Isaiah 2.11-21 (6th Hour)

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.

Genesis 28.10-17 (Vespers, Annunciation)

10And Jacob went forth from the well of the oath, and departed into Charrhan. 11And came to a certain place and slept there, for the sun had gone down; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it at his head, and lay down to sleep in that place, 12and dreamed, and behold a ladder fixed on the earth, whose top reached to heaven, and the angels of God ascended and descended on it. 13And the Lord stood upon it, and said, I am the God of your father Abraam, and the God of Isaac; fear not, the land on which you lie, to you will I give it, and to your seed. 14And your seed shall be as the sand of the earth; and it shall spread abroad to the sea, and the south, and the north, and to the east; and in you and in your seed shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed. 15And behold I am with you to preserve you continually in all the way wherein you shall go; and I will bring you back to this land; for I will not desert you, until I have done all that I have said to you. 16And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and said, The Lord is in this place, and I knew it not. 17And he was afraid, and said, How fearful is this place! this is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

Ezekiel 43.27-44.4 (Vespers, Annunciation)

27And it shall come to pass from the eighth day and onward, that the priests shall offer your whole burnt offerings on the altar, and your peace-offerings; and I will accept you, says the Lord.

1Then he brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary that looks eastward; and it was shut. 2And the Lord said to me, This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no one shall pass through it; for the Lord God of Israel shall enter by it, and it shall be shut. 3For the prince, he shall sit in it, to eat bread before the Lord; he shall go in by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go forth by the way of the same. 4And he brought me in by the way of the gate that looks northward, in front of the house: and I looked, and, behold, the house was full of the glory of the Lord: and I fell upon my face.

Proverbs 9.1-11 (Vespers, Annunciation)

1Wisdom has built a house for herself, and set up seven pillars. 2She has killed her beasts; she has mingled her wine in a bowl, and prepared her table. 3She has sent forth her servants, calling with a loud proclamation to the feast, saying, 4Whoso is foolish, let him turn aside to me: and to them that lack understanding she says, 5Come, eat of my bread, and drink wine which I have mingled for you. 6Leave folly, that you⌃ may reign for ever; and seek wisdom, and improve understanding by knowledge. 7He that reproves evil men shall get dishonor to himself; and he that rebukes an ungodly man shall disgrace himself. 8Rebuke not evil men, lest they should hate you: rebuke a wise man, and he will love you. 9Give an opportunity to a wise man, and he will be wiser: instruct a just man, and he will receive more instruction. 10The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the counsel of saints is understanding: for to know the law is the character of a sound mind. 11For in this way you shall live long, and years of your life shall be added to you.

Ven. Zachariah the Recluse

His father, Carion the Egyptian, forsook his family to become a monk, taking Zacharias with him. Though very young, Zacharias manifested gifts of grace rarely seen among the elders of Sketis. Abba Moses once asked him, ‘What does it mean to be a monk?’, to which Zacharias replied by taking off his hat and treading it underfoot, saying ‘If a man be not so broken, he cannot be a monk.’ After shining as a great light among the holy monks of Scetis, he reposed at a young age.

Commemoration of the Miracle at the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev (?)

“Two friends, John and Sergius, swore brotherhood before the icon of the holy Mother of God in this monastery. John was a rich man, with a five-year-old son, Zachariah. John fell ill, and at his death commended his son to the care of Sergius, and left in Sergius’ keeping a large sum of silver and gold for him to hand over to Zachariah when he had grown up. When Zachariah came of age, however, Sergius denied receiving anything from the deceased John. Then Zachariah said: ‘Let him swear before the same icon of the most holy Mother of God, in front of which he accepted brotherhood with my late father, that he received nothing from John, and then I will seek nothing more from him.’ Sergius agreed, but when he had sworn this and went up to kiss the icon, some force held him back and would not allow him to come near. Then, tormented all at once by a demon, he began to cry out: ‘Holy fathers Antony and Theodosius, do not let this merciless angel destroy me!’ The demon had attacked him by God’s permission. He then told them of all the money which John had left. But when they opened the box, they found double the amount. Taking it, Zachariah gave it to the monastery and was himself tonsured as a monk. He lived a long time and was worthy of God’s great gifts, entering peacefully into eternity.” (Prologue)