a thread opens
Abraham fathered Isaac; and Isaac fathered Jacob; and Jacob fathered Judas and his brothers;
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 after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
from Matthew 1:2
He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God:
from Genesis 25:26 · a strong link
And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
from Hosea 12:3
And he said, Your name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince have you power with God and with men, and have prevailed.
from Genesis 32:24
a thread opens
Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
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 Acts 20:21
Delivering you from the people, and from the Gentiles, to whom now I send you,
from Acts 20:24
To which I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.
from Acts 26:17
To which I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
from I Timothy 2:7 · a strong link
Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor of which they affirm.
from II Timothy 1:11
a thread opens
Be it known to you therefore, men and brothers, that through this man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins:
I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.
from Acts 13:38
And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
from I John 2:12
Seventy weeks are determined upon your people and upon your holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
from Luke 24:47
After the number of the days in which you searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall you bear your iniquities, even forty years, and you shall know my breach of promise.
from Daniel 9:24
And when you have accomplished them, lie again on your right side, and you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed you each day for a year.
from Numbers 14:34
But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given to the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty-two months.
from Ezekiel 4:6
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.
And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.
from Acts 17:31
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 Psalms 9:8 · a strong link
Before the LORD; for he comes to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.
from Psalms 96:13
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
Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor bronze in your purses,
from Acts 3:6
And he said to them, When I sent you without purse, and pouch, and shoes, lacked you anything? And they said, Nothing.
from Matthew 10:9 · a strong link
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.
To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? look, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot listen: look, the word of the LORD is to them a reproach; they have no delight in it.
from Acts 7:51
Who has believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
from Jeremiah 6:10
That the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, Lord, who has believed our report? and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
from Isaiah 53:1 · a strong link
But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our report?
from John 12:38 · a strong link
For to us was the gospel preached, as well as to them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
from Romans 10:16
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 reveal his Son in me, so that I might preach him among the pagans; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:
from Romans 11:13
And Jesus answered him, Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah: for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my Father in heaven.
from Galatians 1:16 · a strong link
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
from Matthew 16:17 · a strong link
And he said, Men, brothers, and fathers, listen; The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran,
from Ephesians 1:17
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Matthew 1:2 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