Chapter 38

1O Lord Almighty, you created the world by Jesus Christ our Savior. You appointed the Sabbath and rested on it from all your work. You commanded us to rest on it from all the work of our hands and to be ready to serve you and keep your commandments. You gave us feast days for the joy of our souls and so that we might remember the skill of your wisdom: God the Word was pleased to be born of a woman for our sake and [appeared openly in this world]. He was baptized as a man, although he was God, patiently endured the sufferings of the cross, died, and rose from the dead with great power.

2Therefore, we keep the holy day of his resurrection as a feast. We honor the first day of the week, give glory, and sing praise to him who conquered death, gave light to the whole world, bestowed incorruptible honor and glory upon us, gathered the scattered people and made them one pure flock, and blessed them just as he blessed Israel.

3It was you, O Lord, who brought our fathers out of the land of Egypt, delivered them from bitter bondage, saved them from the sea and from the labor of the brick kiln, and brought them out from the power of Pharaoh and his hosts. You led them through the sea on dry ground, sustained them with every good thing in the wilderness, and appointed for them the law of the ten words, which you spoke with your voice and wrote with your hands. You commanded them to rest on the Sabbath day so that they might humbly thank you and be safe from every evil. You bound them with words of admonition, gathered them, and brought them into the house of your sanctuary.

4Therefore, he commanded us to rest on every Sabbath day, because on the Sabbath day our Lord rested from all his work. Let us, then, seek after all his law, thank him, and bless God for all the good things he has bestowed upon us, the children of humanity.

5Greater than all these is the day of his holy resurrection, which our Lord, Savior, and Creator, God the Word, taught us to observe. He was begotten before the world was created, the Son of the Father, and was born of the Virgin Mary without a human father. He suffered, was crucified, and died in the days of Pontius Pilate, and he rose from the dead on the day of the Christian Sabbath.

6Remember, O Lord, what we offer to you on this day: the sacrifice, the oblation, and the Eucharist of your holy peace, this great portion that you have given us, so that we may [offer] what is good to the greatness of your power. You have fulfilled the prophecy, shown mercy to Zion, had compassion on Jerusalem, and exalted among us the throne of David your servant through the birth of Christ, who according to the flesh was born of a virgin descended from David.

7O Lord, receive the prayer and supplication of your people who call upon you in truth, just as you received the sacrifices of the righteous, each in its own time: first, of Abel, whose sacrifice you regarded and received; of Noah when he came out of the ark; of Abraham when he departed from the land of the Chaldeans; of Isaac when he departed from the Well of the Oath; of Jacob in Bethlehem; of Moses on the mountain; of Aaron in the wilderness; of Joshua son of Nun in Gilgal; of Gideon on the rock; of Manoah and his wife in [the plain]; of Samson when he was thirsty, before he transgressed; of Jephthah in war; of Barak and Deborah over Sisera; of Samuel in Mizpeh; of David in the field of Ornan the Jebusite; of Solomon in Gibeon and in Jerusalem; of Elijah on Mount Carmel; of Elisha at the fountains; of Jehoshaphat in battle; of Hezekiah in his sickness and concerning Sennacherib; of Manasseh on the mountain of the Chaldeans after he transgressed; of Josiah in [Pasa]; of Ezra when he was returning; of Daniel in the lions’ den; of Jonah in the belly of the whale; of the Three Children in the fiery furnace; of Hannah in the tabernacle of testimony beside the ark; of Nehemiah when he was building the wall with Zerubbabel; of Mattathias and his sons on the [hilltop]; and of Joel in the blessing. Now, in the same way, receive the prayer and supplication of those who offer to you with knowledge through Jesus Christ.

8We thank you for everything. You do not take your compassion and mercy from us, for you are merciful and full of compassion in every generation. You received Enosh, Enoch, and Noah, and you helped in the days of Moses and Joshua, in the days of the Judges, in the days of Samuel, Elijah, and the other prophets, in the days of David and the other kings, and in the days of Esther. [The text is damaged after “Esther.”] The Father sent him to free us from sinful deeds and from the service of Satan, and he gave life to the children of humanity, even to those who believe in the Lord, the Creator, so that those who believe in Christ may live.

9What thanks is it fitting for us to offer to God the Father through Jesus Christ? We have already told you and taught you. Observe all these things so that you may find eternal life. Amen.