8Thus says the Lord, As a grape-stone shall be found in the cluster, and they shall say, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for the sake of him that serves me, for his sake I will not destroy them all.
9And I will lead forth the seed that came of Jacob and of Juda, and they shall inherit my holy mountain: and my elect and my servants shall inherit it, and shall dwell there.
10And there shall be in the forest folds of flocks, and the valley of Achor shall be for a resting-place of herds for my people, who have sought me.
11But you⌃ are they that have left me, and forget my holy mountain, and prepare a table for the devil, and fill up the drink-offering to Fortune.
12I will deliver you up to the sword, you⌃ shall all fall by slaughter: for I called you, and you⌃ listened not; I spoke, and you⌃ refused to hear; and you⌃ did evil in my sight, and chose the things wherein I delighted not.
13Therefore thus says the Lord, Behold, my servants shall eat, but you⌃ shall hunger: behold, my servants shall drink, but you⌃ shall thirst: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you⌃ shall be ashamed:
14behold, my servants shall exult with joy, but you⌃ shall cry for the sorrow of your heart, and shall howl for the vexation of your spirit.
15For you⌃ shall leave your name for a loathing to my chosen, and the Lord shall destroy you: but my servants shall be called by a new name,
16which shall be blessed on the earth; for they shall bless the true God: and they that swear upon the earth shall swear by the true God; for they shall forget the former affliction, it shall not come into their mind.
Genesis 46.1-7
(Vespers)
1And Israel departed, he and all that he had, and came to the well of the oath; and he offered sacrifice to the God of his father Isaac.
2And God spoke to Israel in a night vision, saying, Jacob, Jacob; and he said, What is it?
3And he says to him, I am the God of your fathers; fear not to go down into Egypt, for I will make you there a great nation.
4And I will go down with you into Egypt, and I will bring you up at the end; and Joseph shall put his hands on your eyes.
5And Jacob rose up from the well of the oath; and the sons of Israel took up their father, and the baggage, and their wives on the wagons, which Joseph sent to take them.
6And they took up their goods, and all their property, which they had gotten in the land of Chanaan; they came into the land of Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him.
7The sons, and the sons of his sons with him; his daughters, and the daughters of his daughters; and he brought all his seed into Egypt.
Proverbs 23.15-24.5
(Vespers)
15Son, if your heart be wise, you shall also gladden my heart;
16and your lips shall converse with my lips, if they be right.
17Let not your heart envy sinners: but be you in the fear of the Lord all the day.
18For if you should keep these things, you shall have posterity; and your hope shall not be removed.
19Hear, my son, and be wise, and rightly direct the thoughts of your heart.
20Be not a wine-bibber, neither continue long at feasts, and purchases of flesh:
21for every drunkard and whoremonger shall be poor; and every sluggard shall clothe himself with tatters and ragged garments.
22Listen, my son, to your father which begot you, and despise not your mother because she is grown old.
24A righteous father brings up his children well; and his soul rejoices over a wise son.
25Let your father and your mother rejoice over you, and let her that bore you be glad.
26My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways.
27For a strange house is a vessel full of holes; and a strange well is narrow.
28For such a one shall perish suddenly; and every transgressor shall be cut off.
29Who has woe? who trouble? who has quarrels? and who vexations and disputes? who has bruises without a cause? whose eyes are livid?
30Are not those of them that stay long at wine? are not those of them that haunt the places where banquets are? Be not drunk with wine; but converse with just men, and converse with them openly.
31For if you should set your eyes on bowls and cups, you shall afterwards go more naked than a pestle.
32But at last such a one stretches himself out as one struck by a serpent, and venom is diffused through him as by a horned serpent.
33Whenever your eyes shall behold a strange woman, then your mouth shall speak perverse things.
34And you shall lie as in the midst of the sea, and as a pilot in a great storm.
35And you shall say, They struck me, and I was not pained; and they mocked me, and I knew it not: when will it be morning, that I may go and seek those with whom I may go in company?
1My son, envy not bad men, nor desire to be with them.
2For their heart meditates falsehoods, and their lips speak mischiefs.
3A house is built by wisdom, and is set up by understanding.
4By discretion the chambers are filled with all precious and excellent wealth.
5A wise man is better than a strong man; and a man who has prudence than a large estate.
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.
Commemorations
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)