Day 276 The Bible in a Year (Orthodox canon)

Sirach 42

1 Of these things be not thou ashamed, and accept no person to sin thereby: 2 of the law of the most High, and his covenant; and of judgment to justify the ungodly; 3 of reckoning with thy partners and travellers; or of the gift of the heritage of friends; 4 of exactness of balance and weights; or of getting much or little; 5 and of merchants' indifferent selling; of much correction of children; and to make the side of an evil servant to bleed. 6 Sure keeping is good, where an evil wife is; and locked up, where many hands are. 7 Deliver all things in number and weight; and put all in writing that thou givest out, or receivest in. 8 Be not ashamed to inform the unwise and foolish, and the extreme aged that contendeth with those that are young: thus shalt thou be truly learned, and approved of all men living. 9 A daughter is a wakeful care to a father; and the care for her taketh away sleep: when she is young, lest she pass away the flower of her age; and being married, lest she should be hated: 10 in her virginity, lest she should be defiled and gotten with child in her father's house; and having an husband, lest she should misbehave herself; and when she is married, lest she should be barren. 11 Keep a sure watch over a shameless daughter, lest she make thee a laughingstock to thine enemies, and a byword in the city, and a reproach among the people, and make thee ashamed before the multitude. 12 Behold not everybody's beauty, and sit not in the midst of women. 13 For from garments cometh a moth, and from women wickedness. 14 Better is the churlishness of a man than a courteous woman, a woman, [I say], which bringeth shame and reproach. 15 I will now remember the works of the Lord, and declare the things that I have seen: In the words of the Lord are his works. 16 The sun that giveth light looketh upon all things, and the work thereof [is] full of the glory of the Lord. 17 The Lord hath not given power to the saints to declare all his marvellous works, which the Almighty Lord firmly settled, that whatsoever is might be established for his glory. 18 He seeketh out the deep, and the heart, and considereth their crafty devices: for the Lord knoweth all that can be known, and he beholdeth the signs of the world, 19 declaring the things that are past, and for to come, and revealing the steps of hidden things. 20 No thought escapeth him, neither any word is hidden from him. 21 He hath garnished the excellent works of his wisdom, and he is from everlasting to everlasting: unto him may nothing be added, neither can he be diminished, and he hath no need of any counsellor. 22 Oh how desirable are all his works! and that a man may see even to a spark. 23 All these things live and remain for ever for all uses, and they are all obedient. 24 All things are double one against another: and he hath made nothing imperfect. 25 One thing establisheth the good of another: and who shall be filled with beholding his glory?

Sirach 43

1 The pride of the height, the clear firmament, the beauty of heaven, with his glorious shew; 2 the sun when it appeareth, declaring at his rising a marvellous instrument, the work of the most High: 3 at noon it parcheth the country, and who can abide the burning heat thereof? 4 A man blowing a furnace is in works of heat, but the sun burneth the mountains three times more; breathing out fiery vapours, and sending forth bright beams, it dimmeth the eyes. 5 Great is the Lord that made it; and at his commandment it runneth hastily. 6 He made the moon also to serve in her season for a declaration of times, and a sign of the world. 7 From the moon is the sign of feasts, a light that decreaseth in her perfection. 8 The month is called after her name, increasing wonderfully in her changing, being an instrument of the armies above, shining in the firmament of heaven; 9 the beauty of heaven, the glory of the stars, an ornament giving light in the highest places of the Lord. 10 At the commandment of the Holy One they will stand in their order, and never faint in their watches. 11 Look upon the rainbow, and praise him that made it; very beautiful it is in the brightness thereof. 12 It compasseth the heaven about with a glorious circle, and the hands of the most High have bended it. 13 By his commandment he maketh the snow to fall apace, and sendeth swiftly the lightnings of his judgment. 14 Through this the treasures are opened: and clouds fly forth as fowls. 15 By his great power he maketh the clouds firm, and the hailstones are broken small. 16 At his sight the mountains are shaken, and at his will the south wind bloweth. 17 The noise of the thunder maketh the earth to tremble: so doth the northern storm and the whirlwind: as birds flying he scattereth the snow, and the falling down thereof is as the lighting of grasshoppers: 18 the eye marvelleth at the beauty of the whiteness thereof, and the heart is astonished at the raining of it. 19 The hoarfrost also as salt he poureth on the earth, and being congealed, it becometh sharp peaks. 20 When the cold north wind bloweth, and the water is congealed into ice, it abideth upon every gathering together of water, and clotheth the water as with a breastplate. 21 It devoureth the mountains, and burneth the wilderness, and consumeth the grass as fire. 22 A present remedy of all is a mist coming speedily: a dew coming after heat refresheth. 23 By his counsel he appeaseth the deep, and planteth islands therein. 24 They that sail on the sea tell of the danger thereof; and when we hear it with our ears, we marvel thereat. 25 For therein be strange and wondrous works, variety of all kinds of beasts, the race of whales. 26 By him the end of them hath prosperous success, and by his word all things consist. 27 We may speak much, and yet come short; wherefore in sum, he is all. 28 How shall we be able to magnify him? for he is great above all his works. 29 The Lord is terrible and very great, and marvellous is his power. 30 When ye glorify the Lord, exalt him as much as ye can; for even yet will he far exceed: and when ye exalt him, put forth all your strength, and be not weary; for ye can never go far enough. 31 Who hath seen him, that he might tell us? and who can magnify him as he is? 32 There are yet hid greater things than these be, for we have seen but a few of his works. 33 For the Lord hath made all things; and to the godly hath he given wisdom.

Sirach 44

1 Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers that begat us. 2 The Lord hath wrought great glory by them through his great power from the beginning. 3 Such as did bear rule in their kingdoms, men renowned for their power, giving counsel by their understanding, and declaring prophecies: 4 leaders of the people by their counsels, and by their knowledge of learning meet for the people, wise and eloquent in their instruction: 5 such as found out musical tunes, and recited verses in writing: 6 rich men furnished with ability, living peaceably in their habitations: 7 all these were honoured in their generations, and were the glory of their times. 8 There be of them that have left a name behind them, that their praises might be reported. 9 And some there be, which have no memorial; who are perished, as though they had never been; and are become as though they had never been born; and their children after them. 10 But these were merciful men, whose righteousness hath not been forgotten. 11 With their seed shall continually remain a good inheritance, and their children are within the covenant. 12 Their seed standeth fast, and their children for their sakes. 13 Their seed shall remain for ever, and their glory shall not be blotted out. 14 Their bodies are buried in peace; but their name liveth for evermore. 15 The people will tell of their wisdom, and the congregation will shew forth their praise. 16 Enoch pleased the Lord, and was translated, being an example of repentance to all generations. 17 Noah was found perfect and righteous; in the time of wrath he was taken in exchange [for the world;] therefore was he left as a remnant unto the earth, when the flood came. 18 An everlasting covenant was made with him, that all flesh shall perish no more by the flood. 19 Abraham was a great father of many people: in glory was there none like unto him; 20 who kept the law of the most High, and was in covenant with him: he established the covenant in his flesh; and when he was proved, he was found faithful. 21 Therefore he assured him by an oath, that he would bless the nations in his seed, and that he would multiply him as the dust of the earth, and exalt his seed as the stars, and cause them to inherit from sea to sea, and from the river unto the utmost part of the land. 22 With Isaac did he establish likewise, for Abraham his father's sake, the blessing of all men, and the covenant, 23 and made it rest upon the head of Jacob. He acknowledged him in his blessing, and gave him an heritage, and divided his portions; among the twelve tribes did he part them.

Philippians 2

1 If therefore there is any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassion, 2 make my joy full by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind; 3 doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself; 4 each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others. 5 Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, yes, the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12 So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. 14 Do all things without complaining and arguing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without defect in the middle of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you are seen as lights in the world, 16 holding up the word of life, that I may have something to boast in the day of Christ that I didn’t run in vain nor labor in vain. 17 Yes, and if I am poured out on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 In the same way, you also should be glad and rejoice with me. 19 But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered up when I know how you are doing. 20 For I have no one else like-minded, who will truly care about you. 21 For they all seek their own, not the things of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know that he has proved himself. As a child serves a father, so he served with me in furtherance of the Good News. 23 Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it will go with me. 24 But I trust in the Lord that I myself also will come shortly. 25 But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, fellow soldier, and your apostle and servant of my need, 26 since he longed for you all, and was very troubled because you had heard that he was sick. 27 For indeed he was sick nearly to death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only, but on me also, that I might not have sorrow on sorrow. 28 I have sent him therefore the more diligently, that when you see him again, you may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful. 29 Receive him therefore in the Lord with all joy, and hold such people in honor, 30 because for the work of Christ he came near to death, risking his life to supply that which was lacking in your service toward me.