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.
Commemorations
Hieromartyr Haralambos
“This great saint was bishop in Magnesia, and suffered for Christ at the age of 113. When a violent persecution broke out under the Emperor Septimus Severus, the aged Charalampus did not hide from his persecutors, but freely and openly preached the Christian faith. He endured all tortures as though not in the body, and when they flayed the living flesh from him, the godly saint said to the Emperor’s soldiers: ‘Thank you, my brethren, for scraping off the old body and renewing my soul for new and eternal life.’ He performed many wonders and brought many to the Faith. Even the Emperor’s daughter, Gallina, repudiated the paganism of her father and became a Christian. Condemned to death and led to the place of execution, St Charalampus raised his arms to heaven and prayed for all men, that God would give them bodily health and salvation of soul, and that He would grant them the fruits of the earth in abundance: ‘Lord, Thou knowest that men are flesh and blood; forgive them their sins and pour out Thy blessing on all.’ After praying thus, the saintly elder gave his soul to God before the executioner had laid his sword to his neck. He suffered in 202. Gallina took his body and buried it.” (Prologue)
The Great Horologion puts his age at 103.
St Scholastica of Italy, sister of St Benedict (543)
She was the twin sister of St Benedict, patriarch of monasticism in the West (March 14), and his constant fellow-laborer in the vineyard of Christ. They lived in neighboring monasteries; though they loved one another dearly, they met only once a year, spending the day in prayer and spiritual conversation, then parting after sharing a simple meal. At their meeting in 543, she prevailed on her brother (and the monk who accompanied him) to break his own monastic rule and stay with her in vigil through the night. Three days later, as Benedict looked out his cell window, he saw his sister’s soul in the form of a dove ascending to heaven.
Recommended: The Holy Twins: Benedict and Scholastica, a beautifully illustrated children’s book about the two Saints; by Kathleen Norris, illustrated by Tomie dePaola.
Our Venerable Father Prochorus of the Kiev Caves (1107)
“A wonder-worker of the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev, he was named the Orach-eater because the whole time he lived in the monastery, he never tasted bread but fed himself on orach [a kind of wild spinach] prepared according to his own particular method as a sort of bread. When he gave someone some of this bread with his blessing, it was as sweet as honey, but if someone stole some, it was as bitter as wormwood.
“At one time, when there was a dearth of salt in Russia, Prochorus distributed ashes to the people for salt. The ashes that he distributed with his blessing became salt; ashes, however, that anyone took for himself remained ordinary ashes. Prince Svyatopolk ordered that all the ashes from Prochorus’ cell be brought to the court without his permission, let alone his blessing. When the ashes were brought there, it was obvious to everyone that they were ashes and not salt. Then Prochorus told all the people who came to him for salt to go to the prince’s court, and, when the prince threw the ashes away, to take them and use them as salt. This they did, and the ashes again became salt. The prince himself, learning of this, was filled with a deep respect and love for him and, when Prochorus died in 1107, placed him with his own hands in a grave near the great Russian saints, Antony and Theodosius.” (Prologue).