a thread opens
And the child grew, and grew strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing to Israel.
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 Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
from Luke 1:80
Let not mercy and truth forsake you: bind them about your neck; write them upon the tablet of your heart:
from Luke 2:52
The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is carved upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars;
from Proverbs 3:3
Since you are manifestly declared to be the letter of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tablets of stone, but in tablets of human hearts.
from Jeremiah 17:1 · a strong link
a thread opens
Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
For godly sorrow works repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world works death.
from Acts 20:21
And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall mourn many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and sexual immorality and sensuality which they have committed.
from II Corinthians 7:10
Put to death therefore your members upon the earth; sexual immorality, uncleanness, passion, evil greedy desire, and greed, which is idolatry:
from II Corinthians 12:21
Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
from Colossians 3:5
He that sows iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail.
from I Corinthians 6:9
a thread opens
Be it known to you therefore, men and brothers, that through this man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins:
And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
from Acts 13:38
And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
from II Corinthians 5:18
And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
from I John 2:2 · a strong link
And said to the woman, Now we believe, not because of your saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.
from I John 4:14
The next day John saw Jesus coming to him, and said, Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
from John 4:42
After this I saw, and, look, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
from John 1:29
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 to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.
from Acts 17:31
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 98:9
O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for you shall judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.
from Psalms 96:10
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,
And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.
from Acts 4:27 · a strong link
And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.
from Matthew 27:2 · a strong link
From that time forth began Jesus to show to his disciples, how that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
from Matthew 20:19 · a strong link
But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.
from Matthew 16:21
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.
Circumcise therefore your heart, and be no more stiff-necked.
from Acts 7:51 · a strong link
O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, so that you may be saved. How long shall your vain thoughts lodge within you?
from Deuteronomy 10:16
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
from Jeremiah 4:14 · a strong link
And every man that has this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure.
from James 4:8
He who says that he remains in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
from I John 3:3 · a strong link
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
For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify my office:
from Acts 9:15
To me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, so that I should preach among the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ;
from Romans 11:13
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unfathomable are his judgments, and his ways beyond tracing out!
from Ephesians 3:8
O LORD, how great are your works! and your thoughts are very deep.
from Romans 11:33 · a strong link
And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are your ways, you King of saints.
from Psalms 92:5
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Luke 1:80 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