Wednesday in the Fourth Week of Lent

At the Sixth Hour.

The Lesson of the Prophecy of Isaias.
Isaias 26:21-27:9.
For behold the Lord will come out of his place, to visit the iniquity of the inhabitant of the earth against him: and the earth shall disclose her blood, and shall cover her slain no more. In that day the Lord with his hard, and great, and strong sword shall visit leviathan the bar serpent, and leviathan the crooked serpent, and shall slay the whale that is in the sea. In that day there shall be singing to the vineyard of pure wine. I am the Lord that keep it, I will suddenly give it drink: lest any hurt come to it, I keep it night and day. There is no indignation in me: who shall make me a thorn and a brier in battle: shall march against it, shall I set it on fire together? Or rather shall it take hold of my strength, shall it make peace with me, shall it make peace with me? When they shall rush in unto Jacob, Israel shall blossom and bud, and they shall fill the face of the world with seed. Hath he struck him according to the stroke of him that struck him? or is he slain, as he killed them that were slain by him? In measure against measure, when it shall be cast off, thou shalt judge it. He hath meditated with his severe spirit in the day of heat. Therefore upon this shall the iniquity of the house of Jacob be forgiven: and this is all the fruit, that the sin thereof should be taken away, when he shall have made all the stones of the altar, as burnt stones broken in pieces, the groves and temples shall not stand.

At Vespers.

The Lesson of Genesis.
Genesis 9:18-10:1.
And the sons of Noe who came out of the ark, were Sem, Cham, and Japheth: and Cham is the father of Chanaan. These three are the sons of Noe: and from these was all mankind spread over the whole earth. And Noe, a husbandman, began to till the ground, and planted a vineyard. And drinking of the wine was made drunk, and was uncovered in his tent. Which when Cham the father of Chanaan had seen, to wit, that his father’s nakedness was uncovered, he told it to his two brethren without. But Sem and Japheth put a cloak upon their shoulders, and going backward, covered the nakedness of their father: and their faces were turned away, and they saw not their father’s nakedness. And Noe awaking from the wine, when he had learned what his younger son had done to him, he said: Cursed be Chanaan, a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. And he said: Blessed be the Lord God of Sem, be Chanaan his servant. May God enlarge Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of Sem, and Chanaan be his servant. And Noe lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years: and all his days were in the whole nine hundred and fifty years: and he died. These are the generations of the sons of Noe: Sem, Cham, and Japheth: and unto them sons were born after the flood.

The Lesson of Proverbs.
Proverbs 12:23-13:9.
A cautious man concealeth knowledge: and the heart of fools publisheth folly. The hand of the valiant shall bear rule: but that which is slothful, shall be under tribute. Grief in the heart of a man shall bring him low, but with a good word he shall be made glad. He that neglecteth a loss for the sake of a friend, is just: but the way of the wicked shall deceive them. The deceitful man shall not find gain: but the substance of a just man shall be precious gold. In the path of justice is life: but the by-way leadeth to death. A wise son heareth the doctrine of his father: but he that is a scorner, beareth not when he is reproved. Of the fruit of his own mouth shall a man be filled with good things: but the soul of transgressors is wicked. He that keepeth his mouth, keepeth his soul: but he that hath no guard on his speech shall meet with evils. The sluggard willeth and willeth not: but the soul of them that work, shall be made fat. The just shall hate a lying word: but the wicked confoundeth, and shall be confounded. Justice keepeth the way of the innocent: but wickedness overthroweth the sinner. One is as it were rich, when he hath nothing: and another is as it were poor, when he hath great riches. The ransom of a man’s life are his riches: but he that is poor beareth not reprehension. The light of the just giveth joy: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.