a thread opens
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God, and served the Baals and the Asherah poles.
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 it happened the same night, that the LORD said to him, Take your father’s young bull, even the second young bull of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah pole that is by it:
from Judges 3:7
But thus shall you deal with them; you shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their carved images with fire.
from Judges 6:25
You shall utterly destroy all the places, in which the nations which you shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree:
from Deuteronomy 7:5
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.
They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.
from Leviticus 10:3
And you shall not let any of your seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.
from Leviticus 21:6 · a strong link
Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in my eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father.
from Leviticus 18:21
For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
from I Kings 11:33
And Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, If you do return to the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts to the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.
from I Kings 11:5
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return to the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
from I Samuel 7:3 · 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,
Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
from Jude 1:24
And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a crown of glory that fades not away.
from Hebrews 13:20
Fear none of those things which you shall suffer: look, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, so that you may be tried; and you shall have tribulation ten days: be faithful to death, and I will give you a crown of life.
from I Peter 5:4
And he had power to give life to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
And the first went, and poured out his bowl upon the earth; and there fell a foul and painful sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.
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.
But I have a few things against you, because you have there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.
from Jude 1:11
Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.
But why do you judge your brother? or why do you set at nothing your brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
from Romans 14:13
Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
from Romans 14:10
a thread opens
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
I have glorified you on the earth: I have finished the work which you gave me to do.
from Luke 2:14
If you keep my commandments, you shall remain in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and remain in his love.
from John 17:4
Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.
from John 15:10
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
And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, patience, and abundant in goodness and truth,
from II Peter 3:9
You will perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.
from Exodus 34:6
And indeed, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac: the land on which you lie, to you will I give it, and to your seed;
from Micah 7:20
And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to you I will give it, and to your seed after you will I give the land.
from Genesis 28:13 · a strong link
And the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, To your seed will I give this land: and there built he an altar to the LORD, who appeared to him.
from Genesis 35:12 · a strong link
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 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
For whoever will save his life shall lose it: and whoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
from John 12:25 · a strong link
He that finds his life shall lose it: and he that loses his life for my sake shall find it.
from Matthew 16:25 · a strong link
For whoever will save his life shall lose it; but whoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.
from Matthew 10:39 · a strong link
Whoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.
from Mark 8:35
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Judges 3:7 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