Prokeimenon (Psalm 98), tone 7: Lift up the Lord our God, and worship His footstool, for He is holy.
Verse: The Lord reigns, let the people be angry: he mounts the cherubim, let the earth move.
Prokeimenon (Psalm 98), tone 7: Exalt the Lord our God and worship His footstool, for it is holy.
Verse: The Lord reigns - let the nations be angry, He who sits on the cherubim - let the earth shake.
Genesis reading. [Gen.18:20–33]
Speech of the Lord: The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is multiplied to Me, and their sins are great. When I come down I will see, even if it is because of their cry that is coming to Me, that they are accomplished: otherwise, I understand. And the men turned from there and came to Sodom: And Abraham stood still before the Lord. And Abraham approached and said: Will you destroy the righteous with the wicked, and the righteous will be like the wicked? If there were fifty righteous women in the city, would I destroy them? Won't you spare the whole place of fifty for the sake of the righteous, if they be in it? By no means will you do according to this verb, even if you kill the righteous with the wicked: and the righteous will be like the wicked: in no way. judge of all the earth, wilt thou not execute judgment? The Lord said: If there be fifty righteous women in the city in Sodom, I will leave the whole city and the whole place for their sake. And Abraham answered and said, “Now have I begun to speak to my Lord, for I am earth and ashes: And if fifty righteous women be diminished to fourty-five, will you destroy fourty-five for the sake of the whole city?
and said: I will not destroy, if I find fourty-five there. And add another verb to Him, and say: What if the four ten will be found there? and said: I will not destroy for the sake of the fourty. And he said: what, Lord, if I say: what if the thirty are found there? and said: I will not destroy for the sake of the thirty. And he said: “Let the imam say to the Lord: what if the twenty will be found there?” and he said: I will not destroy, if twenty are found there. And he said: what, Lord, what if I say one more thing? What if ten will be found there? and said: I will not destroy for the sake of ten. The Lord departed, and the word to Abraham ceased: and Abraham returned to his place.
Reading Genesis [18:20–33]
The Lord said: “The cry against Sodom and Gomorrah has increased against Me, and their sins are very great. Therefore, having descended, I will look and find out: are events taking place in accordance with the cry that reaches Me or not?” And the men turned from there and went to Sodom, while Abraham still stood before the Lord. And Abraham approached and said, “Will You destroy the righteous with the wicked, and will the righteous be like the wicked? If there are fifty righteous people in a city, will you destroy them? Will you not spare the city for the sake of fifty righteous people, if they are in it? You will in no way act on this word so as to destroy the righteous with the wicked, and the righteous would be like the wicked, no way! You who judge the whole earth, wilt thou not execute judgment?” And the Lord said: “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” And Abraham answered: “Now I have begun to say to my Lord, I, the earth and the ashes: If the fifty righteous are reduced to forty-five, will you destroy the whole city because there are forty-five?” And the Lord said: “I will not destroy if I find forty-five there.”
And Abraham continued to speak to Him and said: “What if forty are found there?” And He said: “I will not destroy for the sake of forty.” And Abraham said: “What, Lord, if I say more? What if there are thirty there?” And He said: “I will not destroy for the sake of thirty.” Abraham said: “So how can I say to the Lord: what if twenty are found there?” And He said: “I will not destroy for the sake of twenty.” And Abraham said: “What, Lord, if I say one more time: if ten are found there?” And He said: “I will not destroy for the sake of ten.” And the Lord departed as soon as he stopped speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.
Prokeimenon (Psalm 99), tone 6: Shout to the Lord,/ all the earth.
Verse: Work for the Lord in joy, go before Him with joy.
Prokeimenon (Psalm 99), tone 6: Shout to the Lord, all the earth!
Verse: Serve the Lord with joy, appear before Him with joy!
Reading parables. [Prov.16:17-33, 17:1-17]
Accept punishment, good things will happen; keep reproof, and you will gain wisdom. He who keeps his ways, guards his soul: but he who loves his life, spares his lips: before contrition comes annoyance, and before a fall comes malice. It is better to be meek-hearted with humility than to share self-interest with annoying people. He who is wise in things, the finder of good things: trust in the Lord, blessed one. The wise and prudent will be called evil: but there will be sweetness in words, and there will be much hearing. The source of life is the understanding of those who have acquired it: but the punishment of the foolish is evil. The heart of the wise understands even from its lips, but in its lips it bears reason. Honeycombs, good words: their sweetness is the healing of the soul. The essence of the path is for those who think they are right to be with their husband, otherwise they will end up in the depths of hell. A man in labor toils for himself, and wears out his own destruction: the obstinate bears destruction in his mouth. The foolish man digs up evil for himself, and in his mouth he treasures fire.
The obstinate man sends out the evil one, and the lamp of flattery burns the evil one, and separates others. A man who is lawless seduces others and leads them on evil paths. He who establishes his eyes, the corrupt one thinks, and he who gnaws his lips, determines all evil: this furnace is evil. Old age is a crown of praise: on the path of righteousness is found. It is better to have a long-suffering husband than a strong man, [and a man of understanding than a great farmer:] to withhold anger, rather than to lay down hail. All the unrighteous go into the depths: but all the righteous come from the Lord. It is better to have bread with sweetness in the world than a house filled with many good and unrighteous sacrifices and war. A wise servant has masters who are foolish; among the brethren he will divide [the property] into parts. As silver and gold are tempted in the furnace: such is the chosen heart of the Lord. The wicked will listen to the tongue of the transgressors, but the righteous will not listen to lying lips. Scold the poor, he irritates his Creator: rejoice in the perishing, he will not be blameless: the merciful will be shown mercy.
The crown of the old children is the praise of their fathers. To the faithful the whole world is wealth, but to the unfaithful there is penance. It is not fitting for a foolish mouth to be true, and for a righteous mouth to be deceitful. The reward of grace is punishment for those who use it: and even if he turns back, he will have time. He who harbors grievances, seeks love: and he who hates to hide, separates friends and family. Repression crushes the heart of a wise man; a foolish man does not feel [the wounds]. Every evil person will raise contradictions: the Lord will send an unmerciful angel. The care of a sensible husband will fall into his care: but evil meditates on foolishness. Evil does not repay good for good; evil will not go out of his house. Power gives words the beginning of truth: poverty is led by spinning and fighting. He who judges the righteous by the unjust and the unjust by the righteous is unclean and abominable to the Lord. The fool has all the wealth he has, for the heartless cannot acquire wisdom. He who builds his house on high, seeks contrition: but he who is sharp-witted to learn will fall into evil.
May you have a friend at all times, and may your brethren be helpful in your needs.
Reading the book of Proverbs [16:17b–33; 17:1–17a]