The Vigil

from Zechariah 13:3

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 13:3

And it shall happen, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that fathered him shall say to him, You shall not live; for you speak lies in the name of the LORD: and his father and his mother that fathered him shall thrust him through when he prophesies.

Matthew 10:37

He that loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

from Zechariah 13:3

John 21:15

So when they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, love you me more than these? He said to him, Yes, Lord; you know that I love you. He said to him, Feed my lambs.

from Matthew 10:37

Matthew 25:34

Then shall the King say to them on his right hand, Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

from John 14:15 · a strong link


a thread opens

Acts 20:21

Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

I John 5:11

And this is the testimony, that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

from Acts 20:21

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

from I John 5:11

Romans 5:12

Therefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

from Romans 6:23 · a strong link

Genesis 3:6

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit, and did eat, and gave also to her husband with her; and he did eat.

from Romans 5:12 · a strong link


a thread opens

Acts 13:38

Be it known to you therefore, men and brothers, that through this man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins:

Luke 24:47

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

Matthew 28:19

Go therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit:

from Luke 24:47 · a strong link

Romans 2:17

Look, you are called a Jew, and rest in the law, and make your boast of God,

from John 9:28


a thread opens

Acts 17:31

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.

II Peter 3:7

But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved to fire for the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

from Acts 17:31

Revelation of John 14:13

And I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from now on: Yes, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them.

from II Thessalonians 1:7 · a strong link


a thread opens

Acts 4:27

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,

Matthew 27:2

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

Acts 3:13

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

Matthew 22:32

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

Acts 7:32

Saying, I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and dared not look.

from Matthew 22:32


a thread opens

Acts 7:51

You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do you.

Acts 7:39

To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,

from Acts 7:51

Exodus 16:3

And the children of Israel said to them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of food, and when we did eat bread to the full; for you have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.

from Acts 7:39

Numbers 14:2

And all the children of Israel grumbled against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said to them, If only that we had died in the land of Egypt! or if only we had died in this wilderness!

from Exodus 16:3


a thread opens

Acts 22:21

And he said to me, Depart: for I will send you far hence to the Gentiles.

Acts 9:15

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

I Timothy 2:7

To which I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.

from Acts 9:15

Ephesians 3:7

Of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of his power.

from I Timothy 2:7

Romans 1:5

By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:

from Ephesians 3:2

Malachi 1:11

For from the rising of the sun even to the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered to my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the pagans, says the LORD of hosts.

from Romans 1:5

That is the whole thread.

Every verse the cross-references reach from Zechariah 13:3 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