a thread opens
The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land;
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.
For you shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
from Song of Solomon 2:12
Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and its fullness.
from Isaiah 55:12
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 96:11
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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
And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:
from Luke 22:42
For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it is received with thanksgiving:
from Luke 22:17
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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 to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
from Jude 1:24
Having made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he has purposed in himself:
from Romans 16:25 · a strong link
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
from Ephesians 1:9 · a strong link
And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.
from Romans 8:28 · a strong link
And it shall happen, that whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
from Zechariah 13:9 · a strong link
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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
Look, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.
from II Peter 2:15
And now, look, I go to my people: come therefore, and I will inform you what this people shall do to your people in the latter days.
from Numbers 31:16
But there is a God in heaven that reveals secrets, and makes known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, are these;
from Numbers 24:14
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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
And I saw, and, look, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
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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
But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.
from Hebrews 10:35 · a strong link
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
from Hebrews 3:6
For the kingdom of God is not food and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
from Romans 15:13 · a strong link
For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
from Romans 14:17
For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.
from Philippians 3:3
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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.
Yes doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them as rubbish, so that I may win Christ,
from Luke 14:26 · a strong link
That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;
from Philippians 3:8
Whom I have sent to you for the same purpose, so that you might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts.
from Colossians 2:2
All my circumstances shall Tychicus declare to you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord:
from Ephesians 6:22
And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.
from Colossians 4:7
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Song of Solomon 2:12 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