Except on Saturday, there is no chanting of the Psalter because of the vigil which has been held the night before.
On “Lord, I have cried…”, 6 stichera: 3 for the feast, in Tone II—
The Forerunner, beholding our Enlightener, Who illumineth every man, coming to be baptized, rejoiceth in soul and trembleth. He pointeth to Him with his hand and saith to the people: “This is He Who delivereth Israel, Who freeth us from corruption! O sinless Christ our God, glory be to Thee!”
When our Deliverer was baptized by His servant and borne witness to by the coming of the Holy Spirit, the angelic armies, looking on, were stricken with awe; and a voice was borne down from the Father in heaven: “He Whom the Forerunner baptized with his hand is My beloved Son, in Whom I have been well-pleased!” O Christ our God, glory be to Thee!
The currents of the Jordan received Thee, the Wellspring, and the Comforter descended upon Thee in the form of a dove. Thou Who bowed down the heavens dost bow Thy head, and clay crieth out to the Potter: “What dost Thou command me to do, O Thou Who art greater than I? It is I who must needs be baptized of Thee! O sinless Christ our God, glory be to Thee!”
And 3 stichera of the Forerunner, in Tone I: Spec. Mel.: “O most lauded martyrs…”—
Beholding Thee coming to him and requesting baptism, O Christ, the Forerunner cried out with trembling: “Why dost Thou command me to do that which is beyond my power? How can I touch with my hand Thee Who holdest all things in Thy hand, O almighty Lord? Better would it be that Thou baptize Thy servant!”
“I, Who am unapproachable by nature, have manifested Myself as wholly man, accessible to thee. I, Who am rich, have impoverished Myself willingly, that I may enrich with incorruption and deliverance what hath become impoverished. Approach, then, and baptize Me Who am not subject to corruption, but rescue the world therefrom!”
“I am constrained on every side! Whither I shall flee, I know not!” the Forerunner said to the Creator; “As Thou art the torrent of nourishment, O Compassionate One, how, then, can the river’s streams receive Thee Who hast come, pouring forth salvation upon those who honor Thy holy epiphany, O Word?”
Glory…, in Tone VI—
O beacon in the flesh, Forerunner of the Savior, offspring of a barren woman, friend of Him Who came forth from the Virgin, Whom thou didst worship by leaping up within thy mother’s womb and hast baptized in the waters of the Jordan: Him do thou entreat, O prophet, that we may escape the waves of turmoil which are to come.
Now & ever…, of the feast, in the same tone—
God the Word appeared in the flesh unto the human race and stood forth to be baptized in the Jordan. And the Forerunner said to Him: “How can I stretch forth my hand and touch the head of Thee Who holdest all things? Even though Thou art Mary’s Child, yet do I know Thee to be the preëternal God, Who art hymned by the seraphim yet goest about on the earth. A servant knoweth not how to baptize his master. O unapproachable Lord, glory be to Thee!”
Entrance. The Great Prokimenon, in Tone VII—
Our God is in heaven and on earth; all things soever He hath willed, He hath done.
Stichos: When Israel went out of Egypt, and thou house of Jacob from among a barbarous people, Judæa became His sanctuary, Israel His dominion.
Stichos: The sea beheld and fled, Jordan turned back.
Stichos: What aileth thee, O sea, that thou fleddest? And thou Jordan, that thou didst turn back?
And again: Our God is in heaven…
Translated by Isaac Lambertsen. Edition menaion.en.lambertsen.