12But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you up to synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for my name’s sake.
13It will turn out as a testimony for you.
14Settle it therefore in your hearts not to meditate beforehand how to answer,
15for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to withstand or to contradict.
16You will be handed over even by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends. They will cause some of you to be put to death.
17You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake.
18And not a hair of your head will perish.
19“By your endurance you will win your lives.
Isaiah 48.17-49.4
(6th Hour)
17Thus says the Lord that delivered you, the Holy One of Israel; I am your God, I have shown you how you should find the way wherein you should walk.
18And if you had listened to my commandments, then would your peace have been like a river, and your righteousness as a wave of the sea.
19Your seed also would have been as the sand, and the offspring of your belly as the dust of the ground: neither now shall you by any means be utterly destroyed, neither shall your name perish before me.
20Go forth of Babylon, you that flee from the Chaldeans: utter aloud a voice of joy, and let this be made known, proclaim it to the end of the earth; say you⌃, The Lord has delivered his servant Jacob.
21And if they shall thirst, he shall lead them through the desert; he shall bring forth water to them out of the rock: the rock shall be cloven, and the water shall flow forth, and my people shall drink.
22There is no joy, says the Lord, to the ungodly.
1Listen to me, you⌃ islands; and attend, you⌃ Gentiles; after a long time it shall come to pass, says the Lord: from my mother's womb he has called my name:
2and he has made my mouth as a sharp sword, and he has hid me under the shadow of his hand; he has made me as a choice shaft, and he has hid me in his quiver;
3and said to me, You are my servant, O Israel, and in you I will be glorified.
4Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have given my strength for vanity and for nothing: therefore is my judgment with the Lord, and my labor before my God.
Genesis 27.1-41 (Vespers)
1And it came to pass after Isaac was old, that his eyes were dimmed so that he could not see; and he called Esau, his elder son, and said to him, My son; and he said, Behold, I am here.
2And he said, Behold, I am grown old, and know not the day of my death.
3Now then take the weapons, both your quiver and your bow, and go into the plain, and get me venison,
4and make me meats, as I like them, and bring them to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you, before I die.
5And Rebecca heard Isaac speaking to Esau his son; and Esau went to the plain to procure venison for his father.
6And Rebecca said to Jacob her younger son, Behold, I heard your father speaking to Esau your brother, saying,
7Bring me venison, and prepare me meats, that I may eat and bless you before the Lord before I die.
8Now then, my son, listen to me, as I command you.
9And go to the cattle and take for me thence two kids, tender and good, and I will make them meats for your father, as he likes.
10And you shall bring them in to your father, and he shall eat, that your father may bless you before he dies.
11And Jacob said to his mother Rebecca, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I a smooth man.
12Peradventure my father may feel me, and I shall be before him as one ill-intentioned, and I shall bring upon me a curse, and not a blessing.
13And his mother said to him, On me be your curse, son; only listen to my voice, and go and bring them me.
14So he went and took and brought them to his mother; and his mother made meats, as his father liked them.
15And Rebecca having taken the fine raiment of her elder son Esau which was with her in the house, put it on Jacob her younger son.
16And she put on his arms the skins of the kids, and on the bare parts of his neck.
17And she gave the meats, and the loaves which she had prepared, into the hands of Jacob her son.
18And he brought them to his father, and said, Father; and he said, Behold I am here; who are you, son?
19And Jacob said to his father, I, Esau your firstborn, have done as you told me; rise, sit, and eat of my venison, that your soul may bless me.
20And Isaac said to his son, What is this which you have quickly found? And he said, That which the Lord your God presented before me.
21And Isaac said to Jacob, Draw near to me, and I will feel you, son, if you are my son Esau or not.
22And Jacob drew near to his father Isaac, and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.
23And he knew him not, for his hands were as the hands of his brother Esau, hairy; and he blessed him,
24and he said, Are you my son Esau? and he said, I am.
25And he said, Bring hither, and I will eat of your venison, son, that my soul may bless you; and he brought it near to him, and he ate, and he brought him wine, and he drank.
26And Isaac his father said to him, Draw near to me, and kiss me, son.
27And he drew near and kissed him, and smelled the smell of his garments, and blessed him, and said, Behold, the smell of my son is as the smell of an abundant field, which the Lord has blessed.
28And may God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and abundance of corn and wine.
29And let nations serve you, and princes bow down to you, and be you lord of your brother, and the sons of your father shall do you reverence; accursed is he that curses you, and blessed is he that blesses you.
30And it came to pass after Isaac had ceased blessing his son Jacob, it even came to pass, just when Jacob had gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.
31And he also had made meats and brought them to his father; and he said to his father, Let my father arise and eat of his son's venison, that your soul may bless me.
32And Isaac his father said to him, Who are you? And he said, I am your firstborn son Esau.
33And Isaac was amazed with very great amazement, and said, Who then is it that has procured venison for me and brought it to me? and I have eaten of all before you came, and I have blessed him, and he shall be blessed.
34And it came to pass when Esau heard the words of his father Isaac, he cried out with a great and very bitter cry, and said, Bless, I pray you, me also, father.
35And he said to him, Your brother has come with subtlety, and taken your blessing.
36And he said, Rightly was his name called Jacob, for behold! this second time has he supplanted me; he has both taken my birthright, and now he has taken my blessing; and Esau said to his father, Have you not left a blessing for me, father?
37And Isaac answered and said to Esau, If I have made him your lord, and have made all his brethren his servants, and have strengthened him with corn and wine, what then shall I do for you, son?
38And Esau said to his father, Have you only one blessing, father? Bless, I pray you, me also, father. And Isaac being troubled, Esau cried aloud and wept.
39And Isaac his father answered and said to him, Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above.
40And you shall live by your sword, and shall serve your brother; and there shall be a time when you shall break and loosen his yoke from off your neck.
41And Esau was angry with Jacob because of the blessing, with which his father blessed him; and Esau said in his mind, Let the days of my father's mourning draw near, that I may kill my brother Jacob.
Proverbs 19.16-25 (Vespers)
16He that keeps the commandment keeps his own soul; but he that despises his ways shall perish.
17He that has pity on the poor lends to the Lord; and he will recompense to him according to his gift.
18Chasten your son, for so he shall be hopeful; and be not exalted in your soul to haughtiness.
19A malicious man shall be severely punished, and if he commit injury, he shall also lose his life.
20Hear, son, the instruction of your father, that you may be wise at your latter end.
21There are many thoughts in a man's heart; but the counsel of the Lord abides for ever.
22Mercy is a fruit to a man: and a poor man is better than a rich liar.
23The fear of the Lord is life to a man: and he shall lodge without fear in places where knowledge is not seen.
24He that unjustly hides his hands in his bosom, will not even bring them up to his mouth.
25When a pestilent character is scourged, a simple man is made wiser: and if you reprove a wise man, he will understand discretion.
Isaiah 43.9-14
(Vespers, Martyrs)
9All the nations are gathered together, and princes shall be gathered out of them: who will declare these things? or who will declare to you things from the beginning? let them bring forth their witnesses, and be justified; and let them hear, and declare the truth.
10Be you⌃ my witnesses, and I too am a witness, says the Lord God, and my servant whom I have chosen: that you⌃ may know, and believe, and understand that I am he: before me there was no other God, and after me there shall be none.
11I am God; and beside me there is no Saviour.
12I have declared, and have saved; I have reproached, and there was no strange god among you: you⌃ are my witnesses, and I am the Lord God,
13even from the beginning; and there is none that can deliver out of my hands: I will work, and who shall turn it back?
14Thus says the Lord God that redeems you, the Holy One of Israel; for your sakes I will send to Babylon, and I will stir up all that flee, and the Chaldeans shall be bound in ships.
Wisdom of Solomon 3.1-9
(Vespers, Martyrs)
1But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them.
2In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and their departure is taken for misery,
3And their going from us to be utter destruction: but they are in peace.
4For though they be punished in the sight of men, yet is their hope full of immortality.
5And having been a little chastised, they shall be greatly rewarded: for God proved them, and found them worthy for himself.
6As gold in the furnace has he tried them, and received them as a burnt offering.
7And in the time of their visitation they shall shine, and run to and fro like sparks among the stubble.
8They shall judge the nations, and have dominion over the people, and their Lord shall reign for ever.
9They that put their trust in him shall understand the truth: and such as be faithful in love shall abide with him: for grace and mercy is to his saints, and he has care for his elect.
Wisdom of Solomon 5.15-6.3
(Vespers, Martyrs)
15But the righteous live for evermore; their reward also is with the Lord, and the care of them is with the most High.
16Therefore shall they receive a glorious kingdom, and a beautiful crown from the Lord's hand: for with his right hand shall he cover them, and with his arm shall he protect them.
17He shall take to him his jealousy for complete armor, and make the creature his weapon for the revenge of his enemies.
18He shall put on righteousness as a breastplate, and true judgment instead of an helmet.
19He shall take holiness for an invincible shield.
20His severe wrath shall he sharpen for a sword, and the world shall fight with him against the unwise.
21Then shall the right aiming thunderbolts go abroad; and from the clouds, as from a well drawn bow, shall they fly to the mark.
22And hailstones full of wrath shall be cast as out of a stone bow, and the water of the sea shall rage against them, and the floods shall cruelly drown them.
23Yes, a mighty wind shall stand up against them, and like a storm shall blow them away: thus iniquity shall lay waste the whole earth, and ill dealing shall overthrow the thrones of the mighty.
1Hear therefore, O you⌃ kings, and understand; learn, you⌃ that be judges of the ends of the earth.
2Give ear, you⌃ that rule the people, and glory in the multitude of nations.
3For power is given you of the Lord, and sovereignty from the Highest, who shall try your works, and search out your counsels.
Hebrews 12.1-10
(Epistle, Martyrs)
1Therefore let’s also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with perseverance the race that is set before us,
2looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3For consider him who has endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, that you don’t grow weary, fainting in your souls.
4You have not yet resisted to blood, striving against sin.
5You have forgotten the exhortation which reasons with you as with children, “My son, don’t take lightly the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by him;
6for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
7It is for discipline that you endure. God deals with you as with children, for what son is there whom his father doesn’t discipline?
8But if you are without discipline, of which all have been made partakers, then you are illegitimate, and not children.
9Furthermore, we had the fathers of our flesh to chasten us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?
10For they indeed for a few days disciplined us as seemed good to them, but he for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness.
Matthew 20.1-16
(Gospel, Martyrs)
1“For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who was the master of a household, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
2When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
3He went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace.
4He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went their way.
5Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.
6About the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle. He said to them, ‘Why do you stand here all day idle?’
7“They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ “He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and you will receive whatever is right.’
8“When evening had come, the lord of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning from the last to the first.’
9“When those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came, they each received a denarius.
10When the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise each received a denarius.
11When they received it, they murmured against the master of the household,
12saying, ‘These last have spent one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat!’
13“But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Didn’t you agree with me for a denarius?
14Take that which is yours, and go your way. It is my desire to give to this last just as much as to you.
15Isn’t it lawful for me to do what I want to with what I own? Or is your eye evil, because I am good?’
16So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Commemorations
The Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebastia (Sebaste) (320)
They were all soldiers under one general, taken captive in the time of Licinius for their faith in Christ. They were stripped naked and cast onto a frozen lake at Sebastia in Pontus. They endured the entire night, encouraging each other to be patient. Some accounts say that their persecutors placed warm baths in their sight on the shore to entice them to renounce Christ. Finally one of their number, broken by his sufferings, apostatized and left the company. One of the guards, named Aglaius, saw in a vision thirty-nine wreaths descending from heaven onto the heads of the faithful sufferers, and was moved to declare himself a Christian. He was immediately sent to join the martyrs on the frozen lake, keeping the number of forty complete. In the morning all of them, almost dead, were cast into fire, and their remains thrown in the lake. On the third day the martyrs appeared to Peter, the local bishop, and told him to search for them in the lake. The bishop went to the lake on a dark night with his clergy, and one account says that the bones of the martyrs rose to the surface and burned there like a candle. The relics were gathered and given honorable burial.
This is the most common account. The Prologue gives a somewhat different version, in which the martyrs were made to stand, not on the frozen lake, but in the freezing waters.
St Caesarius (369)
He was the brother of St Gregory the Theologian and, like his brother, was a theological writer. In his works he gave an answer to the question: How long did Adam and Eve spend in Paradise before the Fall? Various writers had given estimates ranging from six hours to three days. Saint Caesarius wrote that our first parents’ time in Paradise was forty days; and that for this reason Christ fasted for forty days in the wilderness, being tempted by the Devil. “For, while the old Adam was not able to withstand the devil’s temptation in the abundance of Paradise, the New Adam withstood him as a true knight in hunger and thirst in the wilderness.” (Prologue)