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Tuesday, April 6, 2027

On the Old (Julian) Calendar this is 24 March.

Readings for April 6, 2027: Tuesday of the 4th week of Great Lent

Tone 3

The Scripture readings appointed for the Divine Liturgy, following the practice of the Orthodox Church in America.

New Calendar Old Calendar

Commemorated today: Forefeast of Annunciation; Ven. Zachariah the Recluse

A prayer before reading the Scriptures

The priest says this prayer quietly before the Gospel at the Divine Liturgy. Many Orthodox Christians also say it before reading the Bible at home.

Illumine our hearts, O God who lovest mankind, with the pure light of thy divine knowledge, and open the eyes of our understanding to the comprehension of the proclamation of thy Gospel. Implant in us, likewise, the fear of thy blessed commandments; that, trampling down all carnal desires, we may pursue a godly life, both thinking and performing such things as are well-pleasing unto thee. For thou art the light of our souls, and of our bodies, O Christ our God, and unto thee do we ascribe glory, together with thy Father who is from everlasting, and thy holy, and blessed, and life-giving Spirit, now, and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

From the Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, in Isabel F. Hapgood's translation (Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic (Greco-Russian) Church, Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1906, pp. 88–89; public domain). See the scan

Great Lent: Old Testament readings

On the weekdays of Great Lent the Church reads the Old Testament: Isaiah at the Sixth Hour, Genesis and Proverbs at Vespers. When the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served (usually on Wednesdays and Fridays), it begins with Vespers, so its readings are the Genesis and Proverbs ones.

Readings of the day

Old Testament Isaiah 25:1–9 · Sixth Hour Brenton

1 O Lord God, I will glorify thee, I will sing to thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things, [even] an ancient [and] faithful counsel. So be it. 2 For thou hast made cities a heap, [even] cities [made] strong that their foundations should not fall: the city of ungodly men shall not be built for ever. 3 Therefore shall the poor people bless thee, and cities of injured men shall bless thee. 4 For thou hast been a helper to every lowly city, and a shelter to them that were disheartened by reason of poverty: thou shalt deliver them from wicked men: [thou hast been] a shelter of them that thirst, and a refreshing air to injured men. 5 [We were] as faint-hearted men thirsting in Sion, by reason of ungodly men to whom thou didst deliver us. 6 And the Lord of hosts shall make [a feast] for all the nations: on this mount they shall drink gladness, they shall drink wine: 7 they shall anoint themselves with ointment in this mountain. Impart thou all these things to the nations; for this is [God's] counsel upon all the nations. 8 Death has prevailed and swallowed [men] up; but again the Lord God has taken away every tear from every face. He has taken away the reproach of [his] people from all the earth: for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. 9 And in that day they shall say, Behold our God in whom we have trusted, and he shall save us: this [is] the Lord; we have waited for him, and we have exulted, and will rejoice in our salvation.

Read the whole chapter →

Old Testament Genesis 9:8–17 · Vespers Brenton

8 And God spoke to Noe, and to his sons with him, saying, 9 And behold I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you, 10 and with every living creature with you, of birds and of beasts, and with all the wild beasts of the earth, as many as are with you, of all that come out of the ark. 11 And I will establish my covenant with you and all flesh shall not any more die by the water of the flood, and there shall no more be a flood of water to destroy all the earth. 12 And the Lord God said to Noe, This [is] the sign of the covenant which I set between me and you, and between every living creature which is with you for perpetual generations. 13 I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of covenant between me and the earth. 14 And it shall be when I gather clouds upon the earth, that my bow shall be seen in the cloud. 15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you, and between every living soul in all flesh, and there shall no longer be water for a deluge, so as to blot out all flesh. 16 And my bow shall be in the cloud, and I will look to remember the everlasting covenant between me and the earth, and between [every] living soul in all flesh, which is upon the earth. 17 And God said to Noe, This [is] the sign of the covenant, which I have made between me and all flesh, which is upon the earth.

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Old Testament Proverbs 12:8–22 · Vespers Brenton

8 The mouth of an understanding [man] is praised by a man; but he that is dull of heart is had in derision. 9 Better is a man in dishonour serving himself, than one honouring himself and wanting bread. 10 A righteous man has pity for the lives of his cattle; but the bowels of the ungodly are unmerciful. 11 He that tills his own land shall be satisfied with bread; but they that pursue vanities are void of understanding. 11a He that enjoys himself in banquets of wine, shall leave dishonour in his own strong holds. 12 The desires of the ungodly are evil; but the roots of the godly are firmly set. 13 For the sin of [his] lips a sinner falls into snares; but a righteous man escapes from them. 13a He whose looks are gentle shall be pitied, but he that contends in the gates will afflict souls. 14 The soul of a man shall be filled with good from the fruits of his mouth; and the recompence of his lips shall be given to him. 15 The ways of fools are right in their own eyes; but a wise man hearkens to counsels. 16 A fool declares his wrath the same day; but a prudent man hides his own disgrace. 17 A righteous man declares the open truth; but an unjust witness is deceitful. 18 Some wound as they speak, [like] swords; but the tongues of the wise heal. 19 True lips establish testimony; but a hasty witness has an unjust tongue. 20 [There is] deceit in the heart of him that imagines evil; but they that love peace shall rejoice. 21 No injustice will please a just man; but the ungodly will be filled with mischief. 22 Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord; but he that deals faithfully is accepted with him.

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For Annunciation: Vespers readings (eve)

Old Testament Genesis 28:10–17 · Vespers Brenton

10 And Jacob went forth from the well of the oath, and departed into Charrhan. 11 And came to a certain place and slept there, for the sun had gone down; and he took [one] of the stones of the place, and put it at his head, and lay down to sleep in that place, 12 and dreamed, and behold a ladder fixed on the earth, whose top reached to heaven, and the angels of God ascended and descended on it. 13 And the Lord stood upon it, and said, I am the God of thy father Abraam, and the God of Isaac; fear not, the land on which thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. 14 And thy seed shall be as the sand of the earth; and it shall spread abroad to the sea, and the south, and the north, and to the east; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed. 15 And behold I am with thee to preserve thee continually in all the way wherein thou shalt go; and I will bring thee back to this land; for I will not desert thee, until I have done all that I have said to thee. 16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and said, The Lord is in this place, and I knew it not. 17 And he was afraid, and said, How fearful is this place! this is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

Read the whole chapter →

Old Testament Ezekiel 43:27–44:4 · Vespers Brenton

Ezekiel 43

27 And it shall come to pass from the eighth day and onward, [that] the priests shall offer your whole-burnt-offerings on the altar, and your peace-offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord.

Ezekiel 44

1 Then he brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary that looks eastward; and it was shut. 2 And the Lord said to me, This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no one shall pass through it; for the Lord God of Israel shall enter by it, and it shall be shut. 3 For the prince, he shall sit in it, to eat bread before the Lord; he shall go in by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go forth by the way of the same. 4 And he brought me in by the way of the gate that looks northward, in front of the house: and I looked, and, behold, the house was full of the glory of the Lord: and I fell upon my face.

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Old Testament Proverbs 9:1–11 · Vespers Brenton

1 Wisdom has built a house for herself, and set up seven pillars. 2 She has killed her beasts; she has mingled her wine in a bowl, and prepared her table. 3 She has sent forth her servants, calling with a loud proclamation to the feast, saying, 4 Whoso is foolish, let him turn aside to me: and to them that want understanding she says, 5 Come, eat of my bread, and drink wine which I have mingled for you. 6 Leave folly, that ye may reign for ever; and seek wisdom, and improve understanding by knowledge. 7 He that reproves evil [men] shall get dishonour to himself; and he that rebukes an ungodly [man] shall disgrace himself. 8 Rebuke not evil [men], lest they should hate thee: rebuke a wise [man], and he will love thee. 9 Give an opportunity to a wise [man], and he will be wiser: instruct a just man, and he will receive more [instruction]. 10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the counsel of saints is understanding: 10a for to know the law is [the character] of a sound mind. 11 For in this way thou shalt live long, and years of thy life shall be added to thee.

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All readings of the day

Vespers, Matins, the Hours and the Liturgy, as listed in our tables.

Sixth Hour

Vespers

About these readings

The readings follow the usage of the Orthodox Church in America (Slavic practice) and are calculated from the MIT-licensed tables of Paul Kachur's orthodox_calendar, checked day by day against the OCA's published readings for 2023 to 2027. Greek practice differs on many days and is not offered yet, because no openly licensed table of it exists. Your parish calendar always comes first.

Psalms are numbered as in the Septuagint, with the Hebrew numbering in brackets.