a thread opens
Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in labor.
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.
The sorrows of a laboring woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children.
from Psalms 48:6
A prudent man foresees the evil, and hides himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.
from Hosea 13:13
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.
from Proverbs 22:3
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.
And said to me, You are my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
from Leviticus 10:3
Look, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.
from Isaiah 49:3
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All power is given to me in heaven and in earth.
from Isaiah 52:13 · a strong link
For the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment to the Son:
from Matthew 28:18
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad.
from John 5:22
For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
from II Corinthians 5:10
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
Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
from Hebrews 13:20 · a strong link
And he said to me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their prostitution, nor by the carcasses of their kings in their high places.
from Ezekiel 37:26
The LORD reigns; let the people tremble: he sits between the cherubim; let the earth be moved.
from Ezekiel 43:7
And there I will meet with you, and I will commune with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim upon the ark of the covenant, of all things which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.
from Psalms 99:1
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.
And in process of time it happened, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to the LORD.
from Jude 1:11
All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer to the LORD, them have I given you.
from Genesis 4:3
The firstfruit also of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, shall you give him.
from Numbers 18:12
You shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven; they are the firstfruits to the LORD.
from Deuteronomy 18:4
a thread opens
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
from Luke 2:14
And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.
from Isaiah 9:6
And to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.
from John 1:16
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?
Cast not away therefore your confidence, which has great reward.
from Luke 18:7
Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
from Hebrews 10:35
Looking to Jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
from Hebrews 4:14
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross.
from Hebrews 12:2
For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
from Philippians 2:8
Seventy weeks are determined upon your people and upon your holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
from Romans 5:19
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.
Who said to his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brothers, nor knew his own children: for they have observed your word, and kept your covenant.
from Luke 14:26
And Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither tear your clothes; lest you die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, mourn the burning which the LORD has kindled.
from Deuteronomy 33:9
And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.
from Leviticus 10:6
But David took not the number of them from twenty years old and under: because the LORD had said he would increase Israel like to the stars of the heavens.
from II Samuel 24:1
And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if you are able to number them: and he said to him, So shall your seed be.
from I Chronicles 27:23 · a strong link
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Psalms 48:6 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