Orthodox Daily Readings

Old Testament: Isaiah 61:1-9

Vespers, 1st reading

1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

2 to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn,

3 to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

4 And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations.

5 Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the foreigner shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.

6 But you shall be named the priests of the Lord, they shall call you the servants of our God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory you shall boast.

7 Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, and instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; everlasting joy shall be theirs.

8 “For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offering; I will direct their work in truth, and will make with them an everlasting covenant.

9 Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people. All who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the posterity whom the Lord has blessed.”

Old Testament: Composite 24 - Leviticus 26

Vespers, 2nd reading

1 The Lord spoke to the sons of Israel, saying: “If you will walk in My statutes, and keep My commandments, and do them, then will I give you the rain in its season, and the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And the time of your threshing shall reach unto the gathering of the vine, and the gathering of the vine shall reach unto the sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and you shall dwell securely in your land. And I will give peace in your land, and you shall sleep, and none shall make you afraid; and I will destroy the cruel beasts out of your land, and war shall not go through your land. And you shall pursue your enemies, and they shall fall before you with slaughter. And five of you shall pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you shall pursue ten thousand; and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. And I will look upon you and bless you; I will increase you and multiply you, and establish My covenant with you. You shall eat the old stores, and the oldest of the old; and you shall carry off the old to make way for the new. And I will establish My covenant with you, and My soul shall not be disturbed with you. And I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.

2 “But if you will not hearken unto Me, nor do these My commandments, nor submit yourselves to them, and your soul should abhor My judgments, so that you should not keep all My commandments, so as to break My covenant, then will I do thus to you: I will bring want upon you; you shall sow your seed vainly, and your enemies shall eat up the fruit of your labors. And I will set My face against you, and you shall fall before your enemies and be made subject to them that hate you; you shall flee when no one pursues you. And I will break down the haughtiness of your pride; I will make your heaven like iron and your earth like brass. And your strength shall be in vain, for your land shall not yield its seed, nor shall the tree of your field yield its fruit. And I will send upon you the wild beasts of the land, and they shall devour you and lay waste to your cattle; and I will make you few in number, and the sword falling upon you shall destroy you. And your land shall be desolate and your gates deserted, for you walked perversely before Me; and I will walk contrary to you in fury,“ saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel.

Old Testament: Wisdom of Solomon 4:7-15

Vespers, 3rd reading

7 But the righteous man, though he die early, will be at rest.

8 For old age is not honored for length of time, nor measured by number of years;

9 but understanding is gray hair for men, and a blameless life is ripe old age.

10 There was one who pleased God and was loved by him,

11 He was caught up lest evil change his understanding or guile deceive his soul.

12 For the fascination of wickedness obscures what is good, and roving desire perverts the innocent mind.

13 Being perfected in a short time, he fulfilled long years;

14 for his soul was pleasing to the Lord, therefore he took him quickly from the midst of wickedness.

15 Yet the peoples saw and did not understand, nor take such a thing to heart, that God’s grace and mercy are with his elect, and he watches over his holy ones.

Epistle: 1 Timothy 2:1-7

Epistle, New Year

1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,

2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.

3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,

4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,

6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,

7 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle – I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying – a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

Epistle: Colossians 3:12-16

Epistle, St. Simeon

12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;

13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Epistle: 2 Corinthians 12:20-13:2

20 For I fear lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish, and that I shall be found by you such as you do not wish; lest there be contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, backbitings, whisperings, conceits, tumults;

21 lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and lewdness which they have practiced.

1 This will be the third time I am coming to you. “By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.”

2 I have told you before, and foretell as if I were present the second time, and now being absent I write to those who have sinned before, and to all the rest, that if I come again I will not spare –

Gospel: Luke 4:16-22

Gospel, New Year

16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.

17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

18 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed;

19 to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”

20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.

21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

22 So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”

Gospel: Matthew 11:27-30

Gospel, St. Simeon

27 All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Gospel: Mark 4:24-34

24 Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.

25 For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

26 And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground,

27 and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how.

28 For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.

29 But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

30 Then He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it?

31 It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth;

32 but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.”

33 And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it.

34 But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.

Commemorated on this day

Church New Year (Indiction). St. Simeon the Stylite (the Elder) and his mother, Ven. Martha (ca. 428). Martyr Aithalas of Persia (380). Holy Forty Women Martyrs and Martyr Ammon the Deacon, their teacher, at Heraclea in Thrace (4th c.). Martyrs Callista and her brothers, Evodius and Hermogenes, at Nicomedia (309). Righteous Joshua the Son of Nun (16th c. B.C.). Synaxis of the Mother of God in the Miasenga Monastery (commemorating the finding of her Icon there—864). “Chernigov-Gethsemane” Icon of the Mother of God (1869).