Readings and saints

Tuesday, September 1, 2026

August 19 on the Old Calendar

Church New Year

Tuesday of the 14th week after Pentecost

Fasting: No fast today.
Tone: Tone 4This week’s Resurrection hymns are sung in the fourth of the Church’s eight tones.

The readings

TranslationTraditionalModernSide by side

Traditional: the King James Version (1611) for the New Testament. The Old Testament is Brenton’s English Septuagint (1844), from the Greek Old Testament the Church reads, in both settings; some of its verse numbers differ from other Bibles. Underlined words are explained in Words of Prayer.

Modern: the World English Bible for the New Testament. The Old Testament stays Brenton’s Septuagint (1844): there is no modern English translation of the Greek Old Testament that is free to publish. Your choice is remembered on this device.

Vespers3 readings

Old Testament reading 1 of 3

Isaiah 61:1-9

¹The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me; he has sent me to preach glad tidings to the poor, to heal the broken in heart, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind; ²to declare the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of recompence; to comfort all that mourn; ³that there should be given to them that mourn in Sion glory instead of ashes, the oil of joy to the mourners, the garment of glory for the spirit of heaviness: and they shall be called generations of righteousness, the planting of the Lord for glory.

⁴And they shall build the old waste places, they shall raise up those that were before made desolate, and shall renew the desert cities, even those that had been desolate for many generations. ⁵And strangers shall come and feed thy flocks, and aliens shall be thy ploughmen and vine-dressers. ⁶But ye shall be called priests of the Lord, the ministers of God: ye shall eat the strength of nations, and shall be admired because of their wealth. ⁷Thus shall they inherit the land a second time, and everlasting joy shall be upon their head. ⁸For I am the Lord who love righteousness, and hate robberies of injustice; and I will give their labour to the just, and will make an everlasting covenant with them. ⁹And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring in the midst of peoples: every one that sees them shall take notice of them, that they are a seed blessed of God;

Old Testament reading 2 of 3

Composite 24 - Leviticus 26

³If ye will walk in my ordinances, and keep my commandments, and do them, ⁴then will I give you the rain in its season, and the land shall produce its fruits, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. ⁵And your threshing time shall overtake the vintage, and your vintage shall overtake your seed time; and ye shall eat your bread to the full; and ye shall dwell safely upon your land, and war shall not go through your land. ⁶And I will give peace in your land, and ye shall sleep, and none shall make you afraid; and I will destroy the evil beasts out of your land, ⁷and ye shall pursue your enemies, and they shall fall before you with slaughter. ⁸And five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase tens of thousands; and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. ⁹And I will look upon you, and increase you, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you. ¹⁰And ye shall eat that which is old and very old, and bring forth the old to make way for the new. ¹¹And I will set my tabernacle among you, and my soul shall not abhor you; ¹²and I will walk among you, and be your God, and ye shall be my people.

¹⁴But if ye will not hearken to me, nor obey these my ordinances, ¹⁵but disobey them, and your soul should loathe my judgments, so that ye should not keep all my commands, so as to break my covenant, ¹⁶then will I do thus to you: I will even bring upon you perplexity and the itch, and the fever that causes your eyes to waste away, and disease that consumes your life; and ye shall sow your seeds in vain, and your enemies shall eat them. ¹⁷And I will set my face against you, and ye shall fall before your enemies, and they that hate you shall pursue you; and ye shall flee, no one pursuing you.

¹⁹And I will break down the haughtiness of your pride; and I will make your heaven iron, and your earth as it were brass. ²⁰And your strength shall be in vain; and your land shall not yield its seed, and the tree of your field shall not yield its fruit.

²²And I will send upon you the wild beasts of the land, and they shall devour you, and shall consume your cattle: and I will make you few in number, and your ways shall be desolate.

³³And I will scatter you among the nations, and the sword shall come upon you and consume you; and your land shall be desolate, and your cities shall be desolate.

²³And if hereupon ye are not corrected, but walk perversely towards me, ²⁴I also will walk with you with a perverse spirit, and I also will smite you seven times for your sins. ²⁵And I will bring upon you a sword avenging the cause of my covenant, and ye shall flee for refuge to your cities; and I will send out death against you, and ye shall be delivered into the hands of your enemies.

Old Testament reading 3 of 3

Wisdom of Solomon 4:7-15

⁷But though the righteous be prevented with death, yet shall he be in rest.

⁸For honourable age is not that which standeth in length of time, nor that is measured by number of years. ⁹But wisdom is the grey hair unto men, and an unspotted life is old age. ¹⁰He pleased God, and was beloved of him: so that living among sinners he was translated. ¹¹Yea, speedily was he taken away, lest that wickedness should alter his understanding, or deceit beguile his soul. ¹²For the bewitching of naughtiness doth obscure things that are honest; and the wandering of concupiscence doth undermine the simple mind. ¹³He, being made perfect in a short time, fulfilled a long time: ¹⁴for his soul pleased the Lord: therefore hasted he to take him away from among the wicked. ¹⁵This the people saw, and understood not, neither laid they up this in their minds, That his grace and mercy is with his saints, and that he hath respect unto his chosen.

The Divine Liturgy6 readings

Epistle

2 Corinthians 12:20-13:2

Traditional

²⁰For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults: ²¹And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.

¹This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. ²I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare:

Modern

²⁰For I am afraid that perhaps when I come, I might find you not the way I want to, and that I might be found by you as you don’t desire, that perhaps there would be strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, whisperings, proud thoughts, or riots, ²¹that again when I come my God would humble me before you, and I would mourn for many of those who have sinned before now, and not repented of the uncleanness, sexual immorality, and lustfulness which they committed.

¹This is the third time I am coming to you. “At the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.” ²I have warned previously, and I warn again, as when I was present the second time, so now, being absent, I write to those who have sinned before now and to all the rest that if I come again, I will not spare,

Epistle for New Year

1 Timothy 2:1-7

Traditional

¹I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; ²For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. ³For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; ⁴Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. ⁵For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; ⁶Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. ⁷Where unto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.

Modern

¹I exhort therefore, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and givings of thanks be made for all men, ²for kings and all who are in high places, that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and reverence. ³For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, ⁴who desires all people to be saved and come to full knowledge of the truth. ⁵For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶who gave himself as a ransom for all, the testimony at the proper time, ⁷to which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle— I am telling the truth in Christ, not lying — a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

Epistle for St. Simeon

Colossians 3:12-16

Traditional

¹²Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; ¹³Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. ¹⁴And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. ¹⁵And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Modern

¹²Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance; ¹³bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do. ¹⁴Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection. ¹⁵And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body, and be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.

Gospel

Mark 4:24-34

Traditional

²⁴And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be give n. ²⁵For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.

²⁶And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; ²⁷And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. ²⁸For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. ²⁹But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.

³⁰And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? ³¹It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: ³²But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it. ³³And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it. ³⁴But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.

Modern

²⁴He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you; and more will be given to you who hear. ²⁵For whoever has, to him more will be given; and he who doesn’t have, even that which he has will be taken away from him.”

²⁶He said, “God’s Kingdom is as if a man should cast seed on the earth, ²⁷and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, though he doesn’t know how. ²⁸For the earth bears fruit by itself: first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. ²⁹But when the fruit is ripe, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

³⁰He said, “How will we liken God’s Kingdom? Or with what parable will we illustrate it? ³¹It’s like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, though it is less than all the seeds that are on the earth, ³²yet when it is sown, grows up and becomes greater than all the herbs, and puts out great branches, so that the birds of the sky can lodge under its shadow.” ³³With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. ³⁴Without a parable he didn’t speak to them; but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

Gospel for New Year

Luke 4:16-22

Traditional

¹⁶And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. ¹⁷And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, ¹⁸The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, ¹⁹To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. ²⁰And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. ²¹And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. ²²And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?

Modern

¹⁶He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. He entered, as was his custom, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. ¹⁷The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He opened the book, and found the place where it was written, ¹⁸“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed, ¹⁹and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” ²⁰He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him. ²¹He began to tell them, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” ²²All testified about him and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth; and they said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

Gospel for St. Simeon

Matthew 11:27-30

Traditional

²⁷All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whom soever the Son will reveal him.

²⁸Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Modern

²⁷All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows the Son, except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father, except the Son and he to whom the Son desires to reveal him.

²⁸“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Remembered on this day

Our Holy Father Symeon Stylites (459)
Righteous Joshua, Son of Nun
Saint Meletios the Younger (1095-1124)
Holy New Martyr Angelis (1680)

Calendar: Orthocal, following the Revised Julian (New) Calendar of the Orthodox Church in America. Parishes on the Old Calendar keep each day 13 days later. Check your own parish calendar.