a thread opens
And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
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.
And you shall set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row.
You have been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the handiwork of your tabrets and of your pipes was prepared in you in the day that you were created.
from Exodus 28:17
And they set in it four rows of stones: the first row was a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this was the first row.
from Ezekiel 28:13
Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a span shall be its length, and a span shall be its breadth.
from Exodus 39:10
a thread opens
Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
But showed first to them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, so that they should repent and turn to God, and do works worthy of repentance.
from Acts 20:21
Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of repentance:
from Acts 26:20 · a strong link
(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
from Matthew 3:8 · a strong link
And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brothers, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.
from Ephesians 5:9
For if any man see you which have knowledge sit at table in the idol’s temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols;
from Romans 15:14
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 I will sow her to me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, You are my people; and they shall say, You are my God.
from Luke 24:47
Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for you are not my people, and I will not be your God.
from Hosea 2:23
Then said the LORD to me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth.
from Hosea 1:9
Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, says the Lord GOD.
from Jeremiah 15:1 · a strong link
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 Ezekiel 14:14
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
For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
from Matthew 25:31
Knowing that whatever good thing any man does, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.
from Matthew 16:27 · a strong link
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
There were present at that season some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
from Matthew 27:2
And to the others he said in my hearing, Go after him through the city, and strike: let not your eye spare, neither have you pity:
from Luke 13:1
Therefore, as I live, says the Lord GOD; Surely, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things, and with all your abominations, therefore will I also diminish you; neither shall my eye spare, neither will I have any pity.
from Ezekiel 9:5
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 do not grieve the holy Spirit of God, by whom you are sealed to the day of redemption.
from Acts 7:51
You have bought me no sweet cane with money, neither have you filled me with the fat of your sacrifices: but you have made me to serve with your sins, you have wearied me with your iniquities.
from Ephesians 4:30
Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates: they are a trouble to me; I am weary to bear them.
from Isaiah 43:24
I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not delight in your solemn assemblies.
from Isaiah 1:14
And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not smell the savor of your sweet odors.
from Amos 5:21 · a strong link
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
For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify my office:
from Acts 9:15
To reveal his Son in me, so that I might preach him among the pagans; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:
from Romans 11:13
And Jesus answered him, Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah: for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my Father in heaven.
from Galatians 1:16 · a strong link
Since therefore the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
from Matthew 16:17
For we have not a high priest which is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
from Hebrews 2:14
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Revelation of John 21:19 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