16But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and the holy God shall be glorified in righteousness.
17And they that were spoiled shall be fed as bulls, and lambs shall feed on the waste places of them that are taken away.
18Woe to them that draw sins to them as with a long rope, and iniquities as with a thong of the heifer's yoke:
19who say, Let him speedily hasten what he will do, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel come, that we may know it.
20Woe to them that call evil good, and good evil; who make darkness light, and light darkness; who make bitter sweet, and sweet bitter.
21Woe to them that are wise in their own conceit, and knowing in their own sight.
22Woe to the strong ones of you that drink wine, and the mighty ones that mingle strong drink:
23who justify the ungodly for rewards, and take away the righteousness of the righteous.
24Therefore as stubble shall be burnt by a coal of fire, and shall be consumed by a violent flame, their root shall be as chaff, and their flower shall go up as dust: for they rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, and insulted the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25Therefore the Lord of hosts was greatly angered against his people, and he reached forth his hand upon them, and struck them: and the mountains were troubled, and their carcasses were as dung in the midst of the way: yet for all this his anger has not been turned away, but his hand is yet raised.
Genesis 4.16-26 (Vespers)
16So Cain went forth from the presence of God and lived in the land of Nod over against Edem.
17And Cain knew his wife, and having conceived she bore Enoch; and he built a city; and he named the city after the name of his son, Enoch.
18And to Enoch was born Gaidad; and Gaidad begot Maleleel; and Maleleel begot Mathusala; and Mathusala begot Lamech.
19And Lamech took to himself two wives; the name of the one was Ada, and the name of the second Sella.
20And Ada bore Jobel; he was the father of those that dwell in tents, feeding cattle.
21And the name of his brother was Jubal; he it was who invented the lute and harp.
22And Sella also bore Thobel; he was a smith, a manufacturer both of brass and iron; and the sister of Thobel was Noema.
23And Lamech said to his wives, Ada and Sella, Hear my voice, you⌃ wives of Lamech, consider my words, because I have slain a man to my sorrow and a youth to my grief.
24Because vengeance has been exacted seven times on Cain's behalf, on Lamech's it shall be seventy times seven.
25And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore a son, and called his name Seth, saying, For God has raised up to me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.
26And Seth had a son, and he called his name Enos: he hoped to call on the name of the Lord God.
Proverbs 5.15-6.3 (Vespers)
15Drink waters out of your own vessels, and out of your own springing wells.
16Let not waters out of your fountain be spilled by you, but let your waters go into your streets.
17Let them be only your own, and let no stranger partake with you.
18Let your fountain of water be truly your own; and rejoice with the wife of your youth.
19Let your loving hart and your graceful colt company with you, and let her be considered your own, and be with you at all times; for ravished with her love you shall be greatly increased.
20Be not intimate with a strange woman, neither fold yourself in the arms of a woman not your own.
21For the ways of a man are before the eyes of God, and he looks on all his paths.
22Iniquities ensnare a man, and every one is bound in the chains of his own sins.
23Such a man dies with the uninstructed; and he is cast forth from the abundance of his own substance, and has perished through folly.
1My son, if you become surety for your friend, you shall deliver your hand to an enemy.
2For a man's own lips become a strong snare to him, and he is caught with the lips of his own mouth.
3My son, do what I command you, and deliver yourself; for on your friend's account you are come into the power of evil men: faint not, but stir up even your friend for whom you are become surety.
Commemorations
Martyr Matrona of Thessalonica
She was a servant of the Jewish wife of the governor of Thessalonica. When she refused to enter the synagogue with her mistress, she was beaten, then locked in a cell until she starved to death. Finally, her mistress ordered her body thrown from the roof of the house and left to lie in the open. Christians took her body and buried it honorably, and the bishop, Alexander, built a church over her grave.