a thread opens
And she being with child cried, laboring in birth, and pained to be delivered.
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.
Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a son.
But Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.
from Isaiah 66:7
And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
from Galatians 4:26 · a strong link
I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
from Revelation of John 21:2 · a strong link
a thread opens
Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
And they went out, and preached that men should repent.
from Acts 20:21
When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then has God also to the Gentiles granted repentance to life.
from Mark 6:12
For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich to all that call upon him.
from Acts 11:18 · a strong link
For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy to all them that call upon you.
from Romans 10:12
And refused to obey, neither were mindful of your wonders that you did among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but you are a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsook them not.
from Psalms 86:5 · a strong link
a thread opens
Be it known to you therefore, men and brothers, that through this man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins:
And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
from Acts 13:38 · a strong link
And he said, It is a light thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give you for a light to the Gentiles, that you may be my salvation to the end of the earth.
from Luke 24:47
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 Isaiah 49:6 · a strong link
But you, brothers, are not in darkness, so that that day should overtake you as a thief.
from Acts 26:18 · a strong link
Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is passing away, and the true light now shines.
from I Thessalonians 5:4 · a strong link
And this commandment have we from him, That he who loves God love his brother also.
from I John 2:8
a thread opens
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.
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
from Acts 17:31
But the LORD shall endure for ever: he has prepared his throne for judgment.
from Matthew 25:31
But you, O LORD, shall endure for ever; and your remembrance to all generations.
from Psalms 9:7
a thread opens
For truly against your holy child Jesus, whom you have anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.
from Acts 4:27 · a strong link
The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his Son Jesus; whom you delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.
from Matthew 27:2 · a strong link
I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
from Acts 3:13
Moreover he said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
from Matthew 22:32 · a strong link
a thread opens
You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do you.
And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spoke.
from Acts 7:51
For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.
from Acts 6:10
At my first defense no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.
from Luke 21:15 · a strong link
And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
from II Timothy 4:16 · a strong link
But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up.
from Acts 7:60
a thread opens
And he said to me, Depart: for I will send you far hence to the Gentiles.
But the Lord said to him, Go your way: for he is a chosen vessel to me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
from Acts 22:21 · a strong link
But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,
from Acts 9:15 · a strong link
Before I formed you in the belly I knew you; and before you came forth out of the womb I sanctified you, and I ordained you a prophet to the nations.
from Galatians 1:15 · a strong link
And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest: for you shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
from Jeremiah 1:5
As it is written in the prophets, Look, I send my messenger before your face, which shall prepare your way before you.
from Luke 1:76
For this is he, of whom it is written, Look, I send my messenger before your face, which shall prepare your way before you.
from Mark 1:2 · a strong link
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Revelation of John 12:2 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