Irmos: Cleanse me, O Savior, for many are my transgressions; and lead me up from the abyss of evils, I pray, for to Thee have I cried, and Thou hast hearkened to me, O God of my salvation.
Kontakion, in Tone VIII—
Pondering your life, which equalled that of the angels, O venerable ones, we are beset by fear and trembling. How did ye survive in the impassable desert? How did ye endure burning heat and cold, hunger and thirst? How did ye repel the assaults of the demons? We hymn your struggles, we honor your repose, and we implore you to ask of Christ the forgiveness of our sins.
Theotokion: From the foul pit of vile passions and vain imaginings lead us up, O all-immaculate Virgin, for thou art an inexhaustible treasury of purity and an abyss of loving-kindness. Through thee is strength against the demons bestowed; through thee is victory over the passions given; through thee do we who call upon thine all-pure name hope to be saved.
Irmos: Prefiguring Thy three-day burial, the Prophet Jonah, praying within the sea monster, cried out: Deliver me from corruption, O Jesus, King of hosts!
Kontakion, in Tone VIII: Spec. Mel.: “To thee, the chosen leader…”—
Bound by bonds of natural love, ye were united by the most mighty bonds of love divine; brethren in the flesh, ye became brethren in Christ, and with one mouth did ye offer up prayer to the triune God; wherefore, inseparable, ye dwell in the heavens. Pray ye now for us sinners, O venerable ones, that having put aside all evil forever, we may learn unfeigned brotherly love, and thus fulfill the foremost commandment of the Lord.
Theotokion: O Virgin, thou gavest birth to the Son, Who is consubstantial with the Father, is manifestly understood to be with Him Who timelessly begat Him, and Who in the latter times became flesh.
In Christ-like fashion ye crucified your flesh with its passions and lusts, O venerable ones; wherefore, having ascended to the heights of dispassion, ye have become citizens of heaven. And now, dwelling with the bodiless ones, pray ye boldly, O holy ones, that having lifted up our mind which hath drooped down, and raised up our earthly eyes from this earthly vale, we may cry out to God from the depths of our degradation.
Come, let us hymn those who were brethren in the flesh, yet more so in spirit: the glorious John with the faithful Heraclemon, wondrous Andrew, and Theophilus, beloved of God. For, lo! loving the cruel life of the desert, they attained unto the longed-for heavenly homeland; where, abiding now in blessedness, they pray with boldness for our souls.
Ikos: Tell us, O venerable ones, what is the sweetness of the desert? What is the joy of a life of silence? What is the consolation of labors day and night? For we behold you as radiant of countenance, resplendent with exceeding great joy. Wherefore, ye teach us to walk the narrow path, and lead us to the mansions of eternal repose, where with you all those who have been pleasing to Christ now pray with boldness for our souls.
God incarnate hath come from the south as thou foretold, O thrice blessed Habbakuk, and, radiantly enlightened by Him, thou hast illumined the world with light.
O God, by the supplications of the honored and divinely wise Habbakuk illumine the souls of those who hymn Thee, for by divine inspiration Thou didst enlighten his mind.
Thine announcement and the power of thy divine words passed over all the ends of the earth, O divinely eloquent one, prophesying to us the divine advent of the Word.
O divinely eloquent Habbakuk who announced to the world God’s coming forth from the south, from the Virgin, and who, standing on divine watch, didst receive a report from the radiant angel: thou hast proclaimed the resurrection of Christ to the world. Wherefore, in gladness we cry out to thee: Rejoice, O splendid adornment of the prophets!
Translated by Isaac Lambertsen. Edition menaion.en.lambertsen.