Isaiah 28.14-22 (6th Hour)

14Therefore hear you⌃ the word of the Lord, you⌃ afflicted men, and you⌃ princes of this people that is in Jerusalem. 15Because you⌃ have said, We have made a covenant with Hades, and agreements with death; if the rushing storm should pass, it shall not come upon us: we have made falsehood our hope, and by falsehood shall we be protected: 16Therefore thus says the Lord, even the Lord, Behold, I lay for the foundations of Sion a costly stone, a choice, a corner-stone, a precious stone, for its foundations; and he that believes on him shall by no means be ashamed. 17And I will cause judgment to be for hope, and my compassion shall be for just measures, and you⌃ that trust vainly in falsehood shall fall: for the storm shall by no means pass by you, 18except it also take away your covenant of death, and your trust in Hades shall by no means stand: if the rushing storm should come upon you, you⌃ shall be beaten down by it. 19Whenever it shall pass by, it shall take you; morning by morning it shall pass by in the day, and in the night there shall be an evil hope. Learn to hear, 20you⌃ that are distressed; we can’t fight, but we are ourselves too weak for you to be gathered. 21The Lord shall rise up as a mountain of ungodly men, and shall be in the valley of Gabaon; he shall perform his works with wrath, even a work of bitterness, and his wrath shall deal strangely, and his destruction shall be strange. 22Therefore do not you⌃ rejoice, neither let your bands be made strong; for I have heard of works finished and cut short by the Lord of hosts, which he will execute upon all the earth.

Genesis 10.32-11.9 (Vespers)

32These are the tribes of the sons of Noe, according to their generations, according to their nations: of them were the islands of the Gentiles scattered over the earth after the flood.

1And all the earth was one lip, and there was one language to all. 2And it came to pass as they moved from the east, they found a plain in the land of Senaar, and they lived there. 3And a man said to his neighbor, Come, let us make bricks and bake them with fire. And the brick was to them for stone, and their mortar was bitumen. 4And they said, Come, let us build to ourselves a city and tower, whose top shall be to heaven, and let us make to ourselves a name, before we are scattered abroad upon the face of all the earth. 5And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the sons of men built. 6And the Lord said, Behold, there is one race, and one lip of all, and they have begun to do this, and now nothing shall fail from them of all that they may have undertaken to do. 7Come, and having gone down let us there confound their tongue, that they may not understand each the voice of his neighbor. 8And the Lord scattered them thence over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city and the tower. 9On this account its name was called Confusion, because there the Lord confounded the languages of all the earth, and thence the Lord scattered them upon the face of all the earth.

Proverbs 13.19-14.6 (Vespers)

19The desires of the godly gladden the soul, but the works of the ungodly are far from knowledge. 20If you walk with wise men you shall be wise: but he that walks with fools shall be known. 21Evil shall pursue sinners; but good shall overtake the righteous. 22A good man shall inherit children's children; and the wealth of ungodly men is laid up for the just. 23The righteous shall spend many years in wealth: but the unrighteous shall perish suddenly. 24He that spares the rod hates his son: but he that loves, carefully chastens him. 25A just man eats and satisfies his soul: but the souls of the ungodly are in lack.

1Wise women build houses: but a foolish one digs hers down with her hands. 2He that walks uprightly fears the Lord; but he that is perverse in his ways shall be dishonored. 3Out of the mouth of fools comes a rod of pride; but the lips of the wise preserve them. 4Where no oxen are, the cribs are clean; but where there is abundant produce, the strength of the ox is apparent. 5A faithful witness does not lie; but an unjust witness kindles falsehoods. 6You shall seek wisdom with bad men, and shall not find it; but discretion is easily available with the prudent.

Martyr Agapius and Seven with Him

These holy Martyrs contested during the reign of Diocletian 284-305), in Palestinian Caesarea. All eight were very young; only Agapius was a baptized Christian. Urbanus, the governor of the region, observed a pagan festival by having some Christians publicly tortured and executed: some by fire, others on the gallows, some by being thrown to wild beasts in the arena. Six of the youths (Timolaus, Dionysius, Romulus, Plesius, and two named Alexander), seeing the patience and serenity with which the Christians endured their torments, were reached by the Holy Spirit and, tying their own hands, presented themselves to Urbanus saying ‘We too are Christians!’ They were immediately cast into prison. A few days later Agapius, a prominent Christian in that town, also presented himself along with a second Dionysius. All eight were beheaded together at Caesarea. Their martyrdom is recorded in Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History.

Holy Martyr Alexander (270-275)

“He was from the town of Side in Pamphylia. The Emperor Aurelian’s governor asked him who he was, to which Alexander replied that he was a pastor of the flock of Christ. ‘And where is this flock of Christ’, further enquired the evil and suspicious governor. Alexander replied: ‘Over the whole world live the people whom Christ the Lord created, among whom those who believe in Him are His sheep, but those who have fallen away from their Creator, who are enslaved to creation and the work of men’s hands, to dead idols, such as you, are strangers to His flock, and at the Dreadful Judgement of God will be put to the left with the goats.’ The wicked judge first commanded that he be whipped with iron flails and then thrown into a burning furnace. But the fire could in no way harm him. Then he was flayed and after that thrown to the wild beasts. But the beasts would not touch him. At last the governor ordered that he be beheaded. But as soon as the judge pronounced the sentence, an evil spirit took hold of him and made him rabid. He was led howling to his gods, the idols, but on the way the evil spirit wrested his wicked soul from him. St Alexander suffered between 270 and 275.’ (Prologue)

He is commemorated March 14 on the Greek calendar.