The Vigil

from Nehemiah 4:2

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

Nehemiah 4:2

And he spoke before his brothers and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?

Nehemiah 4:10

And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.

from Nehemiah 4:2

Ezekiel 29:18

Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled: yet had he no wages, nor his army, for Tyre, for the service that he had served against it:

from Nehemiah 4:10

Ezekiel 26:7

For thus says the Lord GOD; Look, I will bring upon Tyre Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people.

from Ezekiel 29:18


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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.

Ezekiel 28:22

And say, Thus says the Lord GOD; Look, I am against you, O Sidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of you: and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her.

from Leviticus 10:3

Ezekiel 39:13

Yes, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, says the Lord GOD.

from Ezekiel 28:22

Jeremiah 33:9

And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honor before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do to them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure to it.

from Ezekiel 39:13

Zephaniah 3:17

The LORD your God in the midst of you is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over you with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over you with singing.

from Jeremiah 33:9

Luke 15:32

It was fitting that we should celebrate, and be glad: for this your brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

from Zephaniah 3:17


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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,

I Peter 4:13

But rejoice, inasmuch as you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy.

from Jude 1:24

I Peter 1:5

Who are kept by the power of God through faith to salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

from I Peter 4:13

I John 4:4

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

from Romans 8:31 · a strong link

I John 4:16

And we have known and believed the love that God has to us. God is love; and he that dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him.

from I John 4:4 · a strong link


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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.

Numbers 26:9

And the sons of Eliab; Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. This is that Dathan and Abiram, which were famous in the congregation, who strove against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they strove against the LORD:

from Jude 1:11

Numbers 1:16

These were the renowned of the congregation, princes of the tribes of their fathers, heads of thousands in Israel.

from Numbers 26:9 · a strong link

Numbers 7:2

That the princes of Israel, heads of the house of their fathers, who were the princes of the tribes, and were over them that were numbered, offered:

from Numbers 1:16 · a strong link

Numbers 1:4

And with you there shall be a man of every tribe; every one head of the house of his fathers.

from Numbers 7:2


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Luke 2:14

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

Colossians 1:20

And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things to himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

from Luke 2:14 · a strong link

Hebrews 2:17

Therefore in all things it befitted him to be made like to his brothers, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

from Colossians 1:20


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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 Timothy 5:5

Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusts in God, and continues in supplications and prayers night and day.

from Luke 18:7

Luke 18:1

And he spoke a parable to them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

from I Timothy 5:5

Luke 21:36

Watch therefore, and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall happen, and to stand before the Son of man.

from Luke 18:1 · a strong link

Matthew 26:38

Then he says to them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even to death: stay you here, and watch with me.

from Matthew 24:42

John 12:27

Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I to this hour.

from Matthew 26:38


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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.

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 Luke 14:26 · a strong link

Acts 20:32

And now, brothers, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.

from Acts 20:24

Acts 26:18

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 Acts 20:32 · a strong link

I Peter 1:4

To an inheritance imperishable, and undefiled, and that fades not away, reserved in heaven for you,

from Acts 26:18

Matthew 25:34

Then shall the King say to them on his right hand, Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

from I Peter 1:4

That is the whole thread.

Every verse the cross-references reach from Nehemiah 4:2 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