a thread opens
And this shall be a sign to you; You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
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.
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Look, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
from Luke 2:12 · a strong link
And the man knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bore Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
from Isaiah 7:14 · a strong link
And I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; it shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
from Genesis 4:1
Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that bites the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
from Genesis 3:15
a thread opens
Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
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 20:21 · a strong link
And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to stay certain days.
from Acts 2:38 · a strong link
Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
from Acts 10:48
To this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, so that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
from I Corinthians 1:13
And he commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.
from Romans 14:9
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
For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
from II Corinthians 5:18
He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
from Romans 5:10 · a strong link
Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
from Romans 8:32
For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.
from I Corinthians 3:21
Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith you stand.
from II Corinthians 4:5
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.
In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
from Acts 17:31
Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel:
from Romans 2:16 · a strong link
Whom God has raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be held of it.
from II Timothy 2:8
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
Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God has made that same Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
from Acts 3:6
And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
from Acts 2:36
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.
And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spoke.
from Acts 7:51
For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.
from Acts 6:10
For the Holy Spirit shall teach you in the same hour what you ought to say.
from Luke 21:15
For it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaks in you.
from Luke 12:12 · a strong link
The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, and his word was in my tongue.
from Matthew 10:20
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
Of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of his power.
from Acts 9:15 · a strong link
And what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
from Ephesians 3:7 · a strong link
Buried with him in baptism, in which also you have been raised with him through faith in the working of God, who has raised him from the dead.
from Ephesians 1:19 · a strong link
The corresponding figure to which even baptism does also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
from Colossians 2:12 · a strong link
For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
from I Peter 3:21 · a strong link
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Luke 2:12 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