Readings for 27 February 2026
14 February 2026 on the Old calendar
- Clean Friday
Liturgical colour: purple
Old Testament (Vespers): Genesis 2:20-3:20
Translation: Brenton's English Septuagint
20And Adam gave names to all the cattle and to all the birds of the sky, and to all the wild beasts of the field, but for Adam there was not found a help like to himself. 21And God brought a trance upon Adam, and he slept, and he took one of his ribs, and filled up the flesh instead thereof. 22And God formed the rib which he took from Adam into a woman, and brought her to Adam. 23And Adam said, This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of her husband. 24Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 25And the two were naked, both Adam and his wife, and were not ashamed. 3:1Now the serpent was the most crafty of all the brutes on the earth, which the Lord God made, and the serpent said to the woman, Wherefore has God said, Eat not of every tree of the garden? 2And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, 3but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4And the serpent said to the woman, Ye shall not surely die. 5For God knew that in whatever day ye should eat of it your eyes would be opened, and ye would be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes to look upon and beautiful to contemplate, and having taken of its fruit she ate, and she gave to her husband also with her, and they ate. 7And the eyes of both were opened, and they perceived that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons to go round them. 8And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the afternoon; and both Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord God in the midst of the trees of the garden. 9And the Lord God called Adam and said to him, Adam, where art thou? 10And he said to him, I heard thy voice as thou walkedst in the garden, and I feared because I was naked and I hid myself. 11And God said to him, Who told thee that thou wast naked, unless thou hast eaten of the tree concerning which I charged thee of it alone not to eat? 12And Adam said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me—she gave me of the tree and I ate. 13And the Lord God said to the woman, Why hast thou done this? And the woman said, The serpent deceived me and I ate. 14And the Lord God said to the serpent, Because thou hast done this thou art cursed above all cattle and all the brutes of the earth, on thy breast and belly thou shalt go, and thou shalt eat earth all the days of thy life. 15And I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed, he shall watch against thy head, and thou shalt watch against his heel. 16And to the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy pains and thy groanings; in pain thou shalt bring forth children, and thy submission shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. 17And to Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and eaten of the tree concerning which I charged thee of it only not to eat—of that thou hast eaten, cursed is the ground in thy labours, in pain shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. 18Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. 19In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread until thou return to the earth out of which thou wast taken, for earth thou art and to earth thou shalt return. 20And Adam called the name of his wife Life, because she was the mother of all living.
Old Testament (Vespers): Proverbs 3:19-34
Translation: Brenton's English Septuagint
19God by wisdom founded the earth, and by prudence he prepared the heavens. 20By understanding were the depths broken up, and the clouds dropped water. 21My son, let them not pass from thee, but keep my counsel and understanding: 22that thy soul may live, and that there may be grace round thy neck; and it shall be health to thy flesh, and safety to thy bones: 23that thou mayest go confidently in peace in all thy ways, and that thy foot may not stumble. 24For if thou rest, thou shalt be undismayed; and if thou sleep, thou shalt slumber sweetly. 25And thou shalt not be afraid of alarm coming upon thee, neither of approaching attacks of ungodly men. 26For the Lord shall be over all thy ways, and shall establish thy foot that thou be not moved. 27Forbear not to do good to the poor, whensoever thy hand may have power to help him. 28Say not, Come back another time, to-morrow I will give; while thou art able to do him good: for thou knowest not what the next day will bring forth. 29Devise not evil against thy friend, living near thee and trusting in thee. 30Be not ready to quarrel with a man without a cause, lest he do thee some harm. 31Procure not the reproaches of bad men, neither do thou covet their ways. 32For every transgressor is unclean before the Lord; neither does he sit among the righteous. 33The curse of God is in the houses of the ungodly; but the habitations of the just are blessed. 34The Lord resists the proud; but he gives grace to the humble.
Old Testament (Vespers): Isaiah 40:1-3, 41:17-18, 45:8, 48:20-21, 54:1
Translation: Brenton's English Septuagint
1Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith God. 2Speak, ye priests, to the heart of Jerusalem; comfort her, for her humiliation is accomplished, her sin is put away: for she has received of the Lord's hand double the amount of her sins. 3The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight the paths of our God. 41:17And the poor and the needy shall exult; for when they shall seek water, and there shall be none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord God, I the God of Israel will hear, and will not forsake them: 18but I will open rivers on the mountains, and fountains in the midst of plains: I will make the desert pools of water, and a thirsty land watercourses. 45:8Let the heaven rejoice from above, and let the clouds rain righteousness: let the earth bring forth, and blossom with mercy, and bring forth righteousness likewise: I am the Lord that created thee. 48:20Go forth of Babylon, thou that fleest from the Chaldeans: utter aloud a voice of joy, and let this be made known, proclaim it to the end of the earth; say ye, The Lord hath delivered his servant Jacob. 21And if they shall thirst, he shall lead them through the desert; he shall bring forth water to them out of the rock: the rock shall be cloven, and the water shall flow forth, and my people shall drink. 54:1Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that dost not travail: for more are the children of the desolate than of her that has a husband: for the Lord has said,
Old Testament (Vespers): Malachi 3:1-3, 5-7, 12, 17-18, 4:4-6
Translation: Brenton's English Septuagint
1Behold, I send forth my messenger, and he shall survey the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come into his temple, even the angel of the covenant, whom ye take pleasure in: behold, he is coming, saith the Lord Almighty. 2And who will abide the day of his coming? or who will withstand at his appearing? for he is coming in as the fire of a furnace and as the herb of fullers. 3He shall sit to melt and purify as it were silver, and as it were gold: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver, and they shall offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness. 5And I will draw near to you in judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the witches, and against the adulteresses, and against them that swear falsely by my name, and against them that keep back the hireling's wages, and them that oppress the widow, and afflict orphans, and that wrest the judgment of the stranger, and fear not me, saith the Lord Almighty. 6For I am the Lord your God, and I am not changed: 7but ye, the sons of Jacob, have not refrained from the iniquities of your fathers: ye have perverted my statutes, and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, saith the Lord Almighty. But ye said, Wherein shall we return? 12And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a desirable land, saith the Lord Almighty. 17And they shall be mine, saith the Lord Almighty, in the day which I appoint for a peculiar possession; and I will make choice of them, as a man makes choice of his son that serves him. 18Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, and between him that serves God, and him that serves him not.
Old Testament (Vespers): Wisdom 4:7, 16-17, 19-20, 5:1-7
Translation: Brenton's English Septuagint
7But though the righteous be prevented with death, yet shall he be in rest. 16Thus the righteous that is dead shall condemn the ungodly which are living; and youth that is soon perfected the many years and old age of the unrighteous. 17For they shall see the end of the wise, and shall not understand what God in his counsel hath decreed of him, and to what end the Lord hath set him in safety. 19For he shall rend them, and cast them down headlong, that they shall be speechless; and he shall shake them from the foundation; and they shall be utterly laid waste, and be in sorrow; and their memorial shall perish. 20And when they cast up the account of their sins, they shall come with fear: and their own iniquities shall convince them to their face. 5:1Then shall the righteous man stand in great boldness before the face of such as have afflicted him, and made no account of his labours. 2When they see it, they shall be troubled with terrible fear, and shall be amazed at the strangeness of his salvation, so far beyond all that they looked for. 3And they repenting and groaning for anguish of spirit shall say within themselves, This was he, whom we had sometimes in derision, and a proverb of reproach: 4we fools accounted his life madness, and his end to be without honour: 5how is he numbered among the children of God, and his lot is among the saints! 6Therefore have we erred from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness hath not shined unto us, and the sun of righteousness rose not upon us. 7We wearied ourselves in the way of wickedness and destruction: yea, we have gone through deserts, where there lay no way: but as for the way of the Lord, we have not known it.