This is the book of the existence of heaven and earth, when the day came that the Lord God created heaven and earth. And every herb, even before it was on the earth, and every grass, before it even vegetated. The Lord God will not rain on the earth, and man will not do it. A fountain came up from the earth, and watered the whole face of the earth. And God created man, dust from the earth, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life: and man became a living soul. And the Lord God planted paradise in Eden in the east, and brought there man, whom he also created. And God grew from the earth every red tree for a vision, and a good tree for food, and the tree of life in the midst of paradise, and the tree of the understanding of good and evil. The river comes from Eden, filling paradise: from there it separates into four sources. The name of the one Pison: this one surrounds the whole land of Ebilite: there is gold there. The gold of this land is good, and there is anfrax and a green stone. And the name of the second is Geon: this one surrounds the whole land of Ethiopia.
And the third river is the Tigris: this one runs straight through Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. And the Lord God took man, whom he created, and brought him into the paradise of sweetness, made him and kept him. And the commandment of the Lord God to Adam, the verb: from every tree that is in Paradise, you shall carry food: but from the tree, meaning good and evil, you shall not take from it; If you are carried away by it, you will die. And the Lord God said: It is not good for man to be alone; let us make him a helper for him. And God created from the earth all the wild beasts, and all the birds of the air, and I will bring to Adam to see what I will call: and every living thing called Adam, this his name.
Reading Genesis [2, 4–19]
This is the book of the origin of heaven and earth, when they came into being, on the day on which the Lord God created heaven and earth, and every green plant of the field, before it appeared on earth, and every the grass of the field before it came up. For the Lord God did not send rain on the earth and there was no man to cultivate it, but a stream flowed from the earth and watered the entire face of the earth. And God formed man, taking dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. And the Lord God planted a paradise in Eden in the east, and brought there the man whom he created. And God made from the ground every tree that was beautiful to look at and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The river comes out of Eden to irrigate Paradise, and then splits into four rivers. And the name of one is Pison: it surrounds the whole land of Ebilite, there is gold there, and the gold of that land is good, and there is garnet and green stone there. And the name of the second river is Geon: it surrounds the whole land of Ethiopia.
And the third river is the Tigris: it flows straight to Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. And the Lord God took the man whom he had created and brought him into the paradise of pleasure to cultivate it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded Adam, saying: “Of every tree that is in the garden you will eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you must not eat from it, and on the day you eat from it, you will surely die.” And the Lord God said: “It is not good for a man to be alone; Let us make him a helper like him.” And God also formed from the earth all the beasts of the field, and all the birds of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them, and the name of every living soul would be the same as Adam gave it.
Γενέσεως τὸ Ἀνάγνωσμα (Κεφ. Βˊ, 4–19)
Αὕτη ἡ βίβλος γενέσεως οὐρανοῦ τε καὶ γῆς, ὅτε ἐγένετο ἡμέρα, ᾗ ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν, καὶ πᾶν χλωρὸν ἀγροῦ, πρὸ τοῦ γενέσθαι ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, καὶ πάντα χόρτον ἀγροῦ, καὶ ἄνθρωπος οὐκ ἦν ἐργάζεσθαι αὐτήν. Πηγὴ δὲ ἀνέβαινεν ἐκ τῆς γῆς, καὶ ἐπότιζε πᾶν τὸ πρόσωπον τῆς γῆς. Καὶ ἔπλασεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον, χοῦν λαβὼν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, καὶ ἐνεφύσησεν εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ πνοὴν ζωῆς, καὶ ἐγένετο ὁ ἄνθρωπος εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν. Καὶ ἐφύτευσεν ὁ Θεὸς Παράδεισον ἐν Ἐδέμ, κατὰ ἀνατολάς, καὶ ἔθετο ἐκεῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ὃν ἔπλασε. Καὶ ἐξανέτειλεν ὁ Θεὸς ἔτι ἐκ τῆς γῆς πᾶν ξύλον ὡραῖον εἰς ὅρασιν, καὶ καλὸν εἰς βρῶσιν, καὶ τὸ ξύλον τῆς ζωῆς, ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ Παραδείσου, καὶ τὸ ξύλον τοῦ εἰδέναι γνωστὸν καλοῦ καὶ πονηροῦ. Ποταμὸς δὲ ἐκεπορεύεται ἐξ Ἐδέμ, ποτίζειν τὸν Παράδεισον· ἐκεῖθεν ἀφορίζεται εἰς τέσσαρας ἀρχάς, ὄνομα τῷ ἑνί, Φισών οὗτος ὁ κυκλῶν πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν Εὐϊλάτ, ἐκεῖ οὖν ἐστι τὸ χρυσίον.
Τὸ δὲ χρυσίον τῆς γῆς ἐκείνης, καλόν, καὶ ἐκεῖ ἐστιν ὁ ἄνθραξ, καὶ ὁ λίθος ὁ πράσινος. Καὶ ὄνομα τῷ ποταμῷ τῷ δευτέρῳ, Γεών· οὗτος ὁ κυκλῶν πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν Αἰθιοπίας. Καὶ ὁ ποταμὸς ὁ τρίτος, Τίγρις, οὗτος ὁ πορευόμενος κατέναντι Ἀσσυρίων, ὁ δὲ ποταμὸς ὁ τέταρτος, Εὐφράτης. Καὶ ἔλαβε Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ὃν ἔπλασε, καὶ ἔθετο αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ Παραδείσῳ τῆς τρυφῆς, ἐργάζεσθαι αὐτὸν καὶ φυλάσσειν. Καὶ ἐνετείλατο Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τῷ Ἀδάμ, λέγων· Ἀπὸ παντὸς ξύλου, τοῦ ἐν τῷ Παραδείσῳ, βρώσει φαγῇ, ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ ξύλου τοῦ γινώσκειν καλὸν καὶ πονηρόν, οὐ φάγεσθε ἀπˊ αὐτοῦ· ᾗ δˊ ἂν ἡμέρα φάγητε ἀπˊ αὐτοῦ, θανάτῳ ἀποθανεῖσθε. Καὶ εἶπε Κύριος ὁ Θεός· οὐ καλὸν εἶναι τὸν ἄνθρωπον μόνον, ποιήσωμεν αὐτῷ βοηθὸν κατˊ αὐτόν. Καὶ ἔπλασεν ὁ Θεὸς ἔτι ἐκ τῆς γῆς πάντα τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ τὰ θηρία τοῦ ἀγροῦ, καὶ ἤγαγεν αὐτὰ πρὸς τὸν Ἀδάμ, ἰδεῖν τί καλέσει αὐτά. Καὶ πᾶν, ὃ ἐὰν ἐκάλεσεν αὐτὸ Ἀδὰμ ψυχὴν ζῶσαν, τοῦτο ὄνομα αὐτῶν.
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Prokeimenon, voice four: Save me, Lord, like the apple of your eye.
Verse: Hear, O Lord, my truth.
Prokeimenon (Psalm 16), tone 4: Lord, protect me like the apple of my eye!
Verse: Lord, hear about my justice!
Προκείμενον. Ἦχος δˊ. Ψαλμὸς ιςˊ. Φύλαξόν με Κύριε, ὡς κόρην ὀφθαλμοῦ.
Στίχ. Εἰσάκουσον, Κύριε, δικαιοσύνης μου.
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Proverbs reading (Prov. 3: 1–18).
Son, do not forget my laws, but let your heart keep my words. Long life, and years of life, and peace will be added to you. May alms and faith not fail you: so I will cover your neck, and write on the tablet of your heart, and you will find grace, and provide good deeds before the Lord (God) and people. Trust in God with all your heart, and do not be proud of your wisdom. In all your ways, acknowledge her, so that she may correct your paths. Do not be wise about yourself, but fear God and shun all evil. Then there will be healing for your body, and healing for your bones. Honor the Lord with your righteous labors, and give Him the firstfruits of your fruits of righteousness. Let your barns be filled with an abundance of wheat; let your winepress flow forth. Son, do not despise the punishment of the Lord: let him who is reproved from Him weaken. The Lord loves him and punishes him: he beats every son whom he accepts. Blessed is the man who gains wisdom, and mortal is he who gains understanding.
It’s better to have this cupping than gold and silver treasures. The most honest is a treasure of stones: nothing wicked resists it, it is gracious to eat to all those who approach it, but everything that is honest is not worthy of it. The length of life and the years of life are in her right hand: in her soul is wealth and glory: from her mouth comes righteousness, and the law and mercy are on the tongue. Her path is good, and all her paths are peaceful. The tree of life is to all who hold on to it, and to those who worship it, as to the Lord, it is strong.
Reading the Book of Proverbs [3, 1–18]