a thread opens
And they shall keep all the instruments of the tent of meeting, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.
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.
Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers with them,
from Numbers 3:8
And by the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brothers, eighteen;
from Ezra 8:24
And I will give you pastors according to my heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
from Ezra 8:18
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.
Speak to Aaron, saying, Whoever he be of your seed in their generations that has any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God.
from Leviticus 10:3
Blessed is the man whom you choose, and cause to approach to you, so that he may dwell in your courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, even of your holy temple.
from Leviticus 21:17
My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips:
from Psalms 65:4
How excellent is your loving devotion, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of your wings.
from Psalms 63:5
Look, what kind of love the Father has bestowed upon us, so that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knows us not, because it knew him not.
from Psalms 36:7
Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall happen, that in the place where it was said to them, You are not my people, there it shall be said to them, You are the sons of the living God.
from I John 3:1
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 the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
from Jude 1:24
Whom God has raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be held of it.
from Hebrews 13:20 · a strong link
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.
from Acts 2:24
But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved to fire for the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
from Acts 17:31
The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust to the day of judgment to be punished:
from II Peter 3:7
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.
But I have a few things against you, because you have there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.
from Jude 1:11
Therefore thus says the LORD, Look, I will lay stumbling blocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbor and his friend shall perish.
Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while you look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.
from Jeremiah 6:21
For, look, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon you, and his glory shall be seen upon you.
from Jeremiah 13:16
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
Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.
Therefore God also has highly exalted him, and given him a name above every name:
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?
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 Luke 18:7 · a strong link
For these be the days of vengeance, so that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
For the day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of my redeemed has come.
from Luke 21:22
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
from Isaiah 63:4
Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.
from Isaiah 61:2
Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing to Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.
from Jeremiah 31:13 · a strong link
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
Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
from Matthew 10:37 · a strong link
By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
from Matthew 22:37
But whoever keeps his word, in him truly is the love of God perfected: by this we know that we are in him.
from I John 5:2 · a strong link
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear: because fear has to do with punishment. He that fears is not made perfect in love.
from I John 2:5
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Numbers 3:8 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