a thread opens
Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
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 the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.
from Matthew 3:12
And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring to all flesh.
from Isaiah 1:31 · a strong link
And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
from Isaiah 66:24
And, you son of man, thus says the Lord GOD; Speak to every feathered birds, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, so that you may eat flesh, and drink blood.
from Zechariah 14:12
All you beasts of the field, come to devour, yes, all you beasts in the forest.
from Ezekiel 39:17
a thread opens
As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.
Thus says the LORD, your redeemer, and he that formed you from the womb, I am the LORD that makes all things; that stretches forth the heavens alone; that spreads abroad the earth by myself;
from I Corinthians 8:4
And forget the LORD your maker, that has stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and have feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?
from Isaiah 44:24
Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not been mindful of the rock of your strength, therefore shall you plant pleasant plants, and shall set it with strange slips:
from Isaiah 51:13
They forgot God their savior, which had done great things in Egypt;
from Isaiah 17:10
a thread opens
By this we perceive the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us, and has given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a fragrant offering.
from I John 3:16 · a strong link
For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
from Ephesians 5:2
But emptied himself, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
from Romans 8:3
a thread opens
But the anointing which you have received of him remains in you, and you need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it has taught you, you shall remain in him.
Being born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, by the word of God, which lives and remains for ever.
from I John 2:27
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
from I Peter 1:23 · a strong link
For whatever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.
from I Peter 1:3
Him that overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.
from I John 5:4
But you have come to mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
from Hebrews 12:22
a thread opens
And God has set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, varieties of tongues.
Greet all your leaders, and all the saints. They of Italy greet you.
from I Corinthians 12:28 · a strong link
And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came to them.
from Hebrews 13:24
Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.
from Acts 18:2 · a strong link
And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him to them, and expounded to him the way of God more perfectly.
from II Timothy 4:19
But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
from Acts 18:26
a thread opens
I know also, my God, that you try the heart, and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy your people, who are present here, to offer willingly to you.
They that are of a perverse heart are abomination to the LORD: but such as are upright in their way are his delight.
from I Chronicles 29:17
א ALEPH. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD.
from Proverbs 11:20
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,
from Psalms 119:1
We then, as workers together with him, beg you also that you receive not the grace of God in vain.
from Titus 2:11
a thread opens
Clean out therefore the old leaven, so that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us:
And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he said, Look, the Lamb of God!
from I Corinthians 5:7
Looking to Jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
from John 1:36
The LORD will perfect that which concerns me: your mercy, O LORD, endures for ever: forsake not the works of your own hands.
from Hebrews 12:2
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Matthew 3:12 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