Isaiah 45.11-17 (6th Hour)

11Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me. 12I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded. 13I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts. 14Thus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God. 15Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour. 16They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols. 17But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.

Genesis 22.1-18 (Vespers)

1And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. 2And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

3And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. 4Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. 5And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. 6And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. 7And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 8And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. 9And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. 10And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

11And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. 12And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. 13And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. 14And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.

15And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, 16And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: 17That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Proverbs 17.17-18.5 (Vespers)

17A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. 18A man void of understanding striketh hands, and becometh surety in the presence of his friend. 19He loveth transgression that loveth strife: and he that exalteth his gate seeketh destruction. 20He that hath a froward heart findeth no good: and he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief. 21He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow: and the father of a fool hath no joy. 22A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. 23A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment. 24Wisdom is before him that hath understanding; but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth. 25A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him. 26Also to punish the just is not good, nor to strike princes for equity.

27He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit. 28Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.

1Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom. 2A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself. 3When the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt, and with ignominy reproach. 4The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook. 5It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment.

St Isaac the Syrian, abbot of Spoleto, Italy (ca. 550)

This is not the famed Isaac of Syria (commemorated Jan 28) who wrote the Ascetical Homilies, but a monk who settled in Spoleto and was famed for his holy, solitary life, his miracles, and his discernment. The people of Spoleto sought to honor him with money and other gifts, but he refused everything and withdrew to a cell in the forest. Soon a large monastery grew up there as others joined him in his life of prayer.

Once, two nearly naked men came begging clothing from Isaac. He told a monk to go to a hollow tree some distance away, and to bring back what he found there. The monk returned with some clothing, and gave it to the beggars. They were shamed to find that it was their own clothing, which they had hidden in the tree.

A man gave two beehives to the monastery. A monk hid one of them and brought the other to the abbot. Isaac said to him, ‘Be careful when you go back to the beehive that you hid: it has been taken over by poisonous snakes. Be careful that they do not bite you.’

St Basil the Confessor, bishop of Parium (ca. 760)

In the dark days of iconoclasm, this holy bishop refused to sign the imperial order condemning the veneration of icons, and for this was cruelly persecuted in many ways by the heretics for the remainder of his life; all the while he remained ‘firm as a diamond in his Orthodoxy.’ (Prologue)

Our Holy Mother Athanasia (860)

“Born on the island of Aegina of rich and eminent parents, she gave her goods to the poor and went off to a monastery, where she heaped greater and greater asceticism on herself. She took food only once a day, and that only bread and water, and in the Great Fast only once every two days. Only at Christmas and Easter did she taste flesh and oil. Although she was abbess of the monastery, she was the servant of all the other sisters and was ashamed that any should wait on her. She was made worthy of the great gift of wonderworking, both during her lifetime and after her death.” (Prologue)