, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to eternal life.
from II Peter 3:9
And account that the patience of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given to him has written to you;
from I Timothy 1:16
a thread opens
Be it known to you therefore, men and brothers, that through this man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins:
Then Peter said to them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
from Acts 13:38
But Peter said to him, Your money perish with you, because you have thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
from Acts 2:38
Then Daniel answered before the king, Let your gifts be to yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation.
from Acts 8:20 · a strong link
But he said, As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused.
from Daniel 5:17 · a strong link
And Elisha said, As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward you, nor see you.
from II Kings 5:16
And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.
from II Kings 3:14
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, for he comes to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.
from Acts 17:31
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
For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;
a thread opens
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,
By stretching forth your hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of your holy child Jesus.
from Acts 4:27 · a strong link
Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
from Acts 4:30
And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have you done this?
from Acts 3:6
And he said, Who made you a prince and a judge over us? intend you to kill me, as you killed the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known.
from Acts 4:7
a thread opens
You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do you.
In that you have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when you offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations.
from Acts 7:51
And that I also have walked contrary to them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:
from Ezekiel 44:7
However Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah.
from Leviticus 26:41
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
from II Chronicles 32:26
The LORD lifts up the meek: he casts the wicked down to the ground.
from James 4:10
a thread opens
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
As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.
from Acts 9:15 · a strong link
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God,
from Acts 13:2
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, to show to his servants things which must shortly happen; and he sent and signified it by his angel to his servant John:
from Romans 1:1
And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.
And I saw in a vision; and it happened, when I saw, that I was at Susa in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai.
from Daniel 8:16
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from John 5:5 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