11For the eyes of the Lord are high, but man is low; and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.
12For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and haughty, and upon every one that is high and towering, and they shall be brought down;
13and upon every cedar of Libanus, of them that are high and towering, and upon every oak of Basan,
14and upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill,
15and upon every high tower, and upon every high wall,
16and upon every ship of the sea, and upon every display of fine ships.
17And every man shall be brought low, and the pride of men shall fall: and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.
18And they shall hide all idols made with hands,
19having carried them into the caves, and into the clefts of the rocks, and into the caverns of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and by reason of the glory of his might, when he shall arise to strike terribly the earth.
20For in that day a man shall cast forth his silver and gold abominations, which they made in order to worship vanities and bats;
21to enter into the caverns of the solid rock, and into the clefts of the rocks, for fear of the Lord, and by reason of the glory of his might, when he shall arise to strike terribly the earth.
Genesis 2.4-19 (Vespers)
4This is the book of the generation of heaven and earth, when they were made, in the day in which the Lord God made the heaven and the earth,
5and every herb of the field before it was on the earth, and all the grass of the field before it sprang up, for God had not rained on the earth, and there was not a man to cultivate it.
6But there rose a fountain out of the earth, and watered the whole face of the earth.
7And God formed the man of dust of the earth, and breathed upon his face the breath of life, and the man became a living soul.
8And God planted a garden eastward in Edem, and placed there the man whom he had formed.
9And God made to spring up also out of the earth every tree beautiful to the eye and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of learning the knowledge of good and evil.
10And a river proceeds out of Edem to water the garden, thence it divides itself into four heads.
11The name of the one, Phisom, this it is which encircles the whole land of Evilat, where there is gold.
12And the gold of that land is good, there also is carbuncle and emerald.
13And the name of the second river is Geon, this it is which encircles the whole land of Ethiopia.
14And the third river is Tigris, this is that which flows forth over against the Assyrians. And the fourth river is Euphrates.
15And the Lord God took the man whom he had formed, and placed him in the garden of Delight, to cultivate and keep it.
16And the Lord God gave a charge to Adam, saying, Of every tree which is in the garden you may freely eat,
17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—of it you⌃ shall not eat, but in whatever day you⌃ eat of it, you⌃ shall surely die.
18And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone, let us make for him a help suitable to him.
19And God formed yet farther out of the earth all the wild beasts of the field, and all the birds of the sky, and he brought them to Adam, to see what he would call them, and whatever Adam called any living creature, that was the name of it.
Proverbs 3.1-18 (Vespers)
1My son, forget not my laws; but let your heart keep my words:
2for length of existence, and years of life, and peace, shall they add to you.
3Let not mercy and truth forsake you; but bind them about your neck:
4so shall you find favor: and do you provide things honest in the sight of the Lord, and of men.
5Trust in God with all your heart; and be not exalted in your own wisdom.
6In all your ways acquaint yourself with her, that she may rightly direct your paths.
7Be not wise in your own conceit; but fear God, and depart from all evil.
8Then shall there be health to your body, and good keeping to your bones.
9Honor the Lord with your just labors, and give him the first of your fruits of righteousness:
10that your storehouses may be completely filled with corn, and that your presses may burst forth with wine.
11My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; nor faint when you are rebuked of him:
12for whom the Lord loves, he rebukes, and scourges every son whom he receives.
13Blessed is the man who has found wisdom, and the mortal who knows prudence.
14For it is better to traffic for her, than for treasures of gold and silver.
15And she is more valuable than precious stones: no evil thing shall resist her: she is well known to all that approach her, and no precious thing is equal to her in value.
16For length of existence and years of life are in her right hand; and in her left hand are wealth and glory: out of her mouth proceeds righteousness, and she carries law and mercy upon her tongue.
17Her ways are good ways, and all her paths are peaceful.
18She is a tree of life to all that lay hold upon her; and she is a secure help to all that stay themselves on her, as on the Lord.
Commemorations
Martyr Quadratus and Companions
‘In a time of persecution of Christians, many of the faithful fled to the mountains and caves. The mother of this Codratus did so. She was pregnant at that time, and gave birth to Codratus in a forest, dying almost at once. He was kept safe and fed by the providence of God and his guardian angel. Codratus grew up in solitude with nature. He who gave manna from heaven to the Israelites in the wilderness released a sweet dew from a cloud onto the mouth of the child Codratus. When he was twelve years old, he went down to the town, and there some good people took a fancy to him and educated him. He studied medicine and then began to heal the sick, using both natural medicines and, more importantly, the spiritual power and prayer which had been with him from childhood. When a new persecution arose under Decius, Codratus was taken for trial and thrown into prison. Five of his friends stood beside him and confessed the name of Christ. They were: Cyprian, Dionysius, Anectus, Paul and Crescens. They were all dragged through the streets and struck with sticks and stones by the unbelievers, especially by the children, until they arrived at the scaffold. Here the martyrs prayed to God and were beheaded with the sword. A spring of water gushed out onto the earth at the spot, which to this day is called by Codratus’ name and commemorates the heroic death for Christ of the holy six. They suffered with honour for the truth in Corinth in the year 250, in the time of the Emperor Decius and his governor Jason.’ (Prologue)
Our Holy Mother Anastasia (563)
She was a noble lady at the Imperial court under the Emperor Justinian and his wife Theodora. But when she was widowed she left Constantinople and all her privileges behind and fled to the Egyptian desert. There Abba Daniel tonsured her and, at her request, presented her to the brethren as the eunuch Anastasius, so that she might avoid discovery by imperial investigators. She closed herself in a small cell, where she spent twenty-eight years in prayer and askesis. Shortly before her death, her elder Daniel saw her face shining like the sun.