a thread opens
But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of bronze; and he did grind in the prison house.
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.
Take the millstones, and grind flour: uncover your locks, make bore the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.
from Judges 16:21
So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.
from Isaiah 47:2
And if you say in your heart, Why come these things upon me? For the greatness of your iniquity are your skirts discovered, and your heels made bore.
from Isaiah 20:4
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.
And said to me, You are my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
from Leviticus 10:3
Sing, O you heavens; for the LORD has done it: shout, you lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it: for the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.
from Isaiah 49:3 · a strong link
Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and everything that moves in it.
from Isaiah 44:23 · a strong link
Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and its fullness.
from Psalms 69:34 · a strong link
The LORD reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be its glad.
from Psalms 96:11
Say among the pagans that the LORD reigns: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously.
from Psalms 97:1 · 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,
Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.
from Jude 1:24 · a strong link
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 quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you.
from II Corinthians 4:14
And what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
from Romans 8:11
Finally, my brothers, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
from Ephesians 1:19 · a strong link
Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, to all patience and patience with joyfulness;
from Ephesians 6:10 · a strong link
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.
Which have forsaken the right way, and have gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
from Jude 1:11 · a strong link
He sent messengers therefore to Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Look, there has a people come out from Egypt: look, they cover the face of the earth, and they remain opposite me:
from II Peter 2:15
And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel.
from Numbers 22:5
And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor has said, and the man whose eyes are open has said:
from Numbers 23:7
a thread opens
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
from Luke 2:14
Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the scepter of your kingdom is a right scepter.
from Isaiah 9:6 · a strong link
But to the Son he says, Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom.
from Psalms 45:6
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?
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 Luke 18:7
I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation will not delay: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.
from II Peter 3:9
When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.
from Isaiah 46:13
God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.
For the LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth.
from Psalms 89:7
For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
from Psalms 47:2
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.
But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear to myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
from Luke 14:26 · a strong link
Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus:
from Acts 20:24
Even as the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.
from Romans 3:24
For which is greater, he that sits at food, or he that serves? is not he that sits at food? but I am among you as he that serves.
from Matthew 20:28 · a strong link
But emptied himself, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
from Luke 22:27
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Judges 16:21 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