a thread opens
Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the next day.
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.
Therefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall plunder them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goes out from there shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.
from Zephaniah 3:3
Her princes in its midst are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.
from Jeremiah 5:6
Look, the princes of Israel, every one were in you to their power to shed blood.
from Ezekiel 22:27
Your princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loves gifts, and follows after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither does the cause of the widow come to them.
from Ezekiel 22:6
And you shall take no gift: for the gift blinds the wise, and perverts the words of the righteous.
from Isaiah 1:23 · a strong link
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As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.
Thus says the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
from I Corinthians 8:4
O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwell between the cherubim, you are the God, even you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: you have made heaven and earth.
from Isaiah 44:6 · a strong link
All things were made by him; and without him nothing was made that was made.
from Isaiah 37:16
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping creature that creeps upon the earth.
from John 1:3 · a strong link
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By this we perceive the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
But God commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
from I John 3:16 · a strong link
For Christ also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, so that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit:
from Romans 5:8 · a strong link
Since therefore Christ has suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin;
from I Peter 3:18 · a strong link
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But the anointing which you have received of him remains in you, and you need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it has taught you, you shall remain in him.
For the truth’s sake, which dwells in us, and shall be with us for ever.
from I John 2:27
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
from II John 1:2
And enter not into judgment with your servant: for in your sight shall no man living be justified.
from I John 1:8
Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
from Psalms 143:2
Christ has become of no effect to you, whoever of you are justified by the law; you have fallen from grace.
from Romans 3:20
But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness.
from Galatians 5:4 · a strong link
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And God has set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, varieties of tongues.
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone;
from I Corinthians 12:28
And he saw them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same has become the cornerstone?
from Ephesians 2:20
And when he had looked around on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he said to the man, Stretch forth your hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.
from Luke 20:17
For I would not, brothers, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles have come in.
from Mark 3:5
Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
from Romans 11:25 · a strong link
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I know also, my God, that you try the heart, and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy your people, who are present here, to offer willingly to you.
But the LORD said to Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.
from I Chronicles 29:17
Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened to the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
from I Samuel 16:7
The LORD looks from heaven; he sees all the sons of men.
from Hebrews 4:13 · a strong link
For he looks to the ends of the earth, and sees under the whole heaven;
from Psalms 33:13 · a strong link
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Clean out therefore the old leaven, so that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us:
And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the Passover, his disciples said to him, Where will you that we go and prepare that you may eat the Passover?
from I Corinthians 5:7
Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to the LORD your God: for in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you forth out of Egypt by night.
from Mark 14:12
The feast of unleavened bread shall you keep. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib you came out from Egypt.
from Deuteronomy 16:1 · a strong link
That is the whole thread.
Every verse the cross-references reach from Zephaniah 3:3 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