Prokeimenon (Psalm 3), tone 6: Salvation is the Lord, and Your blessing is on Your people.
Verse: Lord, why do you multiply the cold that plagues us?
Prokeimenon (Psalm 3), tone 6: From the Lord is salvation, and on Your people is Your blessing.
Verse: Why are there so many who oppress me, O Lord?
Genesis reading (Genesis 1:1–13).
In the beginning God created heaven and earth. The earth was invisible and unsettled, and darkness was on top of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving on top of the waters. And God said: let there be light, and there be light. And God saw the light as good, and God separated between light and darkness. And God called the light day, and the darkness he called night. And there was evening, and there was morning, one day. And God said: let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let there be a parting in the midst of the waters, and the waters: and so it was. And God made the firmament: and God divided between the waters that were under the firmament, and between the waters that were above the firmament. And God called the firmament the sky: and God saw that it was good. And it was evening, and it was morning, the second day. And God said: let the waters under heaven be gathered together into one, and let the dry land appear: and so it was. And the waters under the heaven were gathered into their own gatherings, and the dry land appeared. And God called the dry land the earth: and the collected waters were called the seas. And God saw that it was good.
And God said: Let the earth bring forth grass, sowing seed according to its kind and likeness, and a fruitful tree producing fruit, which has its seed in it, according to its kind on the earth, and so it may be. And the earth brought forth grass, sowing seed according to its kind and after its likeness, and a fruitful tree producing fruit, having its seed in it according to its kind on the earth. And God saw that it was good. And it was evening, and it was morning, the third day.
Reading Genesis [1:1–13]
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was invisible and unsettled, and darkness was on top of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering on top of the waters. And God said: “Let there be light.” And the light appeared. And God saw the light, that it was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. And God called the light day, and called the darkness night. And there was evening and there was morning: one day. And God said: “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate water from water.” And so it became. And God created the firmament, and God separated the water that was under the firmament from the water that was above the firmament. And God called the firmament heaven. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning: the second day. And God said: “Let the waters that are under the sky be gathered into one congregation, and let the dry land appear.” And it came to pass: and the waters under the heaven were gathered together, and dry land appeared. And God called the dry land earth, and the gatherings of waters he called seas. And God saw that it was good. And God said: “Let the earth bring forth grass of the meadow, yielding seed according to its kind and likeness, and a fruitful tree bearing fruit, the seed of which is in it according to its kind, on the earth.” And so it became.
And the earth brought forth grass of the meadow, yielding seed according to its kind and likeness, and a fruitful tree bearing fruit, the seed of which is in it according to its kind on the earth. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning: the third day.
Prokeimenon (Psalm 4), tone 5: The Lord will hear me, / always call me to Him.
Verse: Always call me, the God of my righteousness will hear me.
Prokeimenon (Psalm 4), tone 5: The Lord will hear me when I call on Him.
Verse: When I called on Him, the God of my justice heard me!
Proverbs reading (Proverbs 1:1–20).
The parables of Solomon, the son of David, who had the kingdom in Israel. Know wisdom and punishment and understand the words of wisdom. Accept the revelations of words and the solutions to fortune-telling, understand the true truth, and correct the judgment. May he give deceit to the kindly ones, and give the youth sense and meaning. For a wise man, having listened to these, will become wiser, and a wise man will achieve construction. He will understand the parable and the dark word, the sayings of the wise and fortune-telling. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but understanding is good to all who do it: godliness in God is the beginning of feeling, but wisdom and the punishment of wickedness will abolish. Hear, son, the punishment of your father and do not deny your mother’s covenants. For you will receive a crown of grace on your neck and a dime of gold on your neck. Son, let not the men of wickedness deceive You, let them delight you, and even pray to You, saying: come with us, and partake of the blood: let us hide in the ground the husband of the righteous unjustly. Let us devour him, as hell lives, and take his memory from the earth.
Let us accept his valuable acquisition, and fill our house with self-interest. Cast your lot with us: let us all have a common vagina, and let us all have one bag. Do not go on a journey with them: turn away your foot from their paths. But they are flowing for evil, and they will soon shed blood. It is not without truth that the borders of the birds stretch out. Because they partake of murder, they treasure evil for themselves: the destruction of lawbreaking men is evil. These ways are the essence of all who do lawlessness: by wickedness they take away their soul. Wisdom is sung in the course, but boldness leads in the hundred.
Reading the book of Proverbs [1:1–20]
Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, who reigned in Israel. To learn wisdom and instruction and to understand the words of wisdom, to learn turns of phrase and the solution of riddles, to comprehend true justice and carry out correct judgment, to give insight to the gentle, and to the young boy - knowledge and prudence. For the wise man, having listened to them, will be wiser, and the wise man will gain guidance for himself, and he will understand the parable, the hidden word, the sayings of the wise and riddles. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord: good understanding for all who have it; piety before God is the beginning of knowledge; but the wicked despise wisdom and instruction. Listen, son, to your father’s instruction and do not reject your mother’s commandments, because through this you will acquire a beautiful wreath for your head and a golden necklace for your neck. My son!
Do not let wicked people tempt you, and do not agree if they call you, saying: “Come with us, be an accomplice to murder, we will unlawfully hide a righteous man in the earth, we will consume him alive like hell and remove the memory of him from the earth, we will take possession of his precious property and fill our houses with spoils. Cast your lot with us, everyone will have a common bag, and we will all have the same wallet.” My son! Do not go on the journey with them, take your foot away from their path, for their feet rush towards evil and hasten to shed blood. For it is not in vain that nets are laid on birds: those who become accomplices in bloodshed accumulate misfortunes for themselves: the end of lawless people is disastrous. Such are the ways of all who commit iniquity, for by wickedness they destroy their souls. Wisdom is sung in the streets, and she speaks boldly in the squares.