The men of the city of Jericho said to Elisha: "Behold, the location of this city is good, as you, sir, see; but the waters are bad, and [the land] is barren. And Elisha said, "Take a new pitcher for me, and put salt in it." And he took it, and went out to the source of the waters, and threw salt into it, and said, "Thus saith the Lord, I have made these waters well; (and) from now on there will be no more dying or suffering from barrenness from them. And the waters have become healthy to this day according to the word which Elisha spoke.

2 Kings 2:19–22

13. The Prophecies of Isaiah Reading

Thus says the Lord: In the time of favor I heard Thee, and in the day of salvation I helped Thee; and created and gave thee [and appointed thee] as a covenant to the nations, to give rest to the land and to inherit the inheritances of the wilderness, to say to those who are in bonds, 'Come out,' and to those in darkness, 'Be open.' On all paths they shall graze, and on all paths their pasture; they will not endure hunger or thirst, neither heat nor sun will smite them; but He who has mercy on them will comfort them, and will lead them in the midst of fountains of water. And I will turn every mountain into a way, and every path into a pasture for them: behold, they will come from afar, these from the north and the sea, and others from the land of the Persians. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth rejoice, let the mountains shout joy and the hills righteousness; for God has had mercy on his people, and comforted [his] humble people. And Zion said, "The Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me." But even if a woman forgets them, I will not forget you, says the Lord [Almighty]! Isaiah 49:8-15

After the 13th parimia, the Little Litany, [the prayer of the Trisagion] and, after the exclamation, we sing the Trisagion.

Prokeimenon, tone 3

The Lord is my enlightenment and my Saviour: / whom shall I fear?

Verse: The Lord is the defender of my life: from whom shall I fear? Ps 26:1

Apostle

Epistle to the Corinthians, conceived 143a

(on Saturday and Sunday conceived 143b)

Brethren, being free from all, I enslaved myself to everything, that I might gain more; and he became unto the Jews as a Jew, that he might gain the Jews. for those under the law, as one under the law, not being himself under the law, to gain those under the law; to those who are strangers to the Law, as a stranger to the Law – not being a stranger to the Law before God, but subject to the law of Christ – in order to gain those who are strangers to the Law; I have become to the weak as one who is weak, that I may gain the weak. I have become all things to all, in order to save at least some. And I do this for the sake of the Gospel, in order to become a partaker of it. Do you not know that those who run on the lists all run, but one receives the reward? So run to receive. And every one who strives abstains from everything: those in order to receive a perishable crown, but we – the incorruptible. Therefore I do not run as in vain, nor do I fight as if I strike the air, but I oppress my body and enslave it, so that by preaching to others I myself may not be worthless.

1 Corinthians 9:19–27

Alleluia, tone 6