Lenten Lectionary: The First Week

Monday in the First Week - At the Sixth Hour

Reader: The Troparion of the Prophecy, 5^th Tone:

Choir: O Lord, O Lord, at the presence of Whose power all things do fear and tremble: we fall down before Thee, O Immortal One; we pray to Thee O Holy One: Save our souls, through the intercessions of Thy saints.

Glory… Both Now… And the choir repeats the Troparion

Reader: The Prokeimenon, Psalm 1, in the 4^th Tone: The Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, and the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Choir: (repeats the Prokeimenon)

Reader: Stichos: Blessed is the man that hath not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners.

Choir: (repeats the Prokeimenon)

Reader: (sings the first half of the Prokeimenon)

Choir: (finishes the Prokeimenon)

Is 1:1-20

Reader:  The vision which Esaias the son of Amos saw, which he saw against Juda and against Jerusalem, in the reign of Ozias, and Joatham, and Achaz, and Ezekias, who reigned over Judea. 2. Hear, O heaven, and hearken, O earth: for the Lord has spoken, saying, I have begotten and reared up children, but they have rebelled against me. 3. The ox knows his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel does not know me, and the people has not regarded me. 4. Ah sinful nation, a people full of sins, an evil seed, lawless children: ye have forsaken the Lord, and provoked the Holy One of Israel. 5. Why should ye be smitten any more, transgressing more and more? The whole head is pained, and the whole heart sad. 6. From the feet to the head, there is no soundness in them; neither wound, nor bruise, nor festering ulcer are healed: it is not possible to apply a plaster, nor oil, nor bandages. 7. Your land is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is made desolate, overthrown by strange nations. 8. The daughter of Sion shall be deserted as a tent in a vineyard, and as a storehouse of fruits in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. 9. And if the Lord of Sabaoth had not left us a seed, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been made like to Gomorrha. 10. Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom: attend to the law of God, thou people of Gomorrha. 11. Of what value to me is the abundance of your sacrifices? saith the Lord: I am full of whole-burnt-offerings of rams; and I delight not in the fat of lambs, and the blood of bulls and goats. 12. Neither shall ye come with these to appear before me; for who has required these things at your hands? Ye shall no more tread my court. 13. Though ye bring fine flour, it is vain; incense is an abomination to me; I cannot bear your new moons, and sabbaths, and the great day; 14. Your fasting, and rest from work, your new moons also, and your feasts my soul hates: ye have become loathsome to me; I will no more pardon your sins. 15. When ye stretch forth your hands, I will turn away mine eyes from you: and though ye make many supplications, I will not hearken to you; for your hands are full of blood. 16. Wash yourselves, and ye shall be clean; put away the wicked ways from your souls before mine eyes; cease to do evil; 17. learn to do well; diligently seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, consider the fatherless, and plead for the widow. 18. Come then, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: and though your sins be as scarlet, I will make them white as snow; and though they be red like crimson, I will make them white as wool. 19. If then ye be willing, and obedient unto Me, ye shall eat the good of the land; 20. but if ye desire not, nor will obey me, the sword shall devour you, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.

Reader: The Prokeimenon, Psalm 2, in the 7^th tone: Serve ye the lord with fear, and rejoice in him with trembling.

Choir: (repeats the Prokeimenon)

Reader: Stichos: Why have the heathen raged, and the peoples meditated empty things?

Choir: (repeats the Prokeimenon)

Reader: (sings the first half of the Prokeimenon)

Choir: (finishes the Prokeimenon)

Monday in First Week - At Vespers

Reader: The Prokeimenon, Psalm 3, in the Sixth Tone: Salvation is of the Lord, and Thy blessing is upon Thy people.

Stichos: O Lord, why are they multiplied that afflict me?

Gen 1:1-13

Reader:  1. In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth. 2. But the earth was unsightly and unfurnished and darkness was over the deep, and the Spirit of God moved over the water. 3. And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. 4. And God saw the light that it was good, and God divided between the light and the darkness. 5. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night, and there was evening and there was morning, the first day. 6. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water, and let it be a division between water and water, and it was so. 7. And God made the firmament, and God divided between the water which was under the firmament and the water which was above the firmament. 8. And God called the firmament Heaven, and God saw that it was good, and there was evening and there was morning, the second day. 9. And God said, Let the water which is under the heaven be collected into one place, and let the dry land appear, and it was so. And the water which was under the heaven was collected into its places, and the dry land appeared. 10. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gatherings of the waters he called Seas, and God saw that it was good. 11. And God said, Let the earth bring forth the herb of grass bearing seed according to its kind and according to its likeness, and the fruit-tree bearing fruit whose seed in it, according to its kind on the earth, and it was so. 12. And the earth brought forth the herb of grass bearing seed according to its kind and according to its likeness, and the fruit tree bearing fruit whose seed is in it, according to its kind on the earth, and God saw that it was good. 13. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

Reader: The Prokeimenon, Psalm 4, in the Fifth Tone: the Lord will hearken unto me when I cry unto Him.

Stichos: When I called upon Thee, O God of my righteousness, Thou didst hearken unto me.

Prov 1:1-20

Reader: 1. The Proverbs of Solomon son of David, who reigned in Israel; 2. to know wisdom and instruction, and to perceive words of understanding; 3. to receive also hard sayings, and to understand true justice, and how to direct judgment; 4. that he might give subtlety to the simple, and to the young man discernment and understanding. 5. For by the hearing of these a wise man will be wiser, and the man of understanding will gain direction; 6. and will understand a parable, and a dark speech; the sayings of the wise also, and riddles. 7. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and there is good understanding to all that practice it: and piety toward God is the beginning of discernment; but the ungodly will set at nought wisdom and instruction. 8. Hear, my son, the instruction of thy father, and reject not the rules of thy mother. 9. For thou shalt receive for thine head a crown of graces, and a chain of gold round thy neck. 10. My son, let not ungodly men lead thee astray, neither consent thou to them. 11. If they should exhort thee, saying, Come with us, partake in blood, and let us unjustly hide the just man in the earth: 12. and let us swallow him alive, as Hades would, and remove the memorial of him from the earth: 13. let us seize on his valuable property, and let us fill our houses with spoils: 14. but do thou cast in thy lot with us, and let us all provide a common purse, and let us have one pouch: 15. go not in the way with them, but turn aside thy foot from their paths: 17. for nets are not without cause spread for birds. 18. For they that are concerned in murder store up evils for themselves; and the overthrow of transgressors is evil. 19. These are the ways of all that perform lawless deeds; for by ungodliness they destroy their own life. 20. Wisdom sings aloud in passages, and in the broad places speaks boldly.

Tuesday in the First Week - At the Sixth Hour

Reader: The Troparion of the Prophecy, 1^st Tone:

Choir:  For we are strangers on the earth, as were all our fathers; keep our short life without sin, O our Savior, and have mercy on us, as the lover of mankind.

Choir: Glory... Both Now… And the choir repeats the Troparion

Reader: The Prokeimenon, Psalm 5, in the 4^th tone:

Attend unto the voice of my supplication, O my king and my God.

Stichos: Unto my words give ear, O Lord; hear my cry.

Is. 1:19-2:3

Reader: THUS SAITH THE LORD: 19. And if ye be willing, and hearken to me, ye shall eat the good of the land: 20. but if ye be not willing, nor hearken to me, a sword shall devour you: for the mouth of the Lord has spoken this. 21. How has the faithful city Sion, once full of judgment, become a harlot! Wherein righteousness lodged, but now murderers. 22. Your silver is worthless; thy wine merchants mix the wine with water. 23. Thy princes are rebellious, companions of thieves, loving bribes, seeking after rewards; not pleading for orphans, and not heeding the cause of widows. 24. Therefore thus saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts, Woe to the mighty men of Israel; for my wrath shall not cease against mine adversaries, and I will execute judgment on mine enemies. 25. And I will bring my hand upon thee, and purge thee completely, and I will destroy the rebellious, and will take away from thee all transgressors. 26. And I will establish thy judges as before, and thy counselors as at the beginning: and afterward thou shalt be called the city of righteousness, the faithful mother city Sion. 27. For her captives shall be saved with judgment, and with mercy. 28. And the transgressors and the sinners shall be crushed together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be utterly consumed. 29. For they shall be ashamed of their idols, which they delighted in, and they are made ashamed of the gardens which they coveted. 30. For they shall be as a turpentine tree that has cast its leaves, and as a garden that has no water. 31. And their strength shall be as a thread of tow, and their works as sparks, and transgressors and the sinners shall be burnt up together, and there shall be none to quench them. 1. The vision which Esaias the son of Amos saw, which he saw against Juda and against Jerusalem, in the reign of Ozias, and Joatham, and Achaz, and Ezekias, who reigned over Judea. 2. For in the last days, the mountain of the Lord shall be glorious and the house of the Lord shall be on the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall come to it. 3. And many nations shall go and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will tell us His way, and we will walk therein.

Reader: The Prokeimenon, Psalm 6, in the 4^th Tone: O Lord, rebuke me not in Thine anger.

Stichos: Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak.

Tuesday in the First Week - At Vespers

Reader: The Prokeimenon, Psalm 7, in the 6^th Tone: O Lord my God, in Thee have I put my hope, save me.

Stichos: From all them that persecute me, deliver me.

Gen 1:14-23

Reader: 14. And, God said Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, to divide between day and night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and for years. 15. And let them be for light in the firmament of the heaven, so as to shine upon the earth, and it was so. 16. And God made the two great lights, the greater light for regulating the day and the lesser light for regulating the night, the stars also. 17. And God placed them in the firmament of the heaven, so as to shine upon the earth, 18. and to regulate day and night, and to divide between the light and the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. 20. And God said, Let the waters bring forth reptiles having life and winged creatures flying above the earth in the firmament of heaven, and it was so. 21. And God made great whales, and every living reptile, which the waters brought forth according to their kinds, and every creature that flies with wings according to its kind, and God saw that they were good. 22. And God blessed them, saying, Increase and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let the creatures that fly be multiplied on the earth. 23. And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

Reader: The Prokeimenon, Psalm 8, in the 5^th Tone: O Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is Thy name in all the earth.

Stichos: For Thy magnificence is lifted high above the heavens.

Prov 1:20-33

Reader: 20. Wisdom sings aloud in passages, and in the broad places speaks boldly. 21. And she makes proclamation on the top of the walls, and sits by the gates of princes; and at the gates of the city boldly says, 22. So long as the simple cleave to justice, they shall not be ashamed: but the foolish being lovers of haughtiness, having become ungodly, have hated knowledge, and are become subject to reproofs. 23. Behold, I will bring forth to you the utterance of my breath, and I will instruct you in my speech. 24. Since I called, and ye did not hearken; and I spoke at length, and ye gave no heed; 25. but ye set at nought my counsels, and disregarded my reproofs; 26. therefore I also will laugh at our destruction; and I will rejoice against you when ruin comes upon you: 27. yea when dismay suddenly comes upon you, and your overthrow shall arrive like a tempest; and when tribulation and distress shall come upon you, or when ruin shall come upon you. 28. For it shall be that when ye call upon me, I will not hearken to you: wicked men shall seek me, but shall not find me. 29. For they hated wisdom, and did not choose the word of the Lord: 30. neither would they attend to my counsels, but derided my reproofs. 31. Therefore shall they eat the fruits of their own way, and shall be filled with their own ungodliness. 32. For because they wronged the simple, they shall be slain; and an inquisition shall ruin the ungodly. 33. But he that hearkens to me shall dwell in confidence, and shall rest securely from all evil.

Wednesday in the First Week - At the Sixth Hour

Reader: The Troparion of the Prophecy, 4th Tone:

Choir: Thou knowest our frame, thou knowest our weakness, O Lover of mankind; we have sinned, but have not turned away from Thee, O God, nor have we stretched out our hands to a strange god. Spare us in Thy goodness, O Compassionate One.

Glory... Both Now… And the choir repeats the Troparion

Reader: The Prokeimenon, Psalm 9, in the 4^th Tone: I will confess thee, O Lord, with my whole heart.

Stichos: I will be glad and rejoice in Thee.

Is 2:3-11

Reader: And many nations shall go and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will tell us his way, and we will walk in it: for out of Sion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord out of Jerusalem. 4. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plough-shares, and their spears into sickles: and nation shall not take up sword against nation, neither shall they learn to war any more. 5. And now, 0 house of Jacob, come, and let us walk in the light of the Lord. 6. For he has forsaken his people the house of Israel, because their land is filled as at the beginning with divinations, as the land of the Philistines, and many strange children were born to them. 7. For their land is filled with silver and gold, and there was no number of their treasures; their land also is filled with horses, and there was no number of their chariots. 8. And the land is filled with abominations, even the works of their hands; and they have worshipped the works which their fingers made. 9. And the mean man bowed down, and the great man was humbled: and I will not pardon them. 10. Now therefore enter ye into the rocks, and hide yourselves in 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. 11. For 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.

Reader: The Prokeimenon, Psalm 10, in the 6^th Tone: the Lord is righteous and hath loved righteousness; upon uprightness hath His countenance looked.

Stichos: In the Lord have I hoped; how will ye say to my soul.

Wednesday in the First Week - At Vespers

Reader: The Prokeimenon, Psalm 11, in the 5^th Tone: Thou, O Lord, shalt keep us and shalt preserve us from this generation, and for evermore.  

Stichos: Save me, O Lord, for a righteous man there is no more.

Gen 1:24 - 2:3

Reader: 24. And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind, quadrupeds and reptiles and wild beasts of the earth according to their kind, and it was so. 25. And God made the wild beasts of the earth according to their kind, and cattle according to their kind, and all the reptiles of the earth according to their kind, and God saw that they were good. 26. And God said, Let us make man according to our image and likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the flying creatures of heaven, and over the cattle and all the earth, and over all the reptiles that creep on the earth. 27. And God made man, according to the image of God he made him, male and female he made them. 28. And God blessed them, saying, Increase and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the seas and flying creatures of heaven, and all the cattle and the earth, and all the reptiles that creep on the earth. 29. And God said, Behold I have given to you every seed bearing herb sowing seed which is upon all the earth, and every tree which has in itself the fruit of seed that is sown, to you it shall be for food. 30. And to all the wild beasts of the earth, and to all the flying creatures of heaven and to every reptile creeping on the earth, which has in itself the breath of life, even every green plant for food; and it was so. 31. And God saw all the things that he had made, and, behold, they were very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. 1. And the heavens and the earth were finished, and the whole world of them. 2. And God finished on the sixth day his works which he made, and he ceased on the seventh day from all his works which he made. 3. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it he ceased from all his works which God began to do.

Reader: The Prokeimenon, Psalm 12, in the 6^th Tone: Look upon me, hear me, O Lord my God.

Stichos: How long, O Lord, wilt Thou utterly forget me? How long wilt Thou turn Thy face away from me?

Prov 2:1-22

Reader: 1. My son, if thou wilt receive the utterance of my commandment, and hide it with thee; 2. thine ear shall hearken to wisdom; thou shalt also apply thine heart to understanding, and shalt apply it to the instruction of thy son. 3. For if thou shalt call to wisdom, and utter thy voice for understanding; 4. and if thou shalt seek it as silver, and search diligently for it as for treasures; 5. then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. 6. For the Lord gives wisdom; and from his presence come knowledge and understanding, 7. and he treasures up salvation for them that walk uprightly: he will protect their way; 8. that he may guard the righteous way: and he will preserve the way of them that fear him. 9. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment; and shalt direct all thy course aright. 10. For if wisdom shall come into thine understanding, and discernment shall seem pleasing to thy soul, 11. good counsel shall guard thee, and holy understanding shall keep thee; 12. to deliver thee from the evil way, and from the man that speaks nothing faithfully. 13. Alas for those who forsake right paths, to walk in ways of darkness; 14. who rejoice in evils, and delight in wicked perverseness; 15. whose paths are crooked, and their courses winding; 16. to remove thee far from the straight way, and to estrange thee from a righteous purpose. My son, let not evil counsel overtake thee, 17. of her who has forsaken the instruction of her youth, and forgotten the covenant of God. 18. For she has fixed her house near death, and guided her wheels near Hades with the giants. 19. None that go by her shall return, neither shall they take hold of right paths, for they are not apprehended of the years of life. 20. For had they gone in good paths, they would have found the paths of righteousness easy. 21. For the upright shall dwell in the earth, and the holy shall be left behind in it. 22. The paths of the ungodly shall perish out of the earth, and transgressors shall be driven away from it.

Thursday in the First Week - At the Sixth Hour

Reader: The Troparion of the Prophecy, 1st Tone:

Choir: From enemies visible and invisible deliver us, O Lord, lest haply the heathen say: Where is their God? Let them understand, O Master, that Thou disregardest the sins of Thy people that repent.

Glory... Both Now… And the choir repeats the Troparion

Reader: The Prokeimenon, Psalm 13 in the 1^st Tone: When the Lord hath turned back the captivity of His people.

Stichos: The fool hath said in his heart: there is no God.

Is 2:11-21

Reader: 11. For 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. 12. For 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; 13. and upon every cedar of Libanus, of them that are high and towering, and upon every oak of Basan, 14. and upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, 15. and upon every high tower, and upon every high wall, 16. and upon every ship of the sea, and upon every display of fine ships. 17. And every man shall be brought low, and the pride of men shall fall: and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. 18. And they shall hide all idols made with hands, 19. having 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. 20. For in that day a man shall cast forth his silver and gold abominations, which they made in order to worship vanities and bats; 21. to 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.

Reader: The Prokeimenon, Psalm 14 in the 4^th Tone: O Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle?  

Stichos: He that walketh blameless and worketh righteousness.

Thursday in the First Week - At Vespers

Reader: The Prokeimenon, Psalm 15, in the 4^th Tone: I will bless the Lord Who hath given me understanding.

Stichos: Keep me, O Lord, for in Thee have I hoped.

Gen 2:4-19

Reader: 4. This 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, 5. and 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. 6. But there rose a fountain out of the earth, and watered the whole face of the earth. 7. And 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. 8. And God planted a garden eastward in Edem, and placed there the man whom he formed. 9. And 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. 10. And a river proceeds out of Edem to water the garden, thence it divides itself into four heads. 11. The name of the one, Phisom, this it is which encircles the whole land of Evilat, where there is gold. 12. And the gold of that land is good, there also is carbuncle and emerald. 13. And the name of the second river is Geon, this it is which encircles the whole land of Ethiopia. 14. And the third river is Tigris, this is that which flows forth over against the Assyrians. And the fourth river is Euphrates. 15. And the Lord God took the man whom he had formed, and placed him in the garden of Delight, to cultivate and keep it. 16. And the Lord God gave a charge to Adam, saying, Of every tree which is in the garden thou mayest freely eat, 17. but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil -- of it ye shall not eat, but in whatsoever day ye eat of it, ye shall surely die. 18. And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone, let us make for him a help suitable to him. 19. And 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.

Reader: The Prokeimenon, Psalm 16, in the 4^th Tone: Keep me, O Lord, as the apple of Thine eye.

Stichos: Hearken O Lord, unto my righteousness.

Prov 3:1-18

Reader: 1. My son, forget not my laws; but let thine heart keep my words: 2. for length of existence, and years of life, and peace, shall they add to thee. 3. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee; but bind them about thy neck: 4. so shalt thou find favor: and do thou provide things honest in the sight of the Lord, and of men. 5. Trust in God with all thine heart; and be not exalted in thine own wisdom. 6. In all thy ways acquaint thyself with her, that she may rightly direct thy paths. 7. Be not wise in thine own conceit; but fear God, and depart from all evil. 8. Then shall there be health to thy body, and good keeping to thy bones. 9. Honor the Lord with thy just labors, and give him the first of thy fruits of righteousness: 10. that thy storehouses may be completely filled with corn, and that thy presses may burst forth with wine. 11. My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 12. for whom the Lord loves, he rebukes, and scourges every son whom he receives. 13. Blessed is the man who has found wisdom, and the mortal who knows prudence. 14. For it is better to traffic for her, than for treasures of gold and silver. 15. And 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. 16. For 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. 17. Her ways are good ways, and all her paths are peaceful. 18. She 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.

Friday in the First Week - At the Sixth Hour

Reader: The Troparion of the Prophecy, 5th Tone:

Choir: Our greatly sinful life and unrepentant disposition do thou forestall through thy compassion, O Lord; beside Thee we know none other, O thou that has dominion over life and death: save us, as Thou art the lover of mankind.

Glory... Both Now… And the choir repeats the Troparion

Reader: The Prokeimenon, Psalm 17, in the 7^th tone:

I will love thee, O Lord, my strength; in the Lord is my foundation.

Is 3:1-14

Reader: 1. Behold now, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, will take away from Jerusalem and from Judea the mighty man and mighty woman, the strength of bread, and the strength of water, 2. the great and mighty man, the warrior and the judge and the prophet, and the counselor, and the elder, 3. the captain of fifty also, and the honorable counselor, and the wise artificer, and the intelligent hearer. 4. And I will make youths their princes, and mockers shall have dominion over them. 5. And the people shall fall, man upon man, and every man upon his neighbor: the child shall insult the elder man, and the base the honorable. 6. For a man shall lay hold of his brother, as one of his father's household, saying, Thou hast raiment, be thou our ruler, and let my victuals be under thee. 7. And he shall answer in that day, and say, I will not be thy ruler; for I have no bread in my house, nor raiment: I will not be the ruler of this people. 8. For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judea has fallen, and their tongues have spoken with iniquity, disobedient as they are towards the Lord. 9. Wherefore now their glory has been brought low, and the shame of their countenance has withstood them, and they have proclaimed their sin as Sodom, and made it manifest. 10. Woe to their soul, for they have devised an evil counsel against themselves, saying against themselves, Let us bind the just, for he is burdensome to us: therefore shall they eat the fruits of their works. 11. Woe to the transgressor! Evils shall happen to him according to the works of his hands. 12. O my people, your exactors strip you, and extortioners rule over you: 0 my people, they that pronounce you blessed lead you astray, and pervert the path of your feet. 13. But now the Lord will stand up for judgment, and will enter into judgment with his people. 14. The Lord himself shall enter into judgment with the elders of the people, and with their rulers: but why have ye set my vineyard on fire, and why is the spoil of the poor in your houses?

Reader: The Prokeimenon, Psalm 18, in the 6^th tone: O Lord my helper and my redeemer.

Stichos: The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaimeth the work of Thy hands.

Friday in the First Week - At Vespers

Reader: The Prokeimenon, Psalm 19, in the 5^th Tone: The Lord hear thee in the day of affliction.

Stichos: The name of the God of Jacob defend thee.

Gen 2:20 - 3:20

Reader: 20. And Adam gave names to all the cattle and to all the birds of the sky, and to all the wild beasts of the field, but for Adam there was not found a help like unto himself. 21. And God brought a trance upon Adam, and he slept, and he took one of his ribs, and filled up the flesh instead thereof. 22. And God formed the rib which he took from Adam into a woman, and brought her to Adam. 23. And Adam said, This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of her husband. 24. Therefore shall a man leave his father, and his mother and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 1. And the two were naked both Adam and his wife, and were not ashamed. 2. Now the serpent was the most crafty of all the brutes on the earth, which the Lord God made, and the serpent said to the woman, Wherefore has God said, Eat not of every tree of the garden? 3. And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, 4. but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God said ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 5. And the serpent said to the woman, ye shall not surely die. 6. For God knew that in whatever day ye should eat of it your eyes would be opened, and ye would be as gods, knowing good and evil. 7. And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes to look upon and beautiful to contemplate and having taken of its fruit she ate, and she gave to her husband also with her, and they ate. 8. And the eyes of both were opened, and they perceived that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons to go round them. 9. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the afternoon; and both Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord God in the midst of the trees of the garden. 10. And the Lord God called Adam and said to him, Adam, where art thou? 11. And he said to him, I heard thy voice as thou walkedst in the garden, and I feared because I was naked and I hid myself. 12. And God said to him, Who told thee that thou wast naked, unless thou hast eaten of the tree concerning which I charged thee of it alone not to eat? 13. And Adam said, the woman whom thou gavest to be with me -- she gave me of the tree and I ate. 14. And the Lord God said to the woman, why hast thou done this? And the woman said, the serpent deceived me and I ate. 15. And the Lord God said to the serpent, Because thou hast done this thou art cursed above all cattle and all the brutes of the earth on thy breast and belly thou shalt go, and thou shalt eat earth all the days of thy life. 16. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed, he shall watch against thy head, and thou shalt watch against his heel. 17. And to the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy pains and thy groanings; in pain thou shalt bring forth children, and thy submission shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. 18. And to Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and eaten of the tree concerning which I charged thee of it only not to eat -- of that thou hast eaten, cursed is the ground in thy labors, in pain shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. 19. Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. 20. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread until thou return to the earth out of which thou wast taken, for earth thou art and to earth thou shalt return.

Reader: The Prokeimenon, Psalm 20, in the 6^th Tone: Be Thou exalted, O Lord, in Thy strength; we will sing and chant of Thy mighty acts.

Stichos: O Lord, in Thy strength the King shall be glad.

Prov 3:19-34

Reader: 19. God by wisdom founded the earth, and by prudence he prepared the heavens. 20. By understanding were the depths broken up, and the clouds dropped water. 21. My son, let them not pass from thee, but keep my counsel and understanding: 22. that thy soul may live, and that there may be grace round thy neck; and it shall be health to thy flesh, and safety to thy bones: 23. that thou mayest go confidently in peace in all thy ways, and that thy foot may not stumble. 24. For if thou rest, thou shalt be undismayed; and if thou sleep, thou shalt slumber sweetly. 25. And thou shalt not be afraid of alarm coming upon thee, neither of approaching attacks of ungodly men. 26. For the Lord shall be over all thy ways, and shall establish thy foot that thou be not moved. 27. Forbear not to do good to the poor, whensoever thy hand may have power to help him. 28. Say not, Come back another time, to-morrow I will give; while thou art able to do him good: for thou knowest not what the next day will bring forth. 29. Devise not evil against thy friend, living near thee and trusting in thee. 30. Be not ready to quarrel with a man without a cause, lest he do thee some harm. 31. Procure not the reproaches of bad men, neither do thou covet their ways. 32. For every transgressor is unclean before the Lord; neither does he sit among the righteous. 33 .The curse of God is in the houses of the ungodly; but the habitations of the just are blessed. 34. The Lord resists the proud; but he gives grace to the humble.

Lenten Lectionary.

Old Testament Readings from the Septuagint.

New Testament readings from the King James Version.

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