Irmos: Having before, in the lowly cave, delighted in the hospitality of the Master and the feast of immortality, let us now hasten to the Jordan, beholding the strange mystery which bringeth down upon all the effulgence of Heaven.
Then again, the Irmos: “Having before, in the lowly cave...” is sung, after which a prostration is made.
Go ye from Bethlehem to the land of the Jordan, O ye who thrive on miracles, and there behold deeds mystically wrought through the baptism of Christ Who is come to renew Adam, for He became incarnate for this cause.
The Creator, Who before the ages was begotten of the Father, hath in these latter days been born, incarnate without change, of the pure, virginal and godly Maiden, remaining God and man, that He might renew Adam through baptism.
Thou hast come as a man in essence, not as an illusion; for as one among many, Thou hast requested baptism, Thou Who alone art nature free of guilt. For Thou camest to bury man’s guilt, being baptized in the waters.
Translated by Isaac Lambertsen. Edition menaion.en.lambertsen.