Isaiah 49.6-10 (6th Hour)

6And he said to me, It is a great thing for you to be called my servant, to establish the tribes of Jacob, and to recover the dispersion of Israel: behold, I have given you for the covenant of a race, for a light of the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the end of the earth. 7Thus says the Lord that delivered you, the God of Israel, Sanctify him that despises his life, him that is abhorred by the nations that are the servants of princes: kings shall behold him, and princes shall arise, and shall worship him, for the Lord's sake: for the Holy One of Israel is faithful, and I have chosen you. 8Thus says the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard you, and in a day of salvation have I succored you: and I have formed you, and given you for a covenant of the nations, to establish the earth, and to cause to inherit the desert heritages: 9saying to them that are in bonds, Go forth; and bidding them that are in darkness show themselves. They shall be fed in all the ways, and in all the paths shall be their pasture. 10They shall not hunger, neither shall they thirst; neither shall the heat nor the sun strike them; but he that has mercy on them shall comfort them, and by fountains of waters shall he lead them.

Genesis 31.3-16 (Vespers)

3And the Lord said to Jacob, Return to the land of your father, and to your family, and I will be with you. 4And Jacob sent and called Lea and Rachel to the plain where the flocks were. 5And he said to them, I see the face of your father, that it is not toward me as before, but the God of my father was with me. 6And you⌃ too know that with all my might I have served your father. 7But your father deceived me, and changed my wages for the ten lambs, yet God gave him not power to hurt me. 8If he should say thus, The speckled shall be your reward, then all the cattle would bear speckled; and if he should say, The white shall be your reward, then would all the cattle bear white. 9So God has taken away all the cattle of your father, and given them to me. 10And it came to pass when the cattle conceived and were with young, that I saw with my eyes in sleep, and behold the he-goats and the rams leaping on the sheep and the she-goats, speckled and variegated and spotted with ash-colored spots. 11And the angel of God said to me in a dream, Jacob; and I said, What is it? 12And he said, Look up with your eyes, and behold the he-goats and the rams leaping on the sheep and the she-goats, speckled and variegated and spotted with ash-colored spots; for I have seen all things that Laban does to you. 13I am God that appeared to you in the place of God where you anointed a pillar to me, and vowed to me there a vow; now then arise and depart out of this land, depart into the land of your nativity, and I will be with you. 14And Rachel and Lea answered and said to him, Have we yet a part or inheritance in the house of our father? 15Are we not considered strangers by him? for he has sold us, and quite devoured our money. 16All the wealth and the glory which God has taken from our father, it shall be our's and our children's; now then do whatever God has said to you.

Proverbs 21.3-21 (Vespers)

3To do justly and to speak truth, are more pleasing to God than the blood of sacrifices. 4A high-minded man is stout-hearted in his pride; and the lamp of the wicked is sin. 6He that gathers treasures with a lying tongue pursues vanity on to the snares of death. 7Destruction shall lodge with the ungodly; for they refuse to do justly. 8To the froward God sends froward ways; for his works are pure and right. 9It is better to dwell in a corner on the house-top, than in plastered rooms with unrighteousness, and in an open house. 10The soul of the ungodly shall not be pitied by any man. 11When an intemperate man is punished the simple becomes wiser: and a wise man understanding will receive knowledge. 12A righteous man understands the hearts of the ungodly: and despises the ungodly for their wickedness. 13He that stops his ears from hearing the poor, himself also shall cry, and there shall be none to hear him. 14A secret gift calms anger: but he that forbears to give stirs up strong wrath. 15It is the joy of the righteous to do judgment: but a holy man is abominable with evil-doers. 16A man that wanders out of the way of righteousness, shall rest in the congregation of giants. 17A poor man loves mirth, loving wine and oil in abundance; 18and a transgressor is the abomination of a righteous man. 19It is better to dwell in a wilderness than with a quarrelsome and talkative and passionate woman. 20A desirable treasure will rest on the mouth of the wise; but foolish men will swallow it up. 21The way of righteousness and mercy will find life and glory.

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)