21For, behold, the Lord is bringing wrath from his holy place upon the dwellers on the earth: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall not cover her slain.
1In that day God shall bring his holy and great and strong sword upon the dragon, even the serpent that flees, upon the dragon, the crooked serpent: he shall destroy the dragon.
2In that day there shall be a fair vineyard, and a desire to commence a song concerning it.
3I am a strong city, a city in a siege: in vain shall I water it; for it shall be taken by night, and by day the wall shall fall.
4There is no woman that has not taken hold of it; who will set me to watch stubble in the field? because of this enemy I have set her aside; therefore on this account the Lord has done all that he appointed.
5I am burnt up; they that dwell in her shall cry, Let us make peace with him, let us make peace,
6they that are coming are the children of Jacob. Israel shall bud and blossom, and the world shall be filled with his fruit.
7Shall he himself be thus struck, even as he struck? and as he killed, shall he be thus slain?
8Fighting and reproaching he will dismiss them; did you not meditate with a harsh spirit, to kill them with a wrathful spirit?
9Therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be taken away; and this is his blessing, when I shall have taken away his sin; when they shall have broken to pieces all the stones of the altars as fine dust, and their trees shall not remain, and their idols shall be cut off, as a thicket afar off.
Genesis 9.18-10.1 (Vespers)
18Now the sons of Noe which came out of the ark, were Sem, Cham, Japheth. And Cham was father of Chanaan.
19These three are the sons of Noe, of these were men scattered over all the earth.
20And Noe began to be a husbandman, and he planted a vineyard.
21And he drank of the wine, and was drunk, and was naked in his house.
22And Cham the father of Chanaan saw the nakedness of his father, and he went out and told his two brothers without.
23And Sem and Japheth having taken a garment, put it on both their backs and went backwards, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their face was backward, and they saw not the nakedness of their father.
24And Noe recovered from the wine, and knew all that his younger son had done to him.
25And he said, Cursed be the servant Chanaan, a slave shall he be to his brethren.
26And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Sem, and Chanaan shall be his bond-servant.
27May God make room for Japheth, and let him dwell in the habitations of Sem, and let Chanaan be his servant.
28And Noe lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.
29And all the days of Noe were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died.
1Now these are the generations of the sons of Noe, Sem, Cham, Japheth; and sons were born to them after the flood.
Proverbs 12.23-13.9 (LXX) (Vespers)
23An understanding man is a throne of wisdom; but the heart of fools shall meet with curses.
24The hand of chosen men shall easily obtain rule; but the deceitful shall be for a prey.
25A terrible word troubles the heart of a righteous man; but a good message rejoices him.
26A just arbitrator shall be his own friend; but mischief shall pursue sinners; and the way of ungodly men shall lead them astray.
27A deceitful man shall catch no game; but a blameless man is a precious possession.
28In the ways of righteousness is life; but the ways of those that remember injuries lead to death.
1A wise son is obedient to his father: but a disobedient son will be destroyed.
2A good man shall eat of the fruits of righteousness: but the lives of transgressors shall perish before their time.
3He that keeps his own mouth keeps his own life: but he that is hasty with his lips shall bring terror upon himself.
4Every slothful man desires, but the hands of the active are diligent.
5A righteous man hates an unjust word: but an ungodly man is ashamed, and will have no confidence.
7There are some who, having nothing, enrich themselves: and there are some who bring themselves down in the midst of much wealth.
8A man's own wealth is the ransom of his life: but the poor endures not threatening.
9The righteous always have light: but the light of the ungodly is quenched. Crafty souls go astray in sins: but just men pity, and are merciful.
Commemorations
Hieromartyr Theodotus, Bishop of Cyrenia
Known for his wisdom and virtue, he was chosen as Bishop of Cyrenia on the island of Cyprus. When a persecution broke out against the Christians under the Emperor Licinius, Theodotus was arrested and subjected to many tortures. His torturer Sabinus urged him repeatedly to renounce Christ and worship the idols, but Theodotus replied, ‘If you knew the goodness of my God, who, it is my hope, will by these brief tortures make me worthy of eternal life, you would wish to suffer for Him as I do.’ The pagans then drove nails into his body, for which he thanked God. Believing that his death was approaching, he calmly gave counsel and instruction to the Christians around him. By God’s providence, an order came from the new Emperor Constantine to free all Christians who were being held for the sake of Christ. Thus Theodotus was freed and, though greatly weakened by his torments, served his flock faithfully for two more years before reposing in peace.
The Four Hundred and Forty Martyrs of Lombardy (579)
Forty of them were beheaded in one place in Lombardy (in Italy) because they refused to eat food offered to idols. Another four hundred were massacred because they refused to join with the Lombard pagans’ practice of dancing around a goat’s head that had been brought for sacrifice to the idols. Their deaths are recorded by St Gregory the Dialogist (Gregory the Great).
We sometimes imagine that the Roman Empire converted almost overnight to Christianity during the reign of St Constantine the Great. This incident, more than two hundred years into Europe’s ‘Christian era’, reminds us that the progress of the Faith among the people was often slow and halting, and that paganism remained a force for many centuries.
Holy Martyr Euthalia (257)
She was a pagan maiden living in Sicily with her mother (also named Euthalia) and her brother Sermilianus. When Euthalia’s mother became ill with an issue of blood, the holy martyrs Alphius, Philadelphus and Cyrinus (May 10) appeared to her in a dream and told her that she would only be healed if she were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Heeding the dream, she believed, was baptized, and was healed. Her daughter Euthalia, seeing this wonder, was also baptised. Sermilianus, despising and hating the Christian faith, first mocked his mother and sister for their conversion, then threatened them. The mother fled the house in fear. Euthalia remained, saying to her brother ‘I am a Christian, and have no fear of death.’ The cruel Sermilianus persecuted her more and more harshly until finally, enraged by the futility of his threats, he beheaded his own sister by his own hand, unknowingly procuring for her a crown of eternal glory. “And thus in this example were fulfilled the words of Christ that He was bringing a sword among men which would divide those of one blood but not those of one faith (Matt. 10:34-35).” (Prologue)