a thread opens
And Balak said to him, Come, please, with me to another place, from where you may see them: you shall see but the utmost part of them, and shall not see them all: and curse me them from there.
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.
With it we bless God, even the Father; and with it we curse men, which are made after the likeness of God.
from Numbers 23:13
For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
from James 3:9 · a strong link
But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
from I Corinthians 11:7
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
And the king said, What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the LORD has said to him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Why have you done so?
from Psalms 39:9
Then Jesus said to Peter, Put up your sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father has given me, shall I not drink it?
from II Samuel 16:10
Saying, Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but yours, be done.
from John 18:11
Then said I, Look, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do your will, O God.
from Luke 22:42 · a strong link
Then he said, Look, I come to do your will, O God. He takes away the first, so that he may establish the second.
from Hebrews 10:7
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,
And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me to his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
from Jude 1:24
Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who has ears to hear, let him hear.
from II Timothy 4:18
But I say to you, I will not drink from now on of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.
from Matthew 13:43
Truly I say to you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.
from Matthew 26:29
And wine that makes glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengthens man’s heart.
from Mark 14:25
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
They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them.
from II Peter 2:15
And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but you, and your father’s house, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and you have followed the Baals.
from Proverbs 28:4
And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him, Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while you be with him; and if you seek him, he will be found of you; but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.
from I Kings 18:18 · a strong link
a thread opens
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and its fullness.
from Luke 2:14
Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and everything that moves in it.
from Psalms 96:11
Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD has comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
from Psalms 69:34 · 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?
But the LORD is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten.
from Luke 18:7
To me belongs vengeance, and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.
from Jeremiah 20:11 · a strong link
The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.
from Deuteronomy 32:35
Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
from Proverbs 4:19
The man that wanders out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead.
from Proverbs 2:13
Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.
from Proverbs 21:16
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.
He that loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
from Luke 14:26 · a strong link
So when they had dined, Jesus says to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, love you me more than these? He says to him, Yes, Lord; you know that I love you. He says to him, Feed my lambs.
from Matthew 10:37
Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved says to Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat to him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.
from John 21:15
Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.
from John 21:7 · a strong link
Then Peter, turning about, sees the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrays you?
from John 13:23 · a strong link
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Numbers 23:13 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