Prokeimenon (Psalm 135), tone 4: Confess to the God of Heaven that He is good,/ that His mercy endures forever.
Verse: Confess to the God of gods, for His mercy endures forever.
Prokeimenon (Psalm 135), tone 4: Give praise to the God of Heaven, for His mercy is eternal!
Verse: Give praise to the God of gods, for His mercy endures forever
Exodus reading (Ex. 2:11–22).
It came to pass in many days, that Moses became great, and went out to his brethren, the son of Israel. Realizing their illness, in the form of an Egyptian man, he beat a certain Hebrew from the brethren of his sons of Israel. Having looked around this and that place, there was no one in sight: and having struck the Egyptian, he hid him in the arctic fox. When he left on the second day, he saw two Jewish men fighting and saying to the offender: why are you beating sincerely? He said: who made you a prince and a judge over us? food Do you want to kill me, in the same way you killed the Egyptian yesterday? But Moses was afraid and said: “If this verb were revealed to this face?” Pharaoh heard this verb and sought to kill Moses. Moses departed from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian: and when he came to the land of Midian, he sat down by a treasure trove. And the priest of Midian had seven daughters tending the sheep of their father Jethro: and when the draw came and filled the trough, he gave water to the sheep of his father Jethro. When the shepherd came, I drove him out.
Moses rose up and delivered them, and gave them food and watered their sheep. And she came to her father Raguel: and he said unto them, Why is ye quick to come this day? The same message: O man of Egypt, deliver us from the shepherds, and draw for us and water our sheep. He said to his daughters: and where is it? And why do you leave a person behind? Call him now and eat the bread. And Moses dwelt with the man: and Zipporah gave his daughter to Moses to wife. And when the woman was pregnant, she gave birth to a son, and Moses called his name Gersham, saying, “For I am a stranger in a strange land.” She also conceived and gave birth to a second son, and called his name Eliezer, saying: For the God of my father is my helper, and deliver me from the hand of Pharaoh.
Reading Exodus [2:11–22]
After many days, having become an adult, Moses went out to his brothers, the children of Israel, and discovered their suffering. And he saw an Egyptian beating one of his brothers the sons of Israel. And, looking around, he saw no one and, having struck the Egyptian, buried him in the sand. Coming out the next day, he saw a quarrel between two Jewish men and said to the offender: “Why are you beating your neighbor?” He said: “Who made you a leader and a judge over us? Don’t you want to kill me like you killed the Egyptian yesterday?” Moses was frightened and said: “Is this event really so well known?” And Pharaoh heard about this event and sought to kill Moses. And Moses departed from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian. Having come to the land of Midian, he sat down by a well. And the priest of Midian had seven daughters, who tended their father’s sheep; When they came there, they drew to fill the troughs and to water their father's sheep. But the shepherds who came drove them away; Moses stood up and defended them, and drew water for them and watered their sheep.
They came to their father Raguel, and he said to them: “Why are you in such a hurry to come today?” They said: “An Egyptian man protected us from the shepherds, and drew water for us and watered our sheep.” He said to his daughters: “And where is he? Why did you leave this man like that? Call him to eat bread.” And Moses dwelt with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses to wife. And when the wife was pregnant, she gave birth to a son, and Moses called his name Gersham, saying: “I am a foreigner in a strange land.” And he named the second one Eliezer, for “The God of my father is my helper and has delivered me from the hand of Pharaoh.”
Prokeimenon (Psalm 137), tone 4: O Lord, Thy mercy endures forever, / do not despise Thy hand.
Verse: I will confess to You, O Lord, with all my heart, and before the angels I will sing to You.
Prokeimenon (Psalm 137), tone 4: Thy mercy, O Lord, endures forever - do not despise the creation of Thy hands!
Verse: I will praise You, Lord, with all my heart and before the angels I will sing praises to You.
Job reading (Job.2:1–10).
This day came to pass, and the angels of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and the devil came in the midst of them to present himself before the Lord. And the Lord said to the devil: Where are you coming from? Then the devil spoke to the Lord: having passed through the heavens and traversed the whole earth, he has come. And the Lord spoke to the devil: have you listened (to your thoughts) to my servant Job? as there is no such thing from those who exist on earth: a person is kindly, true, blameless, pious, moving away from all evil, and also adheres to gentleness: you advertised that you would destroy his property in vain. And the devil answered the Lord, saying: Skin for skin, and all that a man has, will give for his soul. Rather, send your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, lest he bless you in your presence. The Lord said to the devil: Behold, I deliver him over, only keep his soul. The devil came out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with fierce pus from his feet even to his head. And Job took the skull and sharpened its pus, and he sat on the puss outside the city.
After much time had passed, his wife spoke to him: How long will you endure the verb: Behold, I will wait a little time, what hope of my salvation? Behold, thy memory, thy sons and daughters, of my womb shall be consumed from the earth, the sicknesses and labors that labored in vain with diseases: but thou thyself sat in the pus of worms, fasting without without cover, and I wander and serve, passing from place to place, and house from house, waiting for the sun to set, so that I may rest from my labors and from the illnesses that will support me now. But you said a certain word to the Lord, and die. He looked up and said to her: “What did you say alone from crazy women?” If good things are received from the hand of the Lord, will we not endure the evil ones? In all these things that happened to him, Job sinned nothing before God (and did not give madness to God).
Reading Job [2:1–10]
It happened one day: when the Angels of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and the devil among them came to appear before the Lord. And the Lord said to the devil: “Where are you coming from?” Then the devil said to the Lord: “I have passed through the heavens, and walked around all the earth, and have come.” And the Lord said to the devil: “Have you paid attention to My servant Job? For there is no one like him on earth, no man like him: he is gentle, righteous, true, God-fearing, shunning all evil and is still unshakable in integrity, and you said it in order to innocently destroy his property.” And the devil answered and said to the Lord: “Skin for skin, but for his soul he will give everything that a man has. But stretch out Your hand and touch his bones and his flesh, and he will not bless You to your face.” And the Lord said to the devil: “Behold, I am handing him over to you, just save his soul.” And the devil departed from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with a fierce, purulent disease from his feet to his head. And Job took a tile to scrape off the pus from himself, and he sat on the pus outside the city.
After much time had passed, his wife said to Job: “How long will you endure, saying: “Behold, I will endure a little longer, waiting for my salvation”? For behold, the memory of you has been blotted out from the earth - your sons and daughters, the illnesses and labors of my womb, which I painfully endured in vain! You yourself sit, covered with pus and worms, spending the night outside your home without cover, and I, wandering and serving, moving from place to place and from house to house, wait for the sun to set in order to rest from my labors and illnesses that now depress me. But say a certain word to the Lord and die.” He looked at her and said: “Why do you talk like one of the crazy women? If we receive good things from the hand of the Lord, will we not endure bad things?” In all these cases with him, Job did not sin in the least with his lips and did not show madness in relation to God.