O God give your judgement to the King, and your justice to the son of the King. To judge your people with justice, and your poor with judgement. Let the mountains bring peace to the people, and the hills justice. He will judge the poor of the people and save the sons of the paupers, and humble the slanderer. He will continue as long as the sun, and before the moon for generations of generations. He will come like rain upon a fleece, and like a drop falling upon the earth. In his days justice will dawn, and abundance of peace until the moon be taken away. Ethiopians shall fall down before him, and his enemies lick the dust. Kings of Tharsis and islands shall offer gifts, Kings of Arabs and of Saba shall bring gifts. And all the kings of the earth shall fall down before him, all the Nations shall serve him. For he has delivered the pauper from the man of power and the poor who had no helper. He will rescue their souls from interest and injustice, and their name shall be precious before him. And he shall live, and there shall be given him of the gold of Arabia; and they shall pray for him continually; the whole day they shall praise him. There will be an establishment on the earth, on the peaks of the mountains; its fruit shall be exalted above Libanus, and from the city they will flourish as the grass of the field. ****

¶16

Psalm 131

¶17

O Lord remember David and all his meekness; how he swore to the Lord, made a vow to the God of Jacob: If I enter the shelter of my house, if I climb into my bed, If I give sleep to my eyes, slumber to my eyelids and rest to my temples, Until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling for the God of Jacob. See, we heard of it in Ephrata, we found it in the woodland fields. We shall enter his dwellings, we shall worship towards the place where his feet have stood. Arise, Lord, into your rest, you and the ark of your holiness. Your priests will be clothed with justice, and your holy ones will rejoice. For David, your servant’s sake, do not turn away the face of your Christ. The Lord has sworn truth to David and he will not annul it: Of the fruit of your womb I shall place on your throne; If your sons keep my covenant and these testimonies of mine which I shall teach them, Their sons too will sit on your throne for ever. For the Lord has elected Sion, has chosen her as a dwelling for himself: This is my dwelling-place for ever and ever, here I shall dwell, for I have chosen her. Her door I shall bless abundantly, her poor I shall fill with bread. Her priests I shall clothe with salvation, and her holy ones will rejoice with great joy. There I shall make the horn of David flourish; I have prepared a lamp for my Christ. I shall clothe his enemies in shame, my holiness will flower upon him. ****

¶18

Psalm 90

¶19

One who dwells in the help of the Most High will live under the protection of the of the God of heaven; will say to the Lord: You are my protector and my refuge, my God, and I shall hope in him. For he will deliver you from the hunters’ snare, and from the word which troubles. He will overshadow you with his wings, and under his feathers you will have hope, his truth will encircle you as a shield. You will not be afraid of terror by night, of the arrow that ies by day. Of the thing that prowls in the darkness, of mishap or of the noonday devil. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right, but it will not come near you. But with your eyes you will behold, and see the reward of sinners. For you, Lord, are my hope: you have made the Most High your refuge. Evils will not approach you, nor a scourge draw near your dwelling. Because he has given orders to his Angels about you, to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you on their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You will walk on asp and basilisk, and trample down lion and dragon. Because he hoped in me, I shall deliver him; I shall shelter him, because he knew my name. He will cry to me, and I shall hear him, I am with him in trouble; I shall rescue him and glorify him. I shall fill him with length of days, and show him my salvation.

¶20

**x3**), Lord, have mercy (**x3**). ****

¶21

Mary once with aged Joseph went to be enrolled in Bethlehem, for he was of David’s line; and she bore in her womb fruit unknown; the time for the birth was at hand, and there was no room in the inn; but the Cave proved a fair palace for the Queen. Christ is born, to raise up his image that had fallen.

¶22

Because we have no boldness because of our many sins, entreat the One born of you, O Virgin Mother of God; for a Mother’s plea has great force for the kindness of the Master. Do not despise the supplications of sinners, O all-holy, for he is merciful, and able to save, he who even accepted to suffer for us.

¶23

Come, you faithful, let us arise and behold the divine condescension from above, made manifest for us in Bethlehem; and having cleansed our minds, let us by our lives offer virtues instead of myrrh, as we faithfully prepare the entry of the Nativity with treasures of the soul, crying, ‘In the highest, glory to God in Trinity, through whom his good pleasure has appeared among men to rescue Adam from the ancestral curse, for he loves mankind.’ (

¶24

**Twice, without a verse**) ****

¶25

God will come from Theman, the Holy One from a mountain overshadowed by forest. ****

¶26

Listen, O heaven and give ear, O earth. Let the foundations be shaken, let trembling seize the regions beneath the earth; because God and the Creator has put on the matter of flesh, and he who created creation with his mighty hand appears in the womb of a creature he fashioned. O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable his judgements, and unsearchable his ways.

¶27

Lord, I heard your report and was afraid. ****

¶28

The same again.

¶29

Come, peoples, bearers of Christ, let us behold a wonder that amazes and holds fast every mind, and as we devoutly worship let us with faith sing its praise. Today a Maiden great with child is coming to Bethlehem to give birth to the Lord; choirs of Angels run before her. And seeing this Joseph, the Betrothed, cries out, ‘What is the strange mystery in you, O Virgin? And how will you bring forth a child, Calf who have never known the yoke?’

¶30

**The same again.**

¶31

From the womb before the Morning Star I have begotten you.

¶32

The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.

¶33

The Reading is from the Prophecy of Isaias.

¶34

Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, ‘Ask a sign of the Lord your God; in the depth or in the height.’ But Ahaz said, ‘I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.’ And he said, ‘Hear then, O house of David! Is it a little thing for you to contend with men, and how do you contend with the Lord? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel. He shall eat butter and honey before he knows how to prefer evil or choose good. For before the child knows good or evil, he refuses the evil to choose the good. Then the Lord said to me, ’Take for yourself a large new volume and write upon it in with a man’s pen, Of making a rapid plunder of spoils; for it is at hand. And get me witnesses, reliable men, Urias the priest and Zachary the son of Barachias. And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, ’Call his name Despoil-quickly-plunder-rapidly; for before the child knows how to cry ‘Father’ or ‘Mother,’ he will take the power of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria before the king of the Assyrians.‘ Know you nations and be worsted; give ear, as far as the extremity of the earth; for if again you have become strong, again you will be worsted. And whatever counsel you take, the Lord will scatter it; and whatever word you speak, it will not remain in you, for God is with us.’

¶35

The Reading is from the Epistle of Paul to the Hebrews.

¶36

‘You, Lord, founded the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all grow old like a garment, like a mantle you will roll them up, and they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will never end.’ But to what angel has he ever said, ‘Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies a footstool for your feet’? Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? Therefore we must pay the closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For if the word spoken by angels was sure and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him.

¶37

The Reading is from the holy Gospel according to Matthew.

¶38

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the King, Magi from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we seen his star at its rising, and have come to worship him.’ When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, are by no means least among the rulers of Juda; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’’ Then Herod secretly called for the Magi and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and worship him.’ When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and worshipped him. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

¶39

Let your mercies, O Lord, come quickly to our aid, for we are utterly poor; help us, O God our Saviour, for the glory of your name. O Lord, deliver us, and have mercy on our sins, for your name’s sake.

¶40

All-holy Trinity; Our Father. For yours. ****

¶41

Today the Virgin is coming to the cave to give birth ineffably to the eternal Word. Hearing this, dance, O inhabited world! Glorify, with Angels and with Shepherds, him who willed to be made manifest, a little Child, God before the ages.

¶42

Lord, have mercy (

¶43

At every time and at every hour, in heaven and on earth worshipped and glorified, Christ God, long-suffering, great in mercy, great in compassion, loving the just and merciful to sinners, calling all to salvation by the promise of the good things to come; do you, Lord, yourself accept our entreaties at this hour, and direct our lives to your commandments. Sanctify our souls, purify our bodies, correct our thoughts, cleanse our ideas and deliver us from every distress, evil, and pain. Wall us about with your holy Angels, that protected and guided by their host we may reach the unity of the faith and the knowledge of your unapproachable glory; for you are blessed to the ages of ages. Amen.

¶44

Lord, have mercy (

¶45

**x3**). Glory. Both now. Greater in honour than the Cherubim, and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim, without corruption you gave birth to God the Word, truly the Mother of God we magnify you. In the name of the Lord, bless, Father. ****

¶46

May God be merciful. ****

¶47

God and Lord of powers, and Maker of all creation, who through the compassion of your incomprehensible mercy sent down your only-begotten Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, for the salvation of our race, and through his precious Cross tore up the record of our sins, and by it triumphed over the principalities and powers of darkness; do you yourself, O Master who loves mankind, accept also our supplications of thanksgiving and entreaty; and deliver us from destroying and dark transgression, and from all our foes, visible and invisible, who seek to harm us. Nail down our flesh through fear of you, and do not let our hearts incline to words or thoughts of evil, but wound our souls with longing for you; that ever gazing upon you and guided by the light that comes from you, seeing you the unapproachable and everlasting light, we may give thanks to you, the Father without beginning, with your only-begotten Son and your all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

¶48

According to the Typica of the Holy Mountain the Reader adds:

¶49

It is truly right to call you blessed, who gave birth to God, ever-blessed and most pure, and the Mother of our God. Greater in honour than the Cherubim and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim, without corruption you gave birth to God the Word, truly the Mother of God, we magnify you.

Translated by Ephrem Lash. Edition lash.en.anastasis.