a thread opens
And as Jesus went on from there, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the tax booth: and he says to him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.
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 as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and said to him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.
from Matthew 9:9
And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the tax booth: and he said to him, Follow me.
from Mark 2:14
And he went forth again by the seaside; and all the multitude resorted to him, and he taught them.
from Luke 5:27
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.
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
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
And you shall not let any of your seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.
from Leviticus 21:6 · a strong link
You shall not do so to the LORD your God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hates, have they done to their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.
from Leviticus 18:21
You shall not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shall you speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:
from Deuteronomy 12:31
You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: you shall not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.
from Exodus 23:2
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 of power to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
from Jude 1:24
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
from Romans 16:25
Who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
from Matthew 13:35
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
from II Timothy 1:9 · a strong link
And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.
from Ephesians 1:3
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
Look, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.
from II Peter 2:15
And now, look, I go to my people: come therefore, and I will inform you what this people shall do to your people in the latter days.
from Numbers 31:16
And Jacob called to his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.
from Numbers 24:14
a thread opens
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
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
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all.
Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the pagans, I will be exalted in the earth.
from I Chronicles 29:11
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?
Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to repay with affliction those who afflict you;
from Luke 18:7
And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, do you not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
from II Thessalonians 1:6
For true and righteous are his judgments: for he has judged the great prostitute, which did corrupt the earth with her sexual immorality, and has avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
from Revelation of John 6:10 · a strong link
Rejoice, O you nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful to his land, and to his people.
from Revelation of John 19:2 · a strong link
But those my enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring here, and slay them before me.
from Deuteronomy 32:43
But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that pertain to them, and they go down quick into the pit; then you shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD.
from Luke 19:27
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.
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives to the death.
from Luke 14:26 · a strong link
Since therefore the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
from Hebrews 2:14
In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, so that we might live through him.
from Galatians 4:4
As the living Father has sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eats me, even he shall live by me.
from I John 4:9 · a strong link
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Matthew 9:9 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