Isaiah 7.1-14
(6th Hour)
1And it came to pass in the days of Achaz the son of Joatham, the son of Ozias, king of Juda, there came up Rasim king of Aram, and Phakee son of Romelias, king of Israel, against Jerusalem to war against it, but they could not take it.
2And a message was brought to the house of David, saying, Aram has conspired with Ephraim. And his soul was amazed, and the soul of his people, as in a wood a tree is moved by the wind.
3And the Lord said to Esaias, Go forth to meet Achaz, you, and your son Jasub who is left, to the pool of the upper way of the fuller's field.
4And you shall say to him, Take care to be quiet, and fear not, neither let your soul be disheartened because of these two smoking firebrands: for when my fierce anger is over, I will heal again.
5And as for the son of Aram, and the son of Romelias, forasmuch as they have devised an evil counsel, saying,
6We will go up against Judea, and having conferred with them we will turn them away to our side, and we will make the son of Tabeel king of it;
7thus says the Lord of hosts, This counsel shall not abide, nor come to pass.
8But the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus, Rasim; and yet within sixty and five years the kingdom of Ephraim shall cease from being a people.
9And the head of Ephraim is Somoron, and the head of Somoron the son of Romelias: but if you⌃ believe not, neither will you⌃ at all understand.
10And the Lord again spoke to Achaz, saying,
11Ask for yourself a sign of the Lord your God, in the depth or in the height.
12And Achaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord.
13And he said, Hear you⌃ now, O house of David; is it a little thing for you to contend with men? and how do you⌃ contend against the Lord?
14Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Emmanuel.
Genesis 5.32-6.8
(Vespers)
1And Noe was five hundred years old, and he begot three sons, Sem, Cham, and Japheth. And it came to pass when men began to be numerous upon the earth, and daughters were born to them,
2that the sons of God having seen the daughters of men that they were beautiful, took to themselves wives of all whom they chose.
3And the Lord God said, My Spirit shall certainly not remain among these men for ever, because they are flesh, but their days shall be one hundred and twenty years.
4Now the giants were upon the earth in those days; and after that when the sons of God were wont to go in to the daughters of men, they bore children to them, those were the giants of old, the men of renown.
5And the Lord God, having seen that the wicked actions of men were multiplied upon the earth, and that every one in his heart was intently brooding over evil continually,
6then God laid it to heart that he had made man upon the earth, and he pondered it deeply.
7And God said, I will blot out man whom I have made from the face of the earth, even man with cattle, and reptiles with flying creatures of the sky, for I am grieved that I have made them.
8But Noe found grace before the Lord God.
Proverbs 6.20-7.1
(Vespers)
20My son, keep the laws of your father, and reject not the ordinances of your mother:
21but bind them upon your soul continually, and hang them as a chain about your neck.
22Whenever you walk, lead this along and let it be with you; that it may talk with you when you wake.
23For the commandment of the law is a lamp and a light; a way of life; reproof also and correction:
24to keep you continually from a married woman, and from the calumny of a strange tongue.
25Let not the desire of beauty overcome you, neither be you caught by your eyes, neither be captivated with her eyelids.
26For the value of a harlot is as much as of one loaf; and a woman hunts for the precious souls of men.
27Shall any one bind fire in his bosom, and not burn his garments?
28or will any one walk on coals of fire, and not burn his feet?
29So is he that goes in to a married woman; he shall not be held guiltless, neither any one that touches her.
30It is not to be wondered at if one should be taken stealing, for he steals that when hungry he may satisfy his soul:
31but if he should be taken, he shall repay sevenfold, and shall deliver himself by giving all his goods.
32But the adulterer through lack of sense procures destruction to his soul.
33He endures both pain and disgrace, and his reproach shall never be wiped off.
34For the soul of her husband is full of jealousy: he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
35He will not forego his enmity for any ransom: neither will he be reconciled for many gifts.
1My son, keep my words, and hide with you my commandments. My son, honor the Lord, and you shall be strong; and fear none but him:
1 John 2.18-3.10
(Epistle, St John)
18Little children, these are the end times, and as you heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen. By this we know that it is the final hour.
19They went out from us, but they didn’t belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have continued with us. But they left, that they might be revealed that none of them belong to us.
20You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.
21I have not written to you because you don’t know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.
22Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.
23Whoever denies the Son doesn’t have the Father. He who confesses the Son has the Father also.
24Therefore, as for you, let that remain in you which you heard from the beginning. If that which you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son, and in the Father.
25This is the promise which he promised us, the eternal life.
26These things I have written to you concerning those who would lead you astray.
27As for you, the anointing which you received from him remains in you, and you don’t need for anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, you will remain in him.
28Now, little children, remain in him, that when he appears, we may have boldness and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
29If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
1See how great a love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God! For this cause the world doesn’t know us, because it didn’t know him.
2Beloved, now we are children of God. It is not yet revealed what we will be; but we know that when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him just as he is.
3Everyone who has this hope set on him purifies himself, even as he is pure.
4Everyone who sins also commits lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness.
5You know that he was revealed to take away our sins, and no sin is in him.
6Whoever remains in him doesn’t sin. Whoever sins hasn’t seen him and doesn’t know him.
7Little children, let no one lead you astray. He who does righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
8He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. To this end the Son of God was revealed: that he might destroy the works of the devil.
9Whoever is born of God doesn’t commit sin, because his seed remains in him, and he can’t sin, because he is born of God.
10In this the children of God are revealed, and the children of the devil. Whoever doesn’t do righteousness is not of God, neither is he who doesn’t love his brother.
Mark 11.1-11
(Gospel, St John)
1When they came near to Jerusalem, to Bethsphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples
2and said to them, “Go your way into the village that is opposite you. Immediately as you enter into it, you will find a young donkey tied, on which no one has sat. Untie him and bring him.
3If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs him;’ and immediately he will send him back here.”
4They went away, and found a young donkey tied at the door outside in the open street, and they untied him.
5Some of those who stood there asked them, “What are you doing, untying the young donkey?”
6They said to them just as Jesus had said, and they let them go.
7They brought the young donkey to Jesus and threw their garments on it, and Jesus sat on it.
8Many spread their garments on the way, and others were cutting down branches from the trees and spreading them on the road.
9Those who went in front and those who followed cried out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
10Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is coming in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
11Jesus entered into the temple in Jerusalem. When he had looked around at everything, it being now evening, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.