a thread opens
And the same John had his apparel of camel’s hair, and a leathern belt about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey.
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 they answered him, He was a hairy man, and wore a leather belt around his waist. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.
from Matthew 3:4 · a strong link
And it shall happen in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he has prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive:
from II Kings 1:8 · a strong link
At the same time spoke the LORD by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off your loins, and put off your shoe from your foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.
from Zechariah 13:4
a thread opens
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.
I was mute, I opened not my mouth; because you did it.
from Leviticus 10:3
But he said to her, You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
from Psalms 39:9 · a strong link
Blessed is the man that endures temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love him.
from Job 2:10 · a strong link
But even if you suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are you: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;
from James 1:12 · a strong link
Say not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear their fear, nor be afraid.
from I Peter 3:14 · a strong link
There were they in great fear, where no fear was: for God has scattered the bones of him that encamps against you: you have put them to shame, because God has despised them.
from Isaiah 8:12
a thread opens
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,
Now to him that is able to do immeasurably more than all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
from Jude 1:24 · a strong link
I have come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yes, drink abundantly, O beloved.
from Ephesians 3:20
For as the earth brings forth her bud, and as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
from Song of Solomon 5:1
Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
from Isaiah 61:11
Drop down, you heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.
from Psalms 85:11
a thread opens
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.
Which have forsaken the right way, and have gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
from Jude 1:11 · a strong link
And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. Spots they are and blemishes, reveling with their own deceivings while they feast with you;
from II Peter 2:15
Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and sensuality, not in strife and envying.
from II Peter 2:13 · a strong link
Envy, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and such like: of which I tell you before, as I have also told you formerly, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
from Romans 13:13 · a strong link
a thread opens
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
from Luke 2:14 · a strong link
To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith in me.
from Luke 1:79
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
from Acts 26:18 · a strong link
a thread opens
And shall not God give justice to his own elect, which cry day and night to him, though he bear long with them?
Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifies.
from Luke 18:7
He is near that justifies me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who is my adversary? let him come near to me.
from Romans 8:33 · a strong link
Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment.
from Isaiah 50:8
But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.
from Isaiah 41:1 · a strong link
You did cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still,
from Habakkuk 2:20
And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel.
from Psalms 76:8 · a strong link
a thread opens
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.
Who said to his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brothers, nor knew his own children: for they have observed your word, and kept your covenant.
from Luke 14:26
I charge you before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that you observe these things without favoritism, doing nothing by partiality.
from Deuteronomy 33:9
For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved to judgment;
from I Timothy 5:21
And my eye shall not spare you, neither will I have pity: but I will recompense your ways upon you, and your abominations shall be in the midst of you: and you shall know that I am the LORD.
from II Peter 2:4
And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and you shall know that I am the LORD.
from Ezekiel 7:4
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Matthew 3:4 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