The Vigil

from Matthew 5:21

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 5:21

You have heard that it was said by them of old time, You shall not kill; and whoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:

Matthew 5:33

Again, you have heard that it has been said by them of old time, You shall not forswear yourself, but shall perform to the Lord your oaths:

from Matthew 5:21

Deuteronomy 23:23

That which has gone out of your lips you shall keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as you have vowed to the LORD your God, who you have promised with your mouth.

from Matthew 5:33

Judges 11:30

And Jephthah vowed a vow to the LORD, and said, If you shall without fail deliver the children of Ammon into my hands,

from Deuteronomy 23:23

Genesis 28:20

And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and apparel to put on,

from Judges 11:30


a thread opens

Acts 20:21

Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

II Corinthians 12:21

And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall mourn many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and sexual immorality and sensuality which they have committed.

from II Corinthians 7:10

II Corinthians 13:2

I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and being absent now I write to them which previously have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare:

from II Corinthians 12:21 · a strong link

II Corinthians 13:10

Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord has given me to edification, and not to destruction.

from II Corinthians 1:23


a thread opens

Acts 13:38

Be it known to you therefore, men and brothers, that through this man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins:

Acts 5:31

Him has God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

from Acts 13:38

Jeremiah 31:31

Look, the days come, says the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

from Acts 5:31

Hebrews 9:15

And for this cause he is the mediator of the new covenant, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

from Jeremiah 31:31

I Peter 5:10

But the God of all grace, who has called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that you have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, and establish you.

from Hebrews 9:15

Romans 9:11

(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, so that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calls;)

from I Peter 5:10

Romans 4:17

(As it is written, I have made you a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead, and calls those things which are not as though they were.

from Romans 9:11


a thread opens

Acts 17:31

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.

Psalms 98:9

Before the LORD; for he comes to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.

from Acts 17:31

Psalms 96:13

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 Psalms 98:9

Revelation of John 19:11

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


a thread opens

Acts 4:27

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,

Acts 4:30

By stretching forth your hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of your holy child Jesus.

from Acts 4:27 · a strong link

Acts 3:6

Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

from Acts 4:30

Acts 3:16

And his name through faith in his name has made this man strong, whom you see and know: yes, the faith which is by him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

from Acts 3:6 · a strong link

Matthew 21:21

Jesus answered them, Truly I say to you, If you have faith, and doubt not, you shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if you shall say to this mountain, Be removed, and be cast into the sea; it shall be done.

from Acts 3:16 · a strong link


a thread opens

Acts 7:51

You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do you.

Acts 7:39

To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,

from Acts 7:51

Numbers 14:3

And why has the LORD brought us to this land, to fall by the sword, so that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?

from Acts 7:39

Jeremiah 9:3

And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, says the LORD.

from Numbers 14:3

Judges 2:10

And also all that generation were gathered to their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.

from Jeremiah 9:3

I Chronicles 28:9

And you, Solomon my son, know you the God of your father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searches all hearts, and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts: if you seek him, he will be found of you; but if you forsake him, he will cast you off for ever.

from Judges 2:10


a thread opens

Acts 22:21

And he said to me, Depart: for I will send you far hence to the Gentiles.

Acts 9:15

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

II Timothy 4:16

At my first defense no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.

from Acts 9:15

Acts 7:60

And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

from II Timothy 4:16 · a strong link

Acts 20:36

And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all.

from Acts 7:60

Luke 22:41

And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,

from Acts 20:36

Mark 14:35

And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.

from Luke 22:41

That is the whole thread.

Every verse the cross-references reach from Matthew 5:21 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