The Vigil

from Matthew 5:1

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 5:1

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came to him:

Matthew 4:18

And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

from Matthew 5:1

Matthew 10:2

Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;

from Matthew 4:18 · a strong link

Acts 1:13

And when they had come in, they went up into an upper room, where remained both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the brother of James.

from Matthew 10:2


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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.

Leviticus 21:21

No man that has a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come near to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he has a blemish; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God.

from Leviticus 10:3

Leviticus 21:6

They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.

from Leviticus 21:21

Leviticus 3:11

And the priest shall burn it upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire to the LORD.

from Leviticus 21:6 · a strong link

Numbers 28:2

Command the children of Israel, and say to them, My offering, and my bread for my sacrifices made by fire, for a pleasing aroma to me, shall you observe to offer to me in their due season.

from Leviticus 3:11

Genesis 8:21

And the LORD smelled a pleasing aroma; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again strike any more everything living, as I have done.

from Numbers 28:2

Matthew 15:19

For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immorality, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:

from Genesis 8:21


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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,

Ephesians 3:20

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

Song of Solomon 5:1

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


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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.

Genesis 4:3

And in process of time it happened, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to the LORD.

from Jude 1:11

Numbers 18:12

All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer to the LORD, them have I given you.

from Genesis 4:3

Exodus 23:19

The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in his mother’s milk.

from Numbers 18:12

Deuteronomy 26:10

And now, look, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which you, O LORD, have given me. And you shall set it before the LORD your God, and worship before the LORD your God:

from Exodus 23:19 · a strong link


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Luke 2:14

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

John 17:4

I have glorified you on the earth: I have finished the work which you gave me to do.

from Luke 2:14

Acts 20:24

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 John 17:4

Acts 21:13

Then Paul answered, What mean you to weep and to break my heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.

from Acts 20:24 · a strong link


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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 Corinthians 15:58

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, since you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

from Hebrews 10:35

I Thessalonians 1:3

Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

from I Corinthians 15:58 · a strong link

Romans 11:30

For as you in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:

from Hebrews 4:11


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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.

Psalms 73:25

Whom have I in heaven but you? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside you.

from Luke 14:26 · a strong link

Psalms 63:3

Because your loving devotion is better than life, my lips shall praise you.

from Psalms 73:25 · a strong link

Psalms 30:5

For his anger endures but a moment; in his favor is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

from Psalms 63:3

Psalms 59:16

But I will sing of your power; yes, I will sing aloud of your mercy in the morning: for you have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble.

from Psalms 30:5

Psalms 143:8

Cause me to hear your loving devotion in the morning; for in you do I trust: cause me to know the way in which I should walk; for I lift up my soul to you.

from Psalms 59:16

That is the whole thread.

Every verse the cross-references reach from Matthew 5:1 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