1And it came to pass in the days of Achaz the son of Joatham, the son of Ozias, king of Juda, there came up Rasim king of Aram, and Phakee son of Romelias, king of Israel, against Jerusalem to war against it, but they could not take it.
2And a message was brought to the house of David, saying, Aram has conspired with Ephraim. And his soul was amazed, and the soul of his people, as in a wood a tree is moved by the wind.
3And the Lord said to Esaias, Go forth to meet Achaz, you, and your son Jasub who is left, to the pool of the upper way of the fuller's field.
4And you shall say to him, Take care to be quiet, and fear not, neither let your soul be disheartened because of these two smoking firebrands: for when my fierce anger is over, I will heal again.
5And as for the son of Aram, and the son of Romelias, forasmuch as they have devised an evil counsel, saying,
6We will go up against Judea, and having conferred with them we will turn them away to our side, and we will make the son of Tabeel king of it;
7thus says the Lord of hosts, This counsel shall not abide, nor come to pass.
8But the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus, Rasim; and yet within sixty and five years the kingdom of Ephraim shall cease from being a people.
9And the head of Ephraim is Somoron, and the head of Somoron the son of Romelias: but if you⌃ believe not, neither will you⌃ at all understand.
10And the Lord again spoke to Achaz, saying,
11Ask for yourself a sign of the Lord your God, in the depth or in the height.
12And Achaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord.
13And he said, Hear you⌃ now, O house of David; is it a little thing for you to contend with men? and how do you⌃ contend against the Lord?
14Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Emmanuel.
Genesis 5.32-6.8 (Vespers)
1And Noe was five hundred years old, and he begot three sons, Sem, Cham, and Japheth. And it came to pass when men began to be numerous upon the earth, and daughters were born to them,
2that the sons of God having seen the daughters of men that they were beautiful, took to themselves wives of all whom they chose.
3And the Lord God said, My Spirit shall certainly not remain among these men for ever, because they are flesh, but their days shall be one hundred and twenty years.
4Now the giants were upon the earth in those days; and after that when the sons of God were wont to go in to the daughters of men, they bore children to them, those were the giants of old, the men of renown.
5And the Lord God, having seen that the wicked actions of men were multiplied upon the earth, and that every one in his heart was intently brooding over evil continually,
6then God laid it to heart that he had made man upon the earth, and he pondered it deeply.
7And God said, I will blot out man whom I have made from the face of the earth, even man with cattle, and reptiles with flying creatures of the sky, for I am grieved that I have made them.
8But Noe found grace before the Lord God.
Proverbs 6.20-7.1 (Vespers)
20My son, keep the laws of your father, and reject not the ordinances of your mother:
21but bind them upon your soul continually, and hang them as a chain about your neck.
22Whenever you walk, lead this along and let it be with you; that it may talk with you when you wake.
23For the commandment of the law is a lamp and a light; a way of life; reproof also and correction:
24to keep you continually from a married woman, and from the calumny of a strange tongue.
25Let not the desire of beauty overcome you, neither be you caught by your eyes, neither be captivated with her eyelids.
26For the value of a harlot is as much as of one loaf; and a woman hunts for the precious souls of men.
27Shall any one bind fire in his bosom, and not burn his garments?
28or will any one walk on coals of fire, and not burn his feet?
29So is he that goes in to a married woman; he shall not be held guiltless, neither any one that touches her.
30It is not to be wondered at if one should be taken stealing, for he steals that when hungry he may satisfy his soul:
31but if he should be taken, he shall repay sevenfold, and shall deliver himself by giving all his goods.
32But the adulterer through lack of sense procures destruction to his soul.
33He endures both pain and disgrace, and his reproach shall never be wiped off.
34For the soul of her husband is full of jealousy: he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
35He will not forego his enmity for any ransom: neither will he be reconciled for many gifts.
1My son, keep my words, and hide with you my commandments. My son, honor the Lord, and you shall be strong; and fear none but him:
Commemorations
Martyr Quadratus and Companions
‘In a time of persecution of Christians, many of the faithful fled to the mountains and caves. The mother of this Codratus did so. She was pregnant at that time, and gave birth to Codratus in a forest, dying almost at once. He was kept safe and fed by the providence of God and his guardian angel. Codratus grew up in solitude with nature. He who gave manna from heaven to the Israelites in the wilderness released a sweet dew from a cloud onto the mouth of the child Codratus. When he was twelve years old, he went down to the town, and there some good people took a fancy to him and educated him. He studied medicine and then began to heal the sick, using both natural medicines and, more importantly, the spiritual power and prayer which had been with him from childhood. When a new persecution arose under Decius, Codratus was taken for trial and thrown into prison. Five of his friends stood beside him and confessed the name of Christ. They were: Cyprian, Dionysius, Anectus, Paul and Crescens. They were all dragged through the streets and struck with sticks and stones by the unbelievers, especially by the children, until they arrived at the scaffold. Here the martyrs prayed to God and were beheaded with the sword. A spring of water gushed out onto the earth at the spot, which to this day is called by Codratus’ name and commemorates the heroic death for Christ of the holy six. They suffered with honour for the truth in Corinth in the year 250, in the time of the Emperor Decius and his governor Jason.’ (Prologue)
Our Holy Mother Anastasia (563)
She was a noble lady at the Imperial court under the Emperor Justinian and his wife Theodora. But when she was widowed she left Constantinople and all her privileges behind and fled to the Egyptian desert. There Abba Daniel tonsured her and, at her request, presented her to the brethren as the eunuch Anastasius, so that she might avoid discovery by imperial investigators. She closed herself in a small cell, where she spent twenty-eight years in prayer and askesis. Shortly before her death, her elder Daniel saw her face shining like the sun.