Hebrews 4:14-5:6

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

Jesus the Great High Priest

¹⁴ Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning. ¹⁶ Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

5 For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. ² He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. ³ Because of this he is bound to offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. ⁴ And one does not take the honor upon himself, but he is called by God, just as Aaron was.

⁵ So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,

“Thou art my Son,
today I have begotten thee”;^[a]

⁶ as he says also in another place,

“Thou art a priest for ever,
after the order of Melchiz′edek.”

Mark 8:34-9:1

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

³⁴ And he called to him the multitude with his disciples, and said to them, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ³⁵ For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. ³⁶ For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?^[a] 37 For what can a man give in return for his life? ³⁸ For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of man also be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” 9 ¹ And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.”

7 The holy martyrs and bishops of Cherson: Basil, Eugene, Agathadorus, Elpidius, Aetherius, Capito, and Ephrem, who preached in the Crimea and gave their lives for the Faith. (4th century)

Isaiah 13:2-13

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

² On a bare hill raise a signal,
    cry aloud to them;
wave the hand for them to enter
    the gates of the nobles.
³ I myself have commanded my consecrated ones,
    have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger,
    my proudly exulting ones.

⁴ Hark, a tumult on the mountains
    as of a great multitude!
Hark, an uproar of kingdoms,
    of nations gathering together!
The Lord of hosts is mustering
    a host for battle.
⁵ They come from a distant land,
    from the end of the heavens,
the Lord and the weapons of his indignation,
    to destroy the whole earth.

⁶ Wail, for the day of the Lord is near;
    as destruction from the Almighty it will come!
⁷ Therefore all hands will be feeble,
    and every man’s heart will melt,
⁸     and they will be dismayed.
Pangs and agony will seize them;
    they will be in anguish like a woman in travail.
They will look aghast at one another;
    their faces will be aflame.

⁹ Behold, the day of the Lord comes,
    cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,
to make the earth a desolation
    and to destroy its sinners from it.
¹⁰ For the stars of the heavens and their constellations
    will not give their light;
the sun will be dark at its rising
    and the moon will not shed its light.
¹¹ I will punish the world for its evil,
    and the wicked for their iniquity;
I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant,
    and lay low the haughtiness of the ruthless.
¹² I will make men more rare than fine gold,
    and mankind than the gold of Ophir.
¹³ Therefore I will make the heavens tremble,
    and the earth will be shaken out of its place,
at the wrath of the Lord of hosts
    in the day of his fierce anger.

Genesis 8:4-21

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

⁴ and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest upon the mountains of Ar′arat. ⁵ And the waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.

⁶ At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made, ⁷ and sent forth a raven; and it went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. ⁸ Then he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground; ⁹ but the dove found no place to set her foot, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put forth his hand and took her and brought her into the ark with him. ¹⁰ He waited another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; ¹¹ and the dove came back to him in the evening, and lo, in her mouth a freshly plucked olive leaf; so Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth. ¹² Then he waited another seven days, and sent forth the dove; and she did not return to him any more.

¹³ In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried from off the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry. ¹⁴ In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry. ¹⁵ Then God said to Noah, ¹⁶ “Go forth from the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. ¹⁷ Bring forth with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh—birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth—that they may breed abundantly on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply upon the earth.” ¹⁸ So Noah went forth, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. ¹⁹ And every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves upon the earth, went forth by families out of the ark.

God’s Promise to Noah

²⁰ Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. ²¹ And when the Lord smelled the pleasing odor, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done.

Proverbs 10:31-11:12

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

³¹ The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,
    but the perverse tongue will be cut off.
³² The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable,
    but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse.
11 A false balance is an abomination to the Lord,
    but a just weight is his delight.
² When pride comes, then comes disgrace;
    but with the humble is wisdom.
³ The integrity of the upright guides them,
    but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.
⁴ Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
    but righteousness delivers from death.
⁵ The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight,
    but the wicked falls by his own wickedness.
⁶ The righteousness of the upright delivers them,
    but the treacherous are taken captive by their lust.
⁷ When the wicked dies, his hope perishes,
    and the expectation of the godless comes to nought.
⁸ The righteous is delivered from trouble,
    and the wicked gets into it instead.
⁹ With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor,
    but by knowledge the righteous are delivered.
¹⁰ When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices;
    and when the wicked perish there are shouts of gladness.
¹¹ By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,
    but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.
¹² He who belittles his neighbor lacks sense,
    but a man of understanding remains silent.

6 The holy forty-two martyrs of Ammorium in Syria. Captured in Phrygia and taken to the Euphrates River, they seized the palm of martyrdom. (848)

Isaiah 11:10-12:2

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

Return of the Remnant of Israel and Judah

¹⁰ In that day the root of Jesse shall stand as an ensign to the peoples; him shall the nations seek, and his dwellings shall be glorious.

¹¹ In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant which is left of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Ethiopia, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.

¹² He will raise an ensign for the nations,
    and will assemble the outcasts of Israel,
and gather the dispersed of Judah
    from the four corners of the earth.
¹³ The jealousy of E′phraim shall depart,
    and those who harass Judah shall be cut off;
E′phraim shall not be jealous of Judah,
    and Judah shall not harass E′phraim.
¹⁴ But they shall swoop down upon the shoulder of the Philistines in the west,
    and together they shall plunder the people of the east.
They shall put forth their hand against Edom and Moab,
    and the Ammonites shall obey them.
¹⁵ And the Lord will utterly destroy
    the tongue of the sea of Egypt;
and will wave his hand over the River
    with his scorching wind,
and smite it into seven channels
    that men may cross dryshod.
¹⁶ And there will be a highway from Assyria
    for the remnant which is left of his people,
as there was for Israel
    when they came up from the land of Egypt.

Thanksgiving and Praise

12 You will say in that day:
    “I will give thanks to thee, O Lord,
    for though thou wast angry with me,
thy anger turned away,
    and thou didst comfort me.

² “Behold, God is my salvation;
    I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the Lord God is my strength and my song,
    and he has become my salvation.”

Genesis 7:11-8:3

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

¹¹ In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. ¹² And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. ¹³ On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark, ¹⁴ they and every beast according to its kind, and all the cattle according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth according to its kind, and every bird according to its kind, every bird of every sort. ¹⁵ They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. ¹⁶ And they that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in.

¹⁷ The flood continued forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. ¹⁸ The waters prevailed and increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark floated on the face of the waters. ¹⁹ And the waters prevailed so mightily upon the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered; ²⁰ the waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep. ²¹ And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, birds, cattle, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm upon the earth, and every man; ²² everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. ²³ He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the air; they were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those that were with him in the ark. ²⁴ And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days.

The Flood Subsides

8 But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided; ² the fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, ³ and the waters receded from the earth continually. At the end of a hundred and fifty days the waters had abated;

Proverbs 10:1-22

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

Wise Sayings of Solomon

10 The proverbs of Solomon.

A wise son makes a glad father,
    but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.
² Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit,
    but righteousness delivers from death.
³ The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry,
    but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.
⁴ A slack hand causes poverty,
    but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
⁵ A son who gathers in summer is prudent,
    but a son who sleeps in harvest brings shame.
⁶ Blessings are on the head of the righteous,
    but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
⁷ The memory of the righteous is a blessing,
    but the name of the wicked will rot.
⁸ The wise of heart will heed commandments,
    but a prating fool will come to ruin.
⁹ He who walks in integrity walks securely,
    but he who perverts his ways will be found out.
¹⁰ He who winks the eye causes trouble,
    but he who boldly reproves makes peace.^[a]
11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
    but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
¹² Hatred stirs up strife,
    but love covers all offenses.
¹³ On the lips of him who has understanding wisdom is found,
    but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense.
¹⁴ Wise men lay up knowledge,
    but the babbling of a fool brings ruin near.
¹⁵ A rich man’s wealth is his strong city;
    the poverty of the poor is their ruin.
¹⁶ The wage of the righteous leads to life,
    the gain of the wicked to sin.
¹⁷ He who heeds instruction is on the path to life,
    but he who rejects reproof goes astray.
¹⁸ He who conceals hatred has lying lips,
    and he who utters slander is a fool.
¹⁹ When words are many, transgression is not lacking,
    but he who restrains his lips is prudent.
²⁰ The tongue of the righteous is choice silver;
    the mind of the wicked is of little worth.
²¹ The lips of the righteous feed many,
    but fools die for lack of sense.
²² The blessing of the Lord makes rich,
    and he adds no sorrow with it.^[b]

5 The holy martyr Conon, who was a gardener ordered to run in front of a chariot after having his feet pierced with nails. He sank down to his knees and surrendered his spirit in prayer. (251)

Isaiah 11:10-12:2

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

Return of the Remnant of Israel and Judah

¹⁰ In that day the root of Jesse shall stand as an ensign to the peoples; him shall the nations seek, and his dwellings shall be glorious.

¹¹ In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant which is left of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Ethiopia, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.

¹² He will raise an ensign for the nations,
    and will assemble the outcasts of Israel,
and gather the dispersed of Judah
    from the four corners of the earth.
¹³ The jealousy of E′phraim shall depart,
    and those who harass Judah shall be cut off;
E′phraim shall not be jealous of Judah,
    and Judah shall not harass E′phraim.
¹⁴ But they shall swoop down upon the shoulder of the Philistines in the west,
    and together they shall plunder the people of the east.
They shall put forth their hand against Edom and Moab,
    and the Ammonites shall obey them.
¹⁵ And the Lord will utterly destroy
    the tongue of the sea of Egypt;
and will wave his hand over the River
    with his scorching wind,
and smite it into seven channels
    that men may cross dryshod.
¹⁶ And there will be a highway from Assyria
    for the remnant which is left of his people,
as there was for Israel
    when they came up from the land of Egypt.

Thanksgiving and Praise

12 You will say in that day:
    “I will give thanks to thee, O Lord,
    for though thou wast angry with me,
thy anger turned away,
    and thou didst comfort me.

² “Behold, God is my salvation;
    I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the Lord God is my strength and my song,
    and he has become my salvation.”

Genesis 7:11-8:3

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

¹¹ In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. ¹² And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. ¹³ On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark, ¹⁴ they and every beast according to its kind, and all the cattle according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth according to its kind, and every bird according to its kind, every bird of every sort. ¹⁵ They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. ¹⁶ And they that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in.

¹⁷ The flood continued forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. ¹⁸ The waters prevailed and increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark floated on the face of the waters. ¹⁹ And the waters prevailed so mightily upon the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered; ²⁰ the waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep. ²¹ And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, birds, cattle, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm upon the earth, and every man; ²² everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. ²³ He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the air; they were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those that were with him in the ark. ²⁴ And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days.

The Flood Subsides

8 But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided; ² the fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, ³ and the waters receded from the earth continually. At the end of a hundred and fifty days the waters had abated;

Proverbs 10:1-22

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

Wise Sayings of Solomon

10 The proverbs of Solomon.

A wise son makes a glad father,
    but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.
² Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit,
    but righteousness delivers from death.
³ The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry,
    but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.
⁴ A slack hand causes poverty,
    but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
⁵ A son who gathers in summer is prudent,
    but a son who sleeps in harvest brings shame.
⁶ Blessings are on the head of the righteous,
    but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
⁷ The memory of the righteous is a blessing,
    but the name of the wicked will rot.
⁸ The wise of heart will heed commandments,
    but a prating fool will come to ruin.
⁹ He who walks in integrity walks securely,
    but he who perverts his ways will be found out.
¹⁰ He who winks the eye causes trouble,
    but he who boldly reproves makes peace.^[a]
11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
    but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
¹² Hatred stirs up strife,
    but love covers all offenses.
¹³ On the lips of him who has understanding wisdom is found,
    but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense.
¹⁴ Wise men lay up knowledge,
    but the babbling of a fool brings ruin near.
¹⁵ A rich man’s wealth is his strong city;
    the poverty of the poor is their ruin.
¹⁶ The wage of the righteous leads to life,
    the gain of the wicked to sin.
¹⁷ He who heeds instruction is on the path to life,
    but he who rejects reproof goes astray.
¹⁸ He who conceals hatred has lying lips,
    and he who utters slander is a fool.
¹⁹ When words are many, transgression is not lacking,
    but he who restrains his lips is prudent.
²⁰ The tongue of the righteous is choice silver;
    the mind of the wicked is of little worth.
²¹ The lips of the righteous feed many,
    but fools die for lack of sense.
²² The blessing of the Lord makes rich,
    and he adds no sorrow with it.^[b]

4 Our venerable father Gerasimus of the Jordan, anchorite on the shores of the Jordan River. At the time of the emperor Zeno, he was brought back to the orthodox faith by Saint Euthymius. He engaged in great works of penance, offering to all who practiced the monastic life under him a way of living the most irreproachable discipline. (475)

Readings for Wed. 3^rd  of March: Thirty-Eighth Week After Pentecost: Great Fast

Isaiah 10:12-20

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

¹² When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem he^[a] will punish the arrogant boasting of the king of Assyria and his haughty pride. ¹³ For he says:

“By the strength of my hand I have done it,
    and by my wisdom, for I have understanding;
I have removed the boundaries of peoples,
    and have plundered their treasures;
    like a bull I have brought down those who sat on thrones.
¹⁴ My hand has found like a nest
    the wealth of the peoples;
and as men gather eggs that have been forsaken
    so I have gathered all the earth;
and there was none that moved a wing,
    or opened the mouth, or chirped.”

¹⁵ Shall the axe vaunt itself over him who hews with it,
    or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?
As if a rod should wield him who lifts it,
    or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!
¹⁶ Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts,
    will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors,
and under his glory a burning will be kindled,
    like the burning of fire.
¹⁷ The light of Israel will become a fire,
    and his Holy One a flame;
and it will burn and devour
    his thorns and briers in one day.
¹⁸ The glory of his forest and of his fruitful land
    the Lord will destroy, both soul and body,
    and it will be as when a sick man wastes away.
¹⁹ The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few
    that a child can write them down.

The Repentant Remnant of Israel

²⁰ In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean upon him that smote them, but will lean upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

Genesis 7:6-9

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

⁶ Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth. ⁷ And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him went into the ark, to escape the waters of the flood. ⁸ Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, ⁹ two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah.

Proverbs 9:12-18

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

¹² If you are wise, you are wise for yourself;
    if you scoff, you alone will bear it.

Folly’s Invitation and Promise

¹³ A foolish woman is noisy;
    she is wanton^[a] and knows no shame.^[b]
14 She sits at the door of her house,
    she takes a seat on the high places of the town,
¹⁵ calling to those who pass by,
    who are going straight on their way,
¹⁶ “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
    And to him who is without sense she says,
¹⁷ “Stolen water is sweet,
    and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
¹⁸ But he does not know that the dead^[c] are there,
    that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

3 The holy martyr Eutropius and his companions, Cleonicus and Basiliscus, at Amasea in Pontus, martyrs in the persecution of Maximius the emperor under the governor Asclepiodatus. (308)

Isaiah 9:9-10:4

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

⁹ and all the people will know,
    E′phraim and the inhabitants of Samar′ia,
    who say in pride and in arrogance of heart:
¹⁰ “The bricks have fallen,
    but we will build with dressed stones;
the sycamores have been cut down,
    but we will put cedars in their place.”
¹¹ So the Lord raises adversaries^[a] against them,
    and stirs up their enemies.
¹² The Syrians on the east and the Philistines on the west
    devour Israel with open mouth.
For all this his anger is not turned away
    and his hand is stretched out still.

¹³ The people did not turn to him who smote them,
    nor seek the Lord of hosts.
¹⁴ So the Lord cut off from Israel head and tail,
    palm branch and reed in one day—
¹⁵ the elder and honored man is the head,
    and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail;
¹⁶ for those who lead this people lead them astray,
    and those who are led by them are swallowed up.
¹⁷ Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over their young men,
    and has no compassion on their fatherless and widows;
for every one is godless and an evildoer,
    and every mouth speaks folly.
For all this his anger is not turned away
    and his hand is stretched out still.

¹⁸ For wickedness burns like a fire,
    it consumes briers and thorns;
it kindles the thickets of the forest,
    and they roll upward in a column of smoke.
¹⁹ Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts
    the land is burned,
and the people are like fuel for the fire;
    no man spares his brother.
²⁰ They snatch on the right, but are still hungry,
    and they devour on the left, but are not satisfied;
each devours his neighbor’s^[b] flesh,
²¹ Manas′seh E′phraim, and E′phraim Manas′seh,
    and together they are against Judah.
For all this his anger is not turned away
    and his hand is stretched out still.

10 Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees,
    and the writers who keep writing oppression,
² to turn aside the needy from justice
    and to rob the poor of my people of their right,
that widows may be their spoil,
    and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
³ What will you do on the day of punishment,
    in the storm which will come from afar?
To whom will you flee for help,
    and where will you leave your wealth?
⁴ Nothing remains but to crouch among the prisoners
    or fall among the slain.
For all this his anger is not turned away
    and his hand is stretched out still.

Genesis 7:1-5

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

The Great Flood

7 Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. ² Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate; and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate; ³ and seven pairs of the birds of the air also, male and female, to keep their kind alive upon the face of all the earth. ⁴ For in seven days I will send rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.” ⁵ And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.

Proverbs 8:32-9:11

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

³² And now, my sons, listen to me:
    happy are those who keep my ways.
³³ Hear instruction and be wise,
    and do not neglect it.
³⁴ Happy is the man who listens to me,
    watching daily at my gates,
    waiting beside my doors.
³⁵ For he who finds me finds life
    and obtains favor from the Lord;
³⁶ but he who misses me injures himself;
    all who hate me love death.”

Wisdom’s Feast

9 Wisdom has built her house,
she has set up^[a] her seven pillars.
² She has slaughtered her beasts, she has mixed her wine,
    she has also set her table.
³ She has sent out her maids to call
    from the highest places in the town,
⁴ “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
    To him who is without sense she says,
⁵ “Come, eat of my bread
    and drink of the wine I have mixed.
⁶ Leave simpleness,^[b] and live,
    and walk in the way of insight.”

General Maxims

⁷ He who corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,
    and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
⁸ Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
    reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
⁹ Give instruction^[c] to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
    teach a righteous man and he will increase in learning.
¹⁰ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
    and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
¹¹ For by me your days will be multiplied,
    and years will be added to your life.

2 The holy martyr Theodotus, bishop of Cyrene. (302)

Isaiah 8:13-9:7

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

¹³ But the Lord of hosts, him you shall regard as holy; let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. ¹⁴ And he will become a sanctuary, and a stone of offense, and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁵ And many shall stumble thereon; they shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”

Disciples of Isaiah

¹⁶ Bind up the testimony, seal the teaching among my disciples. ¹⁷ I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. ¹⁸ Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion. ¹⁹ And when they say to you, “Consult the mediums and the wizards who chirp and mutter,” should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? ²⁰ To the teaching and to the testimony! Surely for this word which they speak there is no dawn. ²¹ They will pass through the land,^[a] greatly distressed and hungry; and when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will curse^[b] their king and their God, and turn their faces upward; ²² and they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be thrust into thick darkness.

The Righteous Reign of the Coming King

9 ^[c] But there will be no gloom for her that was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zeb′ulun and the land of Naph′tali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

^2 [d] The people who walked in darkness
    have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
    on them has light shined.
³ Thou hast multiplied the nation,
    thou hast increased its joy;
they rejoice before thee
    as with joy at the harvest,
    as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
⁴ For the yoke of his burden,
    and the staff for his shoulder,
    the rod of his oppressor,
    thou hast broken as on the day of Mid′ian.
⁵ For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
    and every garment rolled in blood
    will be burned as fuel for the fire.
⁶ For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given;
and the government will be upon his shoulder,
    and his name will be called
“Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”^[e]
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
    there will be no end,
upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom,
    to establish it, and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
    from this time forth and for evermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Genesis 6:9-22

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

Noah Pleases God

⁹ These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God. ¹⁰ And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

^11 [a]Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. ¹² And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. ¹³ And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh; for the earth is filled with violence through them; behold, I will destroy them with the earth. ¹⁴ Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. ¹⁵ This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. ¹⁶ Make a roof^[b] for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above; and set the door of the ark in its side; make it with lower, second, and third decks. ¹⁷ For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall die. ¹⁸ But I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. ¹⁹ And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. ²⁰ Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you, to keep them alive. ²¹ Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up; and it shall serve as food for you and for them.” ²² Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

Proverbs 8:1-21

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

The Gifts of Wisdom

8 Does not wisdom call,
does not understanding raise her voice?
² On the heights beside the way,
    in the paths she takes her stand;
³ beside the gates in front of the town,
    at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud:
⁴ “To you, O men, I call,
    and my cry is to the sons of men.
⁵ O simple ones, learn prudence;
    O foolish men, pay attention.
⁶ Hear, for I will speak noble things,
    and from my lips will come what is right;
⁷ for my mouth will utter truth;
    wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
⁸ All the words of my mouth are righteous;
    there is nothing twisted or crooked in them.
⁹ They are all straight to him who understands
    and right to those who find knowledge.
¹⁰ Take my instruction instead of silver,
    and knowledge rather than choice gold;
¹¹ for wisdom is better than jewels,
    and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.
¹² I, wisdom, dwell in prudence,^[a]
    and I find knowledge and discretion.
¹³ The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.
Pride and arrogance and the way of evil
    and perverted speech I hate.
¹⁴ I have counsel and sound wisdom,
    I have insight, I have strength.
¹⁵ By me kings reign,
    and rulers decree what is just;
¹⁶ by me princes rule,
    and nobles govern^[b] the earth.
¹⁷ I love those who love me,
    and those who seek me diligently find me.
¹⁸ Riches and honor are with me,
    enduring wealth and prosperity.
¹⁹ My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold,
    and my yield than choice silver.
²⁰ I walk in the way of righteousness,
    in the paths of justice,
²¹ endowing with wealth those who love me,
    and filling their treasuries.

28 Our venerable father and confessor Basil, fellow ascetic of Procopius, who suffered much and saw the conversion of many to orthodoxy. (741)