Isaiah 1.19-2.3
(6th Hour)
19And if youpl be willing, and listen to me, youpl shall eat the good of the land:
20but if youpl be not willing, nor listen to me, a sword shall devour you: for the mouth of the Lord has spoken this.
21How has the faithful city Sion, once full of judgment, become a harlot! wherein righteousness lodged, but now murderers.
22Your silver is worthless, your wine merchants mix the wine with water.
23Your princes are rebellious, companions of thieves, loving bribes, seeking after rewards; not pleading for orphans, and not heeding the cause of widows.
24Therefore thus says the Lord, the Lord of hosts, Woe to the mighty men of Israel; for my wrath shall not cease against my adversaries, and I will execute judgment on my enemies.
25And I will bring my hand upon you, and purge you completely, and I will destroy the rebellious, and will take away from you all transgressors.
26And I will establish your judges as before, and your counselors as at the beginning: and afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful mother-city of Sion.
27For her captives shall be saved with judgment, and with mercy.
28And the transgressors and the sinners shall be crushed together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be utterly consumed.
29For they shall be ashamed of their idols, which they delighted in, and they are made ashamed of the gardens which they coveted.
30For they shall be as a turpentine tree that has cast its leaves, and as a garden that has no water.
31And their strength shall be as a thread of tow, and their works as sparks, and the transgressors and the sinners shall be burnt up together, and there shall be none to quench them.
1The word which came to Esaias the son of Amos concerning Judea, and concerning Jerusalem.
2For in the last days the mountain of the Lord shall be glorious, and the house of God shall be on the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall come to it.
3And many nations shall go and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will tell us his way, and we will walk in it: for out of Sion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord out of Jerusalem.
Genesis 1.14-23
(Vespers)
14And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, to divide between day and night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and for years.
15And let them be for light in the firmament of the heaven, so as to shine upon the earth, and it was so.
16And God made the two great lights, the greater light for regulating the day and the lesser light for regulating the night, the stars also.
17And God placed them in the firmament of the heaven, so as to shine upon the earth,
18and to regulate day and night, and to divide between the light and the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
19And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
20And God said, Let the waters bring forth reptiles having life, and winged creatures flying above the earth in the firmament of heaven, and it was so.
21And God made great whales, and every living reptile, which the waters brought forth according to their kinds, and every creature that flies with wings according to its kind, and God saw that they were good.
22And God blessed them saying, Increase and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let the creatures that fly be multiplied on the earth.
23And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
Proverbs 1.20-33
(Vespers)
20Wisdom sings aloud in passages, and in the broad places speaks boldly.
21And she makes proclamation on the top of the walls, and sits by the gates of princes; and at the gates of the city boldly says,
22So long as the simple cleave to justice, they shall not be ashamed: but the foolish being lovers of haughtiness, having become ungodly have hated knowledge, and are become subject to reproofs.
23Behold, I will bring forth to you the utterance of my breath, and I will instruct you in my speech.
24Since I called, and youpl did not listen; and I spoke at length, and youpl gave no heed;
25but youpl set at nothing my counsels, and disregarded my reproofs;
26therefore I also will laugh at your destruction; and I will rejoice against you when ruin comes upon you:
27yes when dismay suddenly comes upon you, and your overthrow shall arrive like a tempest; and when tribulation and distress shall come upon you, or when ruin shall come upon you.
28For it shall be that when youpl call upon me, I will not listen to you: wicked men shall seek me, but shall not find me.
29For they hated wisdom, and did not choose the word of the Lord:
30neither would they attend to my counsels, but derided my reproofs.
31Therefore shall they eat the fruits of their own way, and shall be filled with their own ungodliness.
32For because they wronged the simple, they shall be slain; and an inquisition shall ruin the ungodly.
33But he that hearkens to me shall dwell in confidence, and shall rest securely from all evil.
Hebrews 7.7-17
(Epistle, Meeting)
7But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater.
8Here people who die receive tithes, but there one receives tithes of whom it is testified that he lives.
9We can say that through Abraham even Levi, who receives tithes, has paid tithes,
10for he was yet in the body of his father when Melchizedek met him.
11Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people have received the law), what further need was there for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, and not be called after the order of Aaron?
12For the priesthood being changed, there is of necessity a change made also in the law.
13For he of whom these things are said belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar.
14For it is evident that our Lord has sprung out of Judah, about which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.
15This is yet more abundantly evident, if after the likeness of Melchizedek there arises another priest,
16who has been made, not after the law of a fleshly commandment, but after the power of an endless life;
17for it is testified, “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.”
Luke 2.22-40
(Gospel, Meeting)
22When the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
23(as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”),
24and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”
25Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.
26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
27He came in the Spirit into the temple. When the parents brought in the child, Jesus, that they might do concerning him according to the custom of the law,
28then he received him into his arms and blessed God, and said,
29“Now you are releasing your servant, Master, according to your word, in peace;
30for my eyes have seen your salvation,
31which you have prepared before the face of all peoples;
32a light for revelation to the nations, and the glory of your people Israel.”
33Joseph and his mother were marveling at the things which were spoken concerning him.
34Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which is spoken against.
35Yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
36There was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher (she was of a great age, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity,
37and she had been a widow for about eighty-four years), who didn’t depart from the temple, worshiping with fastings and petitions night and day.
38Coming up at that very hour, she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of him to all those who were looking for redemption in Jerusalem.
39When they had accomplished all things that were according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.
40The child was growing, and was becoming strong in spirit, being filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.