a thread opens
But when Herod was dead, look, an angel of the Lord appears in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
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.
But while he thought on these things, look, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, you son of David, do not fear to take to you Mary your wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
from Matthew 2:19
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was in this way: When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
from Matthew 1:20
Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.
from Matthew 1:18
Look, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
from Job 14:4
a thread opens
Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commands all men everywhere to repent:
from Acts 20:21
For as I passed by, and saw your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore you in ignorance worship, him declare I to you.
from Acts 17:30
And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
from Acts 17:23
And this is the testimony, that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
from I John 5:20
In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
from I John 5:11 · a strong link
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, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things to himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
from II Corinthians 5:18
And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now has he reconciled
from Colossians 1:20 · a strong link
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
from Colossians 1:21
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
from Romans 5:9 · a strong link
And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.
from Romans 1:18
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, for he comes to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.
from Acts 17:31
And I saw heaven opened, and look, a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he does judge and make war.
from Psalms 96:13 · a strong link
Look, the days come, says the LORD, that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
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
The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his Son Jesus; whom you delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.
from Matthew 27:2 · a strong link
I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
from Acts 3:13
Saying, I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and dared not look.
from Matthew 22:32
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.
For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
from Acts 7:51
Hear this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and have come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the LORD, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness.
from Romans 2:28
And you shall swear, The LORD lives, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.
from Isaiah 48:1
In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.
from Jeremiah 4:2
You shall fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and you shall rejoice in the LORD, and shall glory in the Holy One of Israel.
from Isaiah 45:25
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
By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:
from Acts 9:15
For from the rising of the sun even to the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered to my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the pagans, says the LORD of hosts.
from Romans 1:5
Go therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit:
from Malachi 1:11
Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing you put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, look, we turn to the Gentiles.
from Matthew 28:19 · a strong link
But showed first to them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, so that they should repent and turn to God, and do works worthy of repentance.
from Acts 13:46
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Matthew 2:19 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