The Vigil

from Matthew 27:51

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.

a thread opens

Matthew 27:51

And indeed, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

Matthew 27:54

Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.

from Matthew 27:51

Mark 15:39

And when the centurion, which stood opposite him, saw that he so cried out, and breathed his last, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.

from Matthew 27:36


a thread opens

Leviticus 10:3

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.

Exodus 19:22

And let the priests also, which come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them.

from Leviticus 10:3

Exodus 24:5

And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD.

from Exodus 19:22

Exodus 18:12

And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.

from Exodus 24:5

Deuteronomy 12:7

And there you shall eat before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice in all that you put your hand to, you and your households, in which the LORD your God has blessed you.

from Exodus 18:12

Leviticus 23:40

And you shall take you on the first day the boughs of fine trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.

from Deuteronomy 12:7 · a strong link

Deuteronomy 16:14

And you shall rejoice in your feast, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within your gates.

from Leviticus 23:40


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Jude 1:24

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,

Colossians 1:22

In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and blameless and above reproach in his sight:

from Jude 1:24 · a strong link

Ephesians 5:27

That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

from Colossians 1:22 · a strong link

Colossians 1:28

Whom we preach, admonishing everyone, and teaching everyone in all wisdom; that we may present everyone mature in Christ Jesus:

from Ephesians 5:27

Acts 23:9

And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees’ part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God.

from II Timothy 2:24


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Jude 1:11

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.

I John 3:12

Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And why he slew him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.

from Jude 1:11 · a strong link

Hebrews 11:4

By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaks.

from I John 3:12 · a strong link

Genesis 4:10

And he said, What have you done? the voice of your brother’s blood cries to me from the ground.

from Hebrews 11:4 · a strong link

Job 31:38

If my land cry against me, or that its furrows likewise complain;

from Genesis 4:10 · a strong link


a thread opens

Luke 2:14

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Revelation of John 5:13

And every creature in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be to him that sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb for ever and ever.

from Luke 2:14


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Luke 18:7

And shall not God give justice to his own elect, which cry day and night to him, though he bear long with them?

I Timothy 5:5

Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusts in God, and continues in supplications and prayers night and day.

from Luke 18:7

I Corinthians 7:32

But I would have you without anxiety. He that is unmarried cares for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord:

from I Timothy 5:5

Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

from Psalms 55:22 · a strong link


a thread opens

Luke 14:26

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.

John 12:25

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

Matthew 19:29

And every one that has forsaken houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit eternal life.

from John 12:25

I Corinthians 2:9

But as it is written, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him.

from Matthew 19:29 · a strong link

James 2:5

Listen, my beloved brothers, Has not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to them that love him?

from I Corinthians 2:9 · a strong link

Matthew 5:3

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

from James 2:5 · a strong link

That is the whole thread.

Every verse the cross-references reach from Matthew 27:51 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