It is perhaps worth pointing out that translating the Septuagint for use in the Orthodox Church is an exacting task and cannot be achieved by taking an existing English version made from the Hebrew, such as the New King James Version, or even the New Revised Standard Version, and altering it where the manual edition of Rahlfs differs from it.

The Greek text frequently differs quite markedly from the Hebrew and this is particularly noticeable in the prophecies of Isaias and the book of Proverbs, both of which are used in Lent. For the latter we do not yet have a full critical edition. Moreover, the text in the Triodion sometimes differs from that in available editions of the Greek Bible. Furthermore the printed editions of the Triodion differ from time to time among themselves.

The Prokeimena that accompany the Lenten readings form a lectio continua of the Psalter, and it is the custom on the Holy Mountain to give out not only the Tone of the Prokeimenon, but also the number of the Psalm.

In English the only easily available version is that made by a pious evangelical English baronet in the nineteenth century. Unfortunately the Greek text from which he made his version is often not that used by the Church, and his version needs to be used with caution.

We sing the following troparion of the Prophecy, and after it we read the Prophecy. This we do throughout the holy Lent at the Trithekti.

Tone 5.

Lord, Lord, at whom all things quake and tremble before the face of your power, we fall down before you, O Immortal; we beseech you, Holy One: * Save our souls, at the prayers of your Saints.

Glory.

Save our souls, at the prayers of your Saints.

Both now.

Lord, Lord, at whom all things quake, and tremble before the face of your power; we fall down before you, O Immortal; we beseech you, Holy One: Save our souls, at the prayers of your Saints.

[In Athonite use the Troparion of the Prophecy is always said like this, with the last phrase only being repeated after ‘Glory’ and the whole after ‘Both now’.]

The Lord knows the way of the just, and the way of the ungodly will perish.

A Vision which Isaias, son of Amos, saw, which he saw against Judea and Jerusalem, in the reign of Ozias and Jotham and Achaz and Ezekias, who reigned over Judea. Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth, because the Lord has spoken. I begot children and exalted them, but they rejected me. An ox knows its owner, and an ass its lord’s manger; but Israel does not know me, and my people has not understood. Woe, sinful nation, people full of sins, evil seed, lawless children! You have deserted the Lord and angered the Holy One of Israel. Why would you still be smitten as you add iniquity to iniquity? The whole head is in pain and the whole heart in grief; from feet to head there is no wholeness, nothing but wound, bruise, festering sore; it is not possible to apply plaster, or oil, or bandages. Your land is desert, your cities destroyed by fire; as for your country foreigners devour it before your eyes, and it has become a desert, ravaged by foreign peoples. The daughter of Sion will be abandoned, like a tent in a vineyard and like a store house in cucumber patch, like a city besieged. And had the Lord of hosts not left us seed, we had become like Sodom and been made like Gomorrha. Hear the word of the Lord, rulers of Sodom. Attend to the law of God, people of Gomorrha. What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I am full of holocausts of rams, and the fat of rams and the blood of bulls and goats I do not want. You are not to come to appear to me; who sought these things from your hands? You shall no more come to trample my courts; if you bring flour it is vain; incense is an abomination to me. Your new moons and Sabbaths and high days I do not endure; fast and holiday and your feasts my soul hates; you have become a excess for me, I shall no longer forgive your sins. When you stretch out your hands to me, I shall turn away me eyes from you; and if you multiply supplication, I shall not listen to you; for your hands are full of blood. Wash and become clean; put away the evils from your souls; in my sight cease from your evils, learn to do good, seek out judgement, deliver the wronged, judge for the orphan and do justice to the widow. And come, let us reason together, says the Lord; and if your sins are as scarlet, I will make them white as snow, while if they are crimson, I will make them white as wool. And if you are willing and will listen to me, you eat the good things of the land; but if you are not willing, and will not listen to me, a sword devours you; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken this.

Prokeimenon. Tone 7. Psalm 2.

Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice at him with trembling.

Then the reading from the Ladder.

Prokeimenon of the Evening. Tone 6. Psalm 3.

Salvation is of the Lord, and your blessing upon your people.

Prokeimenon. Tone 5. Psalm 4.

The Lord will listen to me when I call upon him.

Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, who reigned in Israel, for knowing wisdom and instruction, understanding words of prudence, receiving difficulties of words, understanding true justice and directing judgement; that he might give cunning to the innocent, to a young man perception and understanding. For a wise man hearing these will be wiser, while the man of understanding will gain guidance; and will understand both parable and dark word, sayings of the wise and riddles. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord; while there is good understanding for all those who do it; true religion towards God is the beginning of perception; while the godless will reject wisdom and instruction. Hear, my son, your father’s instruction and do not reject your mother’s rules. For you will receive a crown of graces for your head and a golden collar about your neck. My son, do not let godless men lead you astray, nor be willing, if they invite you, saying: Come with us, partake of blood, let us hide unjustly a just man in the earth; let us drink him down living, like Hell, and remove his memory from the earth; and let us lay hold on his valuable property; let us fill our houses with spoils; cast in your lot with us, and let us all obtain a common purse, and let their be one wallet for us; do not go in the way with them; turn aside your foot from their paths; for their feet run to wickedness and are swift to shed blood. For nest are not unjustly spread for birds. For they share in murder, store up evils for themselves; the overthrow of lawless men is evil. These are the ways of all that accomplish lawless deeds, for by godlessness they do away with their own soul. Wisdom is praised in the streets, in the squares brings boldness.

Troparion of the Prophecy. Tone 1.

Because we are sojourners on earth, like all our fathers, keep the short space of our life sinless, our Saviour, * and have mercy on us, as you love humankind.

Prokeimenon. Tone 4. Psalm 5.

Attend to the voice of my supplication.

Prokeimenon. Tone 4. Psalm 6.

Lord, rebuke me not in your anger; nor chastise me in your wrath.

Prokeimenon of the Evening. Tone 5. Psalm 7.

Lord, my God, I have hoped in you.

God said: Let there be lamps in the firmament of heaven to give light on the earth, and to make a separation between the day and the night; and let them exist for signs and for seasons and for days and for years; and let them exist to give light in the firmament of heaven, so as to shine on the earth; and it was so. And God made the two great lamps, the great lamp to rule the day, and the lesser lamp to rule the night and the stars. And God placed them in the firmament of heaven so as to shine on the earth, and to rule the day and the night, and to make a separation between the light and the darkness; and God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. And god said: Let the waters bring forth reptiles of living souls, and winged creatures flying over the earth, under the firmament of heaven; and it was so. And God made the great whales, and every soul of living reptiles, which the waters brought forth according to their kind, and every winged flying creature according to its kind. And God saw that they were good; and God blessed them and said: Increase and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the winged creatures be multiplied upon the earth. And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

Prokeimenon. Tone 5. Psalm 8.

Lord, our Lord, how wondrous is your name in all the earth!

Wisdom is praised in the streets, in the squares brings boldness. On the tops of the walls she is proclaimed, in the gates of the mighty she takes her seat; at the gates of the city she boldly declares: For as long as the innocent hold to justice, they will not be shamed; while the foolish, being ones who desire conceit, becoming ungodly, have hated perception, and have become subject to reproofs. See, I shall bring forth for you the utterance of my breath, while I shall teach you my word. Since I was calling and you did not obey, and I spoke at length and you paid no attention; but you made my counsels of no effect, you paid no attention to my reproofs; therefore I too shall laugh at your destruction; I shall rejoice when annihilation comes upon you, and disturbance arrives suddenly for you, while overthrow will come like a tempest, and when trouble and siege comes to us; or when annihilation comes to you; for it shall be, when you call upon me, that I shall not listen to you; the wicked will seek me, and not find me. For they hated wisdom, while they did not choose the word of the Lord, nor did they wish to attend to my counsels; but they derided my reproofs. Therefore they eat the fruits of their own way, and will be filled with their own ungodliness. For in return for their wronging infants, they will be slain, and examination will destroy the ungodly. While one who hears me will dwell in hope and will be still, with no fear of any evil.

Troparion of the Prophecy. Tone 4.

You know what we are made of, you know our weakness, Lover of mankind; we have sinned, but we have not forsaken you, O God, nor have we stretched out our hands to a strange god. * In your goodness, spare us, O Compassionate.

Prokeimenon. Tone 4. Psalm 9.

I will confess you, Lord, with my whole heart.

Thus says the Lord: From Sion a law will come forth, and a word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he will judge between the nations, and rebuke many people; and they will beat their swords into ploughs and their pikes into sickles, and nation will not take up sword against nation, and they shall in no way learn to war any more. And now, house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord; for he has abandoned his people, the house of Israel, because their country, like that of foreigners, has been filled as at the beginning with divinations; and many foreign children have been born to them. For their country has been filled with silver and gold, and there was no numbering their treasures; and the land has been filled with horses, and there was no numbering their chariots; and the land has been filled with abominations, the works of their hands, and they have worshipped what their fingers have made. And a man bowed down, and a man was humbled, and I will in no way pardon them. And now enter the rocks, and be hidden in the earth from the face of the fear of the Lord, and from the glory of his strength, when he arises to crush the earth. For the eyes of the Lord are exalted, but man is lowly; and the exaltation of men will be humbled, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.

Prokeimenon. Tone 6. Psalm 10.

The Lord is just, and loves deeds of justice.

Prokeimenon of the Evening. Tone 5. Psalm 11.

Do you, Lord, guard us and keep us from this generation and for ever.

Prokeimenon. Tone 6. Psalm 12.

Look upon me, listen to me, Lord, my God.

Troparion of the Prophecy. Tone 1.

Deliver us from visible and invisible foes, O Lord; may the nations never say: Where is their God? Let them know, Master, that * you overlook the sins of your people when they repent.

Prokeimenon. Tone 4. Psalm 13.

When the Lord turns back the captivity of his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.

The Lord alone will be exalted in that day; for the day of the Lord of hosts will be upon every one that is proud and haughty, and upon the high and lofty; and they will be humbled. And upon every cedar of Lebanon, of the high and lofty, and upon every tree of oak of Basan, and upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, and upon every high tower, and upon every high wall, and upon every ship of the sea and upon every sight of ships of beauty. And every man shall be humbled and the height of men shall fall; and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. And they will hide all things made with hands, bringing them into the caves and clefts of the rocks, and into the caverns of the earth, from the face of the fear of the Lord, and from the glory of his strength, when he arises to crush the earth. On that day a man will cast out his abominations, the silver and gold objects which they made to worship with vanities and bats; to enter the caverns of the solid rock and the clefts of the rocks and from the glory of his strength, when he arises to crush the earth.

Prokeimenon. Tone 4. Psalm 14.

Lord, who will dwell in your tabernacle? And who will dwell on your holy mountain?

Evening Prokeimenon. Tone 4. Psalm 15.

I will bless the Lord who has given me understanding.

Prokeimenon. Tone 4. Psalm 16.

Guard me, O Lord, as the apple of your eye.

My son, do not forget my laws, let your heart keep my words; for they will add to you length of life and years of life and peace. Do not let mercies and faith desert you; attach them to your neck, write them on the tables of your heart, and you will find grace; and take thought for what is good before the Lord and before men. Be trusting in God with your whole heart; do not be exalted in your own wisdom. In all your ways get to know her, that you may rightly direct your ways; and your foot not stumble. Do not be prudent in your own eyes; rather fear God and keep from every wickedness; then there will be healing for your body and treatment for your bones. Honour the Lord with your just labours and offer him the first of the fruits of your justice, that your stores may be filled to abundance with corn, that your presses may be bursting with wine. My son, do not treat lightly the Lord’s discipline, nor give up when you are rebuked by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves; scourges every child he receives. Blest the man who has found wisdom, every mortal who knows prudence. For it is better to trade for her than for treasures of gold and silver. She is more precious than valuable stones; nothing evil will withstand her; she is well known to all who draw near her, nothing precious is worthy of her, for length of life and years of life are in her right hand, while in her left are wealth and glory. Justice comes from her mouth; she carries law and mercy on her tongue. Her ways are good ways and all her paths are in peace. She is a tree of life to all who lay hold of her, and to those who lean hard upon her as upon the Lord she is safe.

Troparion of the Prophecy. Tone 8.

In your pity, Lord, come to the help our life full of sin and our way of living empty of repentance; we know no other but you who has mastery over life and death; * save, as you love mankind.

Prokeimenon. Tone 4. Psalm 17.

I will love you, Lord, my strength.

See now, the Master, Lord of hosts, will take away from Judea and Jerusalem the strong man and the strong woman, strength of bread and strength of water, giant and strong and warrior and justice, prophet and diviner, elder and captain of fifty, wondrous counsellor and wise master-builder and understanding hearer. And I will set youths as their rulers, and scoffers will lord it over them. And the people will fall, man upon man, and man upon his neighbour; the child will insult the elder, the base the honourable. Because a man will seize his brother, or one of his own father’s house and say: You have a garment, become our prince, and let my food be under you. And answering in that day he will say: I will not be your prince; for there is neither garment nor food in my house; I will not be prince of this people, because Jerusalem is forsaken and Judea has fallen and their tongues are with iniquity and they disobey what concerns the Lord; therefore now their glory has been humbled and the shame of their face has stood against them; they have declared and manifested their sin like that of Sodom. Woe to their soul, because they have devised an evil counsel against themselves, saying: Let us bind the just, for he is burdensome to us; therefore they eat the products of their works. Woe to the lawless: evils will happen to him according to the works of his hands. My people, your bailiffs glean you, and your creditors lord it over you. My people, those who call you blest lead you astray and disturb the path of your feet. But now he will stand up for judgement; the Lord himself will come to judgement with the elders of the people and with its rulers.

Prokeimenon. Tone 6. Psalm 18.

Lord, my helper and redeemer.

Note that we sing the Office from the Menaion of the Saint who falls on Saturday and Sunday, at Compline, or whenever the Ecclesiarch wishes.

Evening Prokeimenon. Tone 5. Psalm 19.

May the Lord hear you in the day of trouble.

Prokeimenon. Tone 6. Psalm 20.

Be exalted, Lord, in your power; we sing and chant your mighty acts.

God founded the earth with wisdom, he prepared the heavens with prudence. By perception the deeps were broken up, and clouds dropped rains. My son, do not let this pass by you; keep my counsel and understanding, that your soul may live and grace may be upon your neck; there will be healing for flesh and treatment for your bones, that you may walk trustingly on all your ways in peace, that your foot may not stumble; for if sit you will be fearless, if you sleep you will slumber sweetly; and you be afraid of terror coming upon you, nor of assaults of the godless coming at you; for the Lord will be on all your ways, and he will establish your foot, lest you be shaken. Do not forbear to do good to one in need, whenever your hand is able to give help. Do not, while you are able to do good, say: Go, come back again; to-morrow I shall give; for you do not know what the coming day will bring to birth. Do not plot evils against your friend who lives near you and trusts you. Do not quarrel with someone without cause, lest he work some wickedness against you. Do not gain the reproaches of wicked men, nor imitate their ways. For every transgressor is unclean before the Lord; nor does he take his seat among the just. God’s curse is in the houses of the ungodly; while the abodes of the just are blessed. The Lord resists the proud; but to the humble he gives grace.

Troparion of the Prophecy. Tone 1.

You, who alone fashioned our hearts, remember that we are dust; * do not condemn us to the lowest parts of the earth, O Sinless One.

Prokeimenon in the 6th Tone. Psalm 21.

You who fear the Lord, praise him; all you seed of Jacob glorify him.

Thus says the Lord: God will shine out on that day, in counsel with glory on the earth, to exalt and glorify the remnant of Israel. And there will be a remnant in Sion and a remnant in Jerusalem, they will all be called ‘Holy’ who are inscribed for life in Jerusalem. Because the Lord will wash the stain of the sons and daughters of Sion, and will cleanse the blood of Jerusalem[1] from the midst of them, with a spirit of judgement and a spirit of burning. And the Lord will come,[2] and it shall be that every place of mount Sion, and all the region round it a cloud will shelter by day, and like smoke and the light of fire burning by night, and it will be sheltered with all the glory. And it shall be for a shelter from heat, and with a shelter and a hiding place from harshness and rain. [5:1] Let me sing for my beloved a song of my loved one for my vineyard. My beloved had a vineyard on a hill,[3] on a fertile place. And I[4] made a hedge round it and dug a trench and planted a vine of Sorek and built a tower in the middle of it, and dug out a vat in it, and I waited for it to produce grapes, and it produced thorns. And now inhabitants of Jerusalem, and people[5] of Juda, judge between me and my vineyard. What should I yet have done for vineyard, and did not do? Because I waited for it to produce grapes, but it produced thorns. Now I will tell you what I shall do to my vineyard; I shall take out its hedge, and it will be for plundering; and I shall pull down its wall, and it will be for trampling under foot. And I will abandon my vineyard, and it will not be pruned or dug; and thorns will come up on it, as on fallow land; and I shall command the clouds not to shower rain on it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and a man of Juda the beloved plant.

Prokeimenon in the 2nd Tone. Psalm 22.

Your rod and your staff have comforted me.

Evening Prokeimenon in the 1st Tone. Psalm 23.

The Lord <is> mighty and powerful in war.

The Reading is from Genesis.

Prokeimenon in the 6th Tone. Psalm 24.

Look upon me and have mercy on me, for I am alone and poor.

The Reading is from Proverbs.

Troparion of the Prophecy. Tone 6.

We are not able to hymn you worthily, but with supplication we beg, * ‘Do not destroy us with our iniquities, O Lord easy to placate’.

Prokeimenon in 4th Tone. Psalm 25.

Lord, I have loved the beauty of your house, and the dwelling-place of your glory.

The Reading is from the Prophecy of Isaias.

Thus says the Lord: The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Juda the beloved plant. I waited for it to produce judgement, but it produced iniquity, and not justice, but a cry. Woe to those who join house to house, and who bring field close to field, that they may remove something of their neighbour’s! Will you alone dwell on the land? For these things have been heard by the ears of the Lord of hosts. For though many houses come into being, great and fair, they will become a desert, and there will be no inhabitants in them. For where ten yoke of oxen work, it will produce one jar-full; and the one who sows twelve bushels will produce one. Woe to those who rise in the morning and go after strong drink, staying until late; for the wine will heat them; for with harp and psaltery and drums and flutes they drink wine, while they do not regard the works of the Lord, and they do not keep in mind the works of his hands. Therefore my people has become a prisoner, through not knowing the Lord; and has become a multitude of corpses, through famine and thirst for water. And Hell has broadened its soul[10] and opened its mouth, so as to leave no interval; and her glorious ones will go down and her great and her rich and her pestilent ones, and the one who rejoiced in her. And a man shall be humbled, and a man shall be dishonoured; and the lofty eyes shall be humbled. And the Lord of hosts will be exalted in judgement; and the holy God will be glorified in justice.

Prokeimenon in the 3rd Tone. Psalm 26.

The Lord is my enlightenment and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

Evening Prokeimenon in the 6th Tone. Psalm 27.

Lord, save your people, and bless your inheritance.

Cain said to his brother Abel, ‘Let us go out into the plain’.[11] And it came to pass while they were in the plain that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and killed him. And the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is your brother Abel?’ And he said, ‘I do not know; am I my brother’s guardian?’ And the Lord said, ‘What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the earth. And now you are accursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand; when you work the earth it will not put forth its strength to give to you; groaning and trembling you shall be on the earth’. And Cain said to the Lord, ‘My crime is too great for me to be forgiven; if you cast me out to-day from your face, then I shall hide from your face, and I shall be groaning and trembling on the earth; and it shall be that anyone who finds me will kill me’. And the Lord God said to him, ‘Not so, anyone who kills Cain will pay seven penalties’. And the Lord God put a mark on Cain, that no one who found should do away with him.

Prokeimenon in the 7th Tone. Psalm 28.

The Lord will give strength to his people; the Lord will give his people the blessing of peace.

My son, attend to my wisdom, apply your ear to my words, that you may guard a good understanding; the perception of my lips commands you: Do not pay attention to a worthless woman; for honey drips from the lips of a harlot, who smoothes your throat for a time; but afterwards[12] you will find it more bitter than gall, and sharper than a two-edged sword; for the feet of folly lead those who make use of her with death down to Hell, her footsteps are not firmly planted; for she does not go by ways of life, but her tracks are slippery and not easy to pick out. Now then, my son, hear me, and do not make my words of no effect. Make your way far from her; do not go near the doors of her houses, lest you give your life to others and your livelihood to those without mercy; lest strangers be filled with your strength, while your toils come to the houses of strangers; and finally you repent when the flesh of your body is worn away, and you say, ‘How have I hated instruction, and how has my heart turned from the reproofs of the just? I did not hear the voice of my instructor and my teacher; nor did I apply my ear; I was within a little of being in total evil in the midst of the church and the congregation’. My son, drink waters from your own vessels, and the source of your own wells.

Troparion of the Prophecy. Tone 6.

God Most High, who dwell in Heaven and who created everything that has breath, save us; * for we have hoped in you, our Saviour.

Prokeimenon in the 5th Tone. Psalm 29.

To you, Lord, I shall cry. O my God, I shall make supplication.

The Lord of hosts will be exalted in judgement, and the holy God will be glorified in justice. And they that were despoiled shall be pastured like bulls, and lambs feed on the deserts of those taken away. Woe to those who draw sins to themselves as on a long rope, and iniquities as on the thong of a heifer’s yoke, saying, ‘Let him quickly bring near what he is going to do, that we may see it, and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel come, that we may know it!’ Woe to those who call evil good, who regard darkness as light and light darkness, who regard bitter as sweet and sweet bitter! Woe to them that are understanding in their own opinion, and knowledgeable in their own eyes! Woe to your strong ones who drink wine, and your powerful ones who also mix strong drink; who justify the ungodly for the sake of gifts, and deprive the just of justice! For this reason, in the same way that a reed will be burnt by a coal of fire, and be burnt up by a leaping flame, their root will be like chaff, and their flower will go up like dust; for they did not want the law of the Lord of hosts, but provoked the word of the Holy One of Israel. And the Lord of hosts was enraged with his people, and put out his hand upon them, and struck them; and the mountains were provoked and their carcasses became like dung in the middle of the way; and in all this his rage has not been turned away, but his hand is still raised high.

Prokeimenon in the 6th Tone. Psalm 30.

In you, Lord, I have hoped; let me not be shamed forever.

Evening Prokeimenon in the 6th Tone. Psalm 31.

Be glad in the Lord and rejoice you righteous; and be triumphant all you who are upright of heart.

But Cain went out from the face of God and dwelt in the land of Naпd opposite Edem. And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. And he was building a city; and he named it with his son’s name, Enoch. To Enoch was born Gaпdad; and Gaпdad begot Maleleлl; and Maleleлl begot Mathousala; and Mathousala begot Lamech. And Lamech took two wives; the name of the one was Ada and the name of the second Sella. And Ada gave birth to Jobel; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and feed cattle; and the name of his brother was Joubal; it was who he revealed psaltery and harp. While Sella too gave birth, to Thobel, and he was a smith, a bronze smith of bronze and iron; while Thobel’s sister was Noлma. Now Lamech said to his wives, Ada and Sella, ‘Hear my voice, wives of Lamech, give ear to my words: because I have killed a man to my wounding, and a youth to my bruising. Because it has been revenged on Cain seven times, but on Lamech seventy times seven’. Now Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived and gave birth to a son, and named his name Seth, saying: For God has raised up[13] for me other seed in place of Abel, whom Cain killed. And to Seth there was a son; he named his name Enos; he hoped to call on the name of the Lord God.

Prokeimenon in the 1st Tone 1. Psalm 32.

May your mercy, O Lord, be upon us; as we have set our hope in you.

My son, drink water from your own vessels, and from the source of your own wells; let the waters from your source overflow for you,[14] let your waters go through your streets. Let them be for you alone, and let no stranger share with you. Let your source be for you your own, and be glad with the wife of your youth. Let the hart of love and the colt of your graces be your companion, let her be considered your own, and let her be with you at every moment; for living in the company of her love, you will achieve much. Be not much with a strange woman, do not be held in the arms of woman not your own; for the ways of a man are before the eyes of God, he keeps watch on all his tracks. Iniquities hunt a man; while each one is bound in ropes of his own sins. This man dies with the uninstructed; he has been cast out of the abundance of his own livelihood, and he has perished through folly. My son, if you go surety for your friend, you will entrust your hand to an enemy; for a man’s own lips are a strong snare, and he is caught by the lips of his own mouth. Do, my son, what I command you, and be safe.

Troparion of the Prophecy. Tone 1.

We have fallen, raise us up; we have turned away, turn us back to you, O God as you love mankind * and hold together the ends of the earth.

Prokeimenon in the 6th Tone. Psalm 33.

I sought the Lord and he heard me, and delivered me from all my troubles.

It came to pass in the year that king Ozias died that I saw the Lord, seated on a high and exalted throne, and the house was full of his glory. And Seraphim stood round about him, the one had six wings and the other had six wings, and with two they covered their face, while with two they covered their feet and with two they flew. And they cried one to the other and said, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Sabaoth, the whole earth is full of his glory’.[15] And the lintel was lifted up at the sound with which they cried, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said, ‘Ah, wretch that I am, for I have been pricked to the heart; because, being a man and having unclean lips, I dwell in the midst of people who have unclean lips and I have seen the King, the Lord Sabaoth with my own eyes’. And one of the Seraphim was sent to me, and he had a coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with the tongs,[16] and he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips, and will take away your iniquities and will cleanse your sins’. And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go to this people?’ And I said, ‘See, here am I. Send me’. And he said, ‘Go, and say to this people, “Hear with your hearing, and do not understand, and looking, look, and do not see”; for the heart of this people has become fat and with their ears they have become hard of hearing and they have shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart, and turn back, and I shall heal them’. And I said, ‘Until when, Lord?’ And he said, ‘Until cities are deserted through not being inhabited, and houses through there being no people, and the land shall be left a desert. And after these things God will take the men far away, and those who are left on the land will be multiplied’.

Prokeimenon in the 6th Tone. Psalm 34.

Be roused, Lord, and attend to my judgement.

Evening Prokeimenon in the 4th Tone 4. Psalm 35.

Lord, your mercy is in heaven, and your truth in the clouds.

This is the book of the genesis of humankind; on the day God made Adam, he made him according to God’s image; male and female he made them, and he blessed them; and he named his name Adam on the day he made them. Adam lived two hundred and thirty years and begot a son according to his form and according to his image, and he named his name Seth. The days of Adam which he lived after begetting Seth were seven hundred, and he begot sons and daughters. And all the days of Adam, which he lived, were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died. Seth lived two hundred and five years and begot Enos. And Seth lived after begetting Enos seven hundred and seven years, and he begot sons and daughters. And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died. And Enos lived one hundred and ninety years and begot Cainan. And Enos lived seven hundred and fifteen years after begetting Cainan, and begot sons and daughters. And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years and he died. And Cainan lived one hundred and seventy years and begot Maleleлl. And Cainan lived seven hundred and forty years after begetting Maleleлl and begot sons and daughters. And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died. And Maleleлl lived one hundred and sixty five years and begot Jared. And Maleleлl lived after begetting Jared for seven hundred and thirty years and begot sons and daughters. And all the days of Maleleлl were eight hundred and ninety five years and he died. And Jared lived one hundred and sixty two years and begot Enoch. And Jared lived after begetting Enoch eight hundred years and begot sons and daughters. And all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty two years, and he died. And Enoch lived one hundred and sixty five years and begot Mathousala. But Enoch was well pleasing to God after begetting Mathousala and he begot sons and daughters. And all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty five years. And Enoch was well pleasing to God, and he was not to be found, because God translated him.

Prokeimenon in the 6th Tone. Psalm 36.

Wait on the Lord and keep his way.

My son, do what I command you and be safe. For you have come into the hands of wicked men because of your friend. Do not be fainthearted, but stir up your friend also for whom you have gone surety. Do not give sleep to your eyes, and do not slumber with your eyelids, that you may be save yourself, like a gazelle from noose and as a bird from a snare. Go to the ant, sluggard, imitate him when you see his ways, and become wiser than him; for he has no husbandry, nor any to compel him, nor is he under a master; he prepares food in the summer and lays aside a great quantity at harvest. Or go to the bee[18] and learn what a worker she is and how serious the work that she does; which kings and private individuals make use of for health; she is desired and held glorious by all; and though she is weak in her strength, she has become outstanding by honouring wisdom. Until when, sluggard will you lie? When will you be roused from sleep? You sleep a little, you sit a little, you have a short doze, you fold your arms over your chest a little; then poverty comes on you like a wicked traveller, and want like good runner. But if you are not to sluggardly, your harvest will come like a spring, while your want will take itself like a bad runner. A foolish man and a lawless journey by ways that are not good; while the same winks with his eye, signals with his foot, teaches by pointings with his fingers. With a twisted heart he devises evils, at every moment such a person is stirring up troubles for a city. Therefore his destruction is coming suddenly, a deep wound and incurable fracture; he will be crushed through impurity of soul because he rejoices in everything which God hates: the eye of the haughty, an unjust tongue, hands that spill the blood of the just, a heart contriving wicked thoughts and feet that hurry to do wrong. An unjust witness sets lies alight and introduces judgements among brothers. My son, keep your father’s laws and do not spurn your mother’s rules.

Troparion of the Prophecy. Tone 5.

Night and day we fall before you, Lord, to give our souls forgiveness of sins, * that we may worship you in peace and give you glory, Lover of mankind.

Prokeimenon in the 4th Tone. Psalm 37.

Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger, nor chastise me in your wrath.

It came to pass in the days of Achaz, son of Jotham, son of Ozias, king of Juda, that Rasim king of Aram and Phakeл son of Romelias king of Israel came up to make on war on Jerusalem and they were unable to take it by siege. And a message came to the house of David saying: Aram has made an agreement with Ephraim; and his soul was amazed and the soul of his people, in the same way as a tree in a wood is shaken by a wind. And the Lord said to Isaias: Go out to meet Achaz, you and your son who is left behind, Jasoub,[19] by the pool of the upper road of the fuller’s field, and you are to say to him: Guard your stillness and do not be afraid, nor let your soul be weakened because of these two smoking brands of wood; for when the anger of my rage has passed, I shall heal again. And the son of Aram and the son of Romelias, because they have taken evil counsel concerning you, saying: Let us go up against Judea, and having spoken with them we shall turn them to us, and we shall make the son of Tabeлl king for them; thus says the Lord Sabaoth: This counsel shall not abide, it shall not be; but the head of Aram is Damascus and the head of Damascus is Raseim; but yet sixty five years and the kingdom of Ephraim will cease from being a people — and the head of Ephraim is Somoron, and the head of Somoron is the son of Romelias; and if you do believe, nor will you understand. And the Lord spoke again to Achaz, saying: Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God in the height or in the depth. And Achaz said: I shall not ask, nor shall I tempt the Lord. And he said: Hear then, house of David: is it a little thing for you to hold a contest with men: What if you hold a contest with the Lord? Because of this the Lord will give you a sign.

Prokeimenon in the 2nd Tone. Psalm 38.

Hear my prayer, O Lord, and my supplication; give ear to my tears.

Evening Prokeimenon in the 4th Tone. Psalm 39.

Your mercy and truth, Lord, have helped me continually.

Prokeimenon in the 6th Tone. Psalm 40.

I said, Lord, have mercy on me; heal my soul for I have sinned against you.

Troparion of the Prophecy. Tone 4

Because we are weak and paralysed by sins, heal our infirmities, Physician of our souls, * who know the mind of men, O Lover of mankind.

Prokeimenon in the 4th Tone. Psalm 41.

Hope in God, for I will give him thanks; the salvation of my countenance and my God.

Prokeimenon in the 4th Tone. Psalm 42.

The salvation of my face, and my God.

Evening Prokeimenon in the 4th Tone. Psalm 43.

In God we shall boast all the day; and in your name we shall give thanks for ever.

The Reading is from Genesis.

Noл was a just man, perfect in his generation; Noл was well-pleasing to God. Noл begot three sons, Sem, Cham and Japhet. Now the earth had become corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with injustice. And the Lord God saw the earth, and it was utterly corrupt, because all flesh had utterly corrupted his way upon earth. And the Lord God said to Noл, ‘The moment for all mankind has come before me, because the earth has been filled with injustice because of them, and behold I am utterly destroying them and the earth. So make an ark for yourself from squared logs. You will make the ark with compartments and you will pitch it outside and inside with pitch. And you will make the ark thus: the length of the ark three hundred cubits and the breadth fifty and its height thirty. You will make the ark by narrowing it and complete it above to one cubit; you will make the door of the ark from its side; you will make it with chambers, of two levels and three levels. While I am bringing the flood, water upon the earth to destroy all flesh, in which there is the spirit of life, under heaven; and whatever there is upon the earth shall die. And I shall establish my testament with you; you are to enter the ark, you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. And of all the cattle and all the reptiles and all the wild beasts and all flesh you are to bring into the ark two by two, to feed them with yourself; male and female they are to be. Of all the winged birds according to their kind, and of all the cattle according to their kind, and of all the reptiles which creep upon the earth according to their kind, two by two of all they shall enter to you to be fed with you, male and female, while you shall take for yourself of all the foods which you eat, and you shall gather them to yourself, and they shall be for you and for them to eat’. And Noл did everything whatever the Lord God had commanded him, so he did.

Prokeimenon in the 6th Tone. Psalm 44.

I shall make your name to be remembered in every generation.

The Reading is from Proverbs.

My son, you will proclaim wisdom, that prudence may obey you; for she is on high peaks, she stands in the midst of the paths; she takes her seat by the gates of the powerful, she is hymned in the entrances. You men, I exhort you, and I utter my voice to the sons of men; you innocent, understand cunning, you that are untaught take on heart. Hearken to me, for I speak solemn things and shall open correct things from my lips; because my throat will meditate truth, while lying lips are an abomination before me. All the words of my mouth are with justice, crooked or twisted is in them; They are all present to those who understand and right to those who find knowledge. Accept instruction and not silver, and knowledge beyond tried gold; for wisdom is better than valuable stones, all that is precious is not equal to her worth. I wisdom have made counsel my dwelling, and I have called upon knowledge and understanding. The fear of the Lord hates injustice, arrogance and pride and ways of evil people; I have hated the perverted ways of the wicked; mine is counsel, mine is safety, mine is prudence, mine is strength; through me kings will reign and the powerful write justice; through me nobles become noble, and tyrants through me hold sway on earth. I love those who are my friends, while those who seek me will find grace. Wealth and glory are mine and the possession of many things and justice. To gather my fruit is far better than gold and precious stone, my produce is better than choice silver. I walk in ways of justice and I pass my time amid paths of justice, that I may divide property to those who love me and fill their treasuries with good things.

Troparion of the Prophecy. Tone 7.

You are our salvation, Lord, and our protector in the day of trouble; * have mercy on us according to your great mercy, O Lover of mankind.

Prokeimenon in the 1st Tone. Psalm 45.

The Lord of powers is with us; our helper is the God of Jacob.

The Reading is from the Prophecy of Isaias.

Prokeimenon in the 3rd Tone. Psalm 46.

Sing to our God, sing; sing to our King, sing.

Evening Prokeimenon in the 3rd Tone. Psalm 47.

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised.

The Reading is from Genesis.

Prokeimenon in the 2nd Tone. Psalm 48.

My mouth will speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart understanding.

The Reading is from Proverbs.

Troparion of the Prophecy. Tone 8.

There is no substance of works in us, Lord; you are merciful, Lover of mankind, * do not despise the works of your hands, O Sinless One.

Prokeimenon in the 6th Tone. Psalm 49.

Sacrifice to God a sacrifice of praise; and pay your vows to the Most High.

Verse: The God of gods, the Lord has spoken; and summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.

The Reading is from the Prophecy of Isaias.

It shall be when the Lord has accomplished doing all things on the mountain of Sion and in Jerusalem, he will bring upon the great mind the ruler of the Assyrians, and upon the height of the glory of his eyes. For he said: In strength I shall act and in the wisdom of the understanding, I shall remove the boundaries of nations and their strength I shall plunder and I shall shake inhabited cities and the whole inhabited world I shall abandon like a nest and I shall take away the eggs that have been abandoned, and there is none who will escape from me or contradict me. Will an axe be glorified without someone to cut with it? Or will a saw be exalted without someone to draw it, as if someone lifts up a rod or staff? And nor so, but the Lord Sabaoth will send dishonour against your honour, and burning fire will be kindled against your glory. And the light of Israel will be for fire, and he will sanctify him with burning fire and it devours the fuel like grass, On that day the mountains will be consumed, and the hills and the forests, and <the fire> devours from the soul right through to the flesh; and the one who flees will be like one who flees from a burning flame; and those of them who have been left behind shall be a number, and a child will write them. And it shall be in that day that the remnant of Israel will no longer be added to, and the saved of Jacob no longer trust in those who have wronged them, but they will trust in God the Holy One of Israel in truth.

Prokeimenon in the 6th Tone. Psalm 50.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your great mercy.

Evening Prokeimenon in the 4th Tone. Psalm 51.

I have hoped in the mercy of God for ever.

The Reading is from Genesis.

Noл was six hundred years old when the flood of water came to pass on the earth. Noл and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives entered the ark because of the water of the flood. And of the clean flying creatures and of the unclean flying creatures and of the clean beasts and of the unclean beasts and of all that creep upon the earth two by two they went in to Noл into the ark, male and female, as God had commanded Noл.

Prokeimenon in the 4th Tone. Psalm 52.

When the Lord turns back the captivity of his people; Jacob will rejoice and Israel be glad.

The Reading is from Proverbs.

Troparion of the Prophecy. Tone 6.

If you should mark iniquities, Lover of mankind, what hope of salvation is there for us? * But as you are pitying, send down your help, Lord, to your people.

Prokeimenon in the 4th Tone. Psalm 53.

O God, save by your name; and judge me by your power.

Verse: O God hear my prayer, give ear to the words of my mouth.

The Reading is from the Prophecy of Isaias.

Thus says the Lord: In that day there shall be a root of Jesse and the one who rises to rule the nations, in him the nations will hope, and his rest will be honour. And in that day it shall be that the Lord will continue to reveal his hand to be zealous for the remnant that is left of the people, that will have been left by the Assyrians and from Egypt and Babylonia and Ethiopia and from the Elamites and from the rising of the sun and from Arabia. And he will raise a sign for the nations and gather the lost of Israel and the scattered of Juda he will gather from the four corners of the earth. And the jealousy of Ephraim will be removed and the enemies of Juda perish. And it shall be for Israel as on the day when he came out of Egypt. [12:1] And you will say on that day, ‘I shall bless you, O Lord, because you were angry with me and you turned away your wrath and had mercy on me. See, my God, my saviour is the Lord, I shall trust in him and I shall not be afraid, because the Lord is my glory and my praise, and has become my salvation’.

Prokeimenon in the 4th Tone. Psalm 54.

Give ear to my prayer, O God; and do not despise my supplication.

Evening Prokeimenon in the 4th Tone. Psalm 55.

Have mercy on me, O God, for man has trampled me down.

The Reading is from Genesis.

It came to pass in the six hundredth year in the life of Noл, in the second month, on the twenty second of the month, on that day all the sources of the abyss were broken open, and the flood-gates of heaven were opened. And there came rain upon the earth for forty days and forty nights. On that day Noл, Sem, Cham, Japheth, the sons of Noл and the wife of Noл and the three wives of his sons entered the ark with him; and all the wild beasts according to their kind and all the cattle according to their kind and everything that creeps upon the earth according to its kind, and every winged bird according to its kind, entered to Noл into the ark, two by two, male and female of all flesh in which is a spirit of life. And those that entered male and female went in, according as the Lord God had commanded Noл. And the Lord God shut the ark from outside on him. And the flood came for forty days and forty nights upon the earth, and the waters were multiplied and lifted the ark up, and it was raised high from the earth. And the water prevailed, and was multiplied exceedingly upon the earth, and the ark was being borne upon the water. The water prevailed, prevailed exceedingly upon the earth, and covered all the high mountains which were under heaven. Fifteen cubits was the water raised up, and hid all the high mountains. All flesh died which moved upon the earth, of the flying creatures and the cattle and the wild beasts and every reptile which moved upon the earth and every human. And everything which has the breath of life, and everything which was on the dry land, died. And he wiped out everything that rose up from the earth; and Noл alone was left, and those with him in the ark. And the water was raised over the earth for one hundred and fifty days. [9:1] And God remembered Noл and all the wild beasts and all the cattle and all the winged creatures and all the reptiles that were with him in the ark, and God brought a wind upon the earth, and the water abated, and the sources of the abyss and the flood-gates of heaven were closed over, and the rain of heaven was withheld. And the water subsided and went from the earth, and the water grew less after one hundred and fifty days.

Prokeimenon in the 7th Tone. Psalm 56.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me; because my soul has trusted in you.