The Vigil

from Zechariah 13:1

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.

a thread opens

Zechariah 13:1

In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.

John 1:29

The next day John sees Jesus coming to him, and says, Look, the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.

from Zechariah 13:1

Matthew 1:21

And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

from John 1:29 · a strong link

I John 2:1

My little children, these things I write to you, that you sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

from Matthew 1:21 · a strong link


a thread opens

Leviticus 10:3

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.

Leviticus 21:17

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

Numbers 16:5

And he spoke to Korah and to all his company, saying, Even tomorrow the LORD will show who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near to him: even him whom he has chosen will he cause to come near to him.

from Leviticus 21:17

Ezekiel 40:46

And the room whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok among the sons of Levi, which come near to the LORD to minister to him.

from Numbers 16:5

Numbers 16:40

To be a memorial to the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the LORD; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the LORD said to him by the hand of Moses.

from Ezekiel 40:46

Numbers 3:10

And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest’s office: and the stranger that comes near shall be put to death.

from Numbers 16:40


a thread opens

Jude 1:24

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,

Hebrews 13:20

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

I Peter 5:4

And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a crown of glory that fades not away.

from Hebrews 13:20

I Peter 2:25

For you were as sheep going astray; but are now returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

from I Peter 5:4

Ezekiel 34:23

And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.

from I Peter 2:25

Ecclesiastes 12:11

The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.

from Ezekiel 34:23


a thread opens

Jude 1:11

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.

II Peter 2:15

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

Deuteronomy 23:4

Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when you came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.

from II Peter 2:15

Nehemiah 13:2

Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, so that he should curse them: however our God turned the curse into a blessing.

from Deuteronomy 23:4

Deuteronomy 23:5

Nevertheless the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam; but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing to you, because the LORD your God loved you.

from Nehemiah 13:2


a thread opens

Luke 2:14

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Luke 1:79

To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

from Luke 2:14 · a strong link

Isaiah 42:7

To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

from Luke 1:79

Matthew 11:5

The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

from Isaiah 42:7


a thread opens

Luke 18:7

And shall not God give justice to his own elect, which cry day and night to him, though he bear long with them?

I Timothy 5:5

Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusts in God, and continues in supplications and prayers night and day.

from Luke 18:7

I Timothy 5:16

If any man or woman that believes have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them that are widows indeed.

from I Timothy 5:5

I Timothy 5:8

But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

from I Timothy 5:16

Titus 1:16

They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unfit for any good work.

from I Timothy 5:8

Ephesians 5:6

Let no man deceive you with empty words: for because of these things comes the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

from Titus 1:16

Colossians 2:8

Beware lest any man take you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, after the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, and not after Christ.

from Ephesians 5:6 · a strong link


a thread opens

Luke 14:26

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.

Psalms 73:25

Whom have I in heaven but you? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside you.

from Luke 14:26 · a strong link

Psalms 63:3

Because your loving devotion is better than life, my lips shall praise you.

from Psalms 73:25 · a strong link

Psalms 30:5

For his anger endures but a moment; in his favor is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

from Psalms 63:3

Isaiah 38:3

And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beg you, how I have walked before you in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in your sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.

from Psalms 30:5

I Chronicles 29:19

And give to Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for which I have made provision.

from Isaiah 38:3

That is the whole thread.

Every verse the cross-references reach from Zechariah 13:1 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