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Vespers Verses
Tones 1 to 4
Tone 1
1. Receive our evening prayers, O Holy Lord.
Grant us remission of our sins.
You alone have revealed the resurrection to the world.
2. All you nations encircle Sion;
Dance merrily round about her.
Give glory to the Lord risen from the dead.
He is our God.
He has delivered us from our sins.
3. Come all you nations,
Let us sing a hymn of praise to Christ.
Let us worship him.
Let us glorify his resurrection.
He is our God:
He has delivered the world from the deceit of the enemy.
4. Rejoice you heavens;
Sound the trumpet you foundations of the earth.
Mountains, shout your mirth aloud.
Emmanuel has nailed our sins to the cross.
The Giver of Life has destroyed Death by death.
He has raised Adam
For he alone loves mankind.
5. Let us sing a hymn of praise to the Lord;
He freely was crucified.
He suffered and was buried for us;
He rose from the dead.
Let us all say:
O Christ, confirm your Church in the true faith.
Give us your peace.
You are gracious and You love mankind.
6. Let us, although we are unworthy,
stand at your life-giving tomb, O Christ, our God.
Let us give glory to your loving kindness.
Although sinless, you were crucified and died.
You granted resurrection to the world.
You alone love mankind.
7. Let us sing a hymn of praise to the Word.
He is co-eternal with his Father.
He was born of the Virgin in a wondrous way.
He freely accepted crucifixion and death for us.
He rose in glory.
Let us all say: Glory be to You, O Lord,
Life-giver and Savior of our souls!
8. Glory be to the Father +, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and
ever and forever. Amen.
Let us sing a hymn of praise to the Virgin.
She is the glory of the whole world.
Formed by human seed, she became the mother of the Lord.
She is the gate of heaven, beauty of the faithful.
She was seen as heavenly; the tabernacle of the Divinity.
She tore down the wall between God and men.
She brought peace and opened the Kingdom of Heaven.
Let us hold fast to her, the anchor of faith.
Let us receive as our stronghold the Lord
Who was born of her.
Be of good cheer, have confidence, people of God.
He will fight our enemies for us;
He is all-powerful.
At the Apostichon
1. By your suffering we have been saved from suffering, O Christ!
By your resurrection we have escaped corruption.
O Lord, glory be to you!
2. Let creation rejoice; let the heavens be glad.
Let all people cheerfully clap their hands.
Christ our Savior has nailed our sins to his cross.
He has crushed Death by his death.
He has granted life to us by raising Adam;
He alone loves mankind.
3. O Creator, King of heaven and earth,
You alone love mankind.
You freely accepted crucifixion.
When the Abyss received you, it moaned.
When the souls of the just met You, they rejoiced.
Adam awoke and rose when he saw You.
What a wonder!
The Life of all freely tasted death.
He enlightened those who cry out:
O Lord, risen from the dead, glory be to You!
4. The faithful women who carried spices
Weeping hastened to your tomb.
They could not find your body.
They learned from the angel great and wondrous news.
They told the disciples:
"The Lord is risen granting great mercy to the world."
5. Glory be to the Father+, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and
ever and forever. Amen.
The prophecy of Isaiah has been fulfilled in you, O Virgin!
You have given birth, and after birth you remained the same.
The Lord born of you is God;
He has renewed all creation.
Do not reject the supplications we offer to you, O Theotokos.
You have carried the Compassionate Lord;
Have pity on those who come to you.
Intercede for the salvation of our souls.
Tone 2
1. Come let us worship the Lord
Born of the Father before all ages;
The Word of God, incarnate of the Virgin Mary.
He freely suffered crucifixion,
Laid to rest in a tomb--now risen from the dead.
He has saved me who had been lost.
2. By his cross Christ our Savior
Has wiped out the sentence against us.
He wiped it out, abolished the might of Death.
Let us bow in adoration before his resurrection.
3. With the Archangels
Let us sing a hymn to the resurrection of Christ.
He is the Redeemer and Savior of our souls.
He shall come again with awesome glory and great might
To judge the world he himself created.
4. O Christ crucified and buried,
The angel proclaimed you Lord saying to the Women:
"Come see where the Lord was laid to rest.
Because He is almighty, He is risen as He said."
We worship You who are alone immortal.
O Christ, giver of life, have mercy on us.
5. By your Cross, O Lord,
You abolished the curse of the tree.
By your burial You put to death the might of Death.
By your resurrection You enlightened mankind.
We cry to You:
"O Christ our God, and Benefactor, glory be to You!"
6. The gates of Death opened to You out of fear, O Lord.
The gate-keepers of the Abyss saw You and trembled.
They trembled again when You crushed its gates of bronze and iron bars.
You delivered us from the shadow and gloom of death.
You broke our bonds.
7. Let us sing a salutary hymn of praise;
Let us kneel in the house of the Lord and cry out:
"O Lord, remaining in the bosom of your Father,
You were crucified and rose from the dead.
Forgive us our sins."
8. Glory be to the Father+, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and
ever and forever. Amen.
The shadow of the law passed away when grace came,
For as the bush burned without being consumed,
You gave birth while a virgin and remained a virgin.
In place of the pillar of fire there rose the Sun of Justice;
In place of Moses came Christ our God.
He is the Savior of our souls.
At the Apostichon
1. Your resurrection, O Christ our Savior,
Has enlightened the universe.
You have renewed your creation.
O Lord Almighty, glory be to You!
2. By a tree You wiped out the curse of the tree, O Christ!
By your burial You destroyed the might and power of death.
By your resurrection You enlightened mankind.
We cry out:
"O Christ our God, Giver of Life, glory be to You!"
3. You were nailed to the Cross, O Christ!
The beauty of creation faded away.
Soldiers showed brutality by piercing your side.
The Jewish leaders sought to seal your tomb.
They did not realize your power.
In your compassion You accepted burial, O Lord.
You rose on the third day: glory be to You!
4. O Christ our God, Giver of life,
You freely accepted suffering for us.
As Almighty You descended to the Abyss.
You freely freed those who expected your coming.
Giving them Paradise as a dwelling place.
We praise your resurrection.
We beseech forgiveness of our sins.
We ask your great mercy.
5. Glory be to the Father+, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and
ever and forever. Amen.
O wondrous event exceeding every miracle that ever happened!
Who ever heard of a Virgin Mother
That she would hold the Lord who contains the universe?
This was the will of the One born of You.
O Woman most pure,
Never cease to intercede for us who honor you
Together with the Lord You carried in your arms.
You have the power of a mother:
Intercede with him to have mercy and save our souls.
Tone 3
1. O Christ our Savior,
By your cross the might of death has vanished;
The deceit of the devil has been broken;
The human race saved by faith.
Therefore we offer You unceasing praise.
2. O Lord our God,
By your glorious resurrection creation has been enlightened,
Paradise has been opened.
The universe extols You and offers You unceasing praise.
3. I glorify the power of the Father;
I extol the power of the Son;
I sing a hymn to the power of the Holy Spirit,
One Divinity, indivisible, uncreated,
Equal in essence and reigning forever.
4. We bow in worship to your cross, O Christ;
We praise and glorify your resurrection.
Through your wounds we were all made well.
5. We sing a hymn to the Savior:
He was crucified for us, He rose on the third day,
He bestowed great mercy upon us.
6. Christ descended to the Abyss.
In these words he announced the good tidings:
"Have confidence now, for I have conquered.
I am the resurrection:
I will set you free by breaking the gates of Death."
7. Although unworthy, we stand in your temple, O Christ our God.
We offer our evening hymns of praise;
We proclaim loudly:
"O Christ our God, lover of mankind,
You have enlightened mankind by your resurrection:
Deliver your people,
Save them from the hands of your enemies."
8. Glory be to the Father+, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and
ever and forever. Amen.
O Lady most honorable.
How can we not stand in wonder:
You gave birth to the Incarnate God;
He was born of the Father before all ages.
You gave him birth and remained a virgin.
He is perfect God and man,
The two natures are joined intact,
Neither losing any of its properties.
Therefore, O Virgin Mother,
intercede with him to save us.
We believe and confess you are the Theotokos.
At the Apostichon
1. The sun was darkened at your passion, O Christ;
The light of your resurrection enlightened creation;
It overwhelmed it with joy.
Receive an evening hymn of praise from us:
You alone love mankind.
2. Your life-giving resurrection, O Lord,
Has given light to the universe.
It has renewed our corrupt nature.
You delivered us from Adam's curse.
We cry out: "O Lord Almighty, glory be to You!"
3. As God, You are without change,
Yet You suffered in the changing flesh.
The earth could not bear to see You on the Cross;
It trembled in fear and sighed in praise of your long-suffering.
You descended to the Abyss; you rose on the third day.
You granted life and great mercy to the world.
4. You accepted death to save our race from death, O Christ our God!
On the third day You rose from the dead.
You raised with You those who recognized
You as the true God.
You enlightened the world.
O Lord, glory be to You!
5. Glory be to the Father+, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and
ever and forever. Amen.
By the good pleasure of the Father,
By the work of the Holy Spirit,
As a virgin you conceived the Son of God.
He was born of the Father before all ages.
In you, He became man for us.
You gave Him birth without a father;
You nourished Him as a child.
Never cease to intercede with Him
That He save our souls from affliction.
Tone 4
1. We bow in worship to your life-giving cross, O Christ our God;
We glorify your resurrection on the third day.
By it you renewed our fallen nature, Almighty Lord.
You gave us the assurance of heaven;
You are gracious and the Lover of mankind.
2. Freely accepting crucifixion on the tree of the cross,
You destroyed the penalty of the tree of sin.
You descended into the Abyss, Almighty Lord.
Being God, You broke the bonds of death.
Therefore, we bow in worship to your resurrection;
In joy, we cry out to You
"Almighty Lord: glory be to You!"
3. O Lord, You shattered the gate of the Abyss;
By your death you destroyed the power of death.
You freed the human race from corruption;
You gave life and great mercy to the world.
4. Come, all you nations and people,
Let us praise the Savior's resurrection!
It has freed us from the bonds of the Abyss.
We have received life and incorruption:
Let us cry out:
"O Lord crucified, buried, and now risen:
Save us by your resurrection,
For you alone love mankind."
5. Angels and men glorify your resurrection, O Savior:
By it you have enlightened all the earth.
You redeemed us from slavery to our enemy.
Let us cry out in song:
O Savior, you are the mighty Giver of Life.
Save us by your resurrection,
For you alone love mankind.
6. You shattered the gates of the Abyss,
You broke its bonds, O Christ our God!
You raised our fallen human race.
We cry to you in song:
O Lord, risen from the dead: glory be to You!
7 O Lord, your birth from the Father is eternal and before all ages;
Your incarnation from the Virgin is beyond explanation:
No language can tell it properly.
Your descent into the Abyss is fearful
Both to Satan and to his angels.
You conquered death: You arose on the third day;
You gave great mercy and life to the world.
8. Glory be to the Father+, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and
ever and forever. Amen.
Because of you, O Theotokos,
David the prophet became an ancestor of God.
Praising Him who worked wonders in you,
He foretold you in joyous song:
The Queen stood at your right hand.
You are revealed as the mother of Life.
Without a father, God chose to become incarnate of you.
He renewed in man his image corrupted by sin.
Finding the lost sheep on the mountain, He put it on his shoulder;
He carried it to the Father and to his will;
He numbered it among the heavenly powers.
He has saved the whole world:
He is the Christ of great and rich mercy.
At the Apostichon
1. O Lord lifted upon the Cross,
You wiped away our ancestral curse.
In the Abyss, You freed those bound for ages;
You granted incorruption to the human race.
Because of this we sing our praise to You
Glorifying your saving and life-giving resurrection.
2. Raised upon the cross, O Mighty Lord,
You shook the whole earth.
Buried in your tomb, You raised the dead;
You granted life and incorruption to the world.
Because of this, we sing praise to You,
Glorifying your saving and life-giving resurrection.
3. Evil people delivered You to Pilate, O Christ our God.
He condemned You to crucifixion.
They proved themselves ungrateful to their Benefactor.
You freely accepted suffering and death.
Being God you rose by your own power on the third day.
You gave us eternal life and great mercy.
4. In tears, the faithful women came to your tomb:
They were seeking You.
Not finding You, sighing and lamenting, they cried out:
"O Savior and King of all, how were you stolen?
Where does your life-giving Body lie now?"
An angel appeared and said to them:
"Do not cry but go proclaim the news:
The Lord is risen giving us joy:
He alone loves mankind."
5. Glory be to the Father+, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and
ever and forever. Amen.
O Virgin most pure,
Listen to the supplication of your servants;
Protect us from our enemy;
Deliver us from sorrow.
You are our safe and secure haven;
We have you as our advocate.
Let those who call upon you never be put to shame.
Quickly answer those who call to you:
Hail Virgin, help of all,
Our joy, our protection, and salvation of our souls!
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