137 Bible verses about Fasting

“Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces so they may appear to men to be fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward.But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,so that you will not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke?Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry and bring the poor who are outcasts into your house? When you see the naked, to cover him and not hide yourself from your own flesh?

Yet even now, declares the Lord, return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting and with weeping and with mourning.Rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and He relents from punishing.

And He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, and then He was hungry.

I set my face toward the Lord God to seek by prayer and supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.

As they worshipped the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”“After about four hundred and fifty years, God gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.Then they requested a king. And God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.When He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, of whom He testified, saying, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will fulfill My entire will.’“From this man’s descendants God has raised a Savior for Israel, Jesus, according to His promise.Before His coming John had preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.As John was fulfilling his course, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not He. But behold, there is coming One after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’“Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those of you who fear God, the word of this salvation has been sent to us.Because those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, did not know Him, in condemning Him they have fulfilled the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath.Though they found in Him no cause worthy of death, yet they asked Pilate to have Him killed.When they had fulfilled all that was written of Him, they took Him down from the tree and placed Him in a tomb.Then after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him a good route for us, our little ones, and all our substance.For I was ashamed to ask the king for an escort of foot and horse soldiers to help us against the enemy on the way, because we had spoken to the king, saying, “The hand of our God is upon all who seek Him for good, but His power and His wrath are against all who forsake Him.”So we fasted and sought our God for this, and He was moved by our prayers.

Then Jehoshaphat was fearful and set himself to seek the Lord, and he called for a fast throughout all Judah.So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was quiet, because his God gave him rest on all sides.And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began his reign, and he was king in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. The name of his mother was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.He walked in the way of his father Asa, and he did not turn aside from doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord.Only the high places were not taken down. The people had yet to set their hearts to the God of their fathers.And the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, from beginning to end, are written in the annals of Jehu son of Hanani, which are taken up in the book of the kings of Israel.Also, Jehoshaphat king of Judah was united with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted wickedly.Jehoshaphat joined with him to make ships to travel to Tarshish, and they made ships in Ezion Geber.And Eliezer son of Dodavahu from Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat saying, “Because you have joined with Ahaziah, the Lord will tear down your works.” So the ships were wrecked, so that they were not able to journey to Tarshish.And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days. Then I fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,

Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge concerning you, to preserve you,’and ‘In their hands they shall hold you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”When the devil had ended all the temptations, he departed from Him until another time.Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee. And His fame went throughout the surrounding region.He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by everyone.He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. And He stood up to read.The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. When He had unrolled the scroll, He found the place where it was written:“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed;to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”being tempted by the devil for forty days. During those days He ate nothing. And when they were ended, He was hungry.

So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He did not eat bread or drink water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

When they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they believed.

But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer would return to my own heart.I paced about as though he were my friend or brother; I bowed down lamenting, as one who mourns for his mother.

When Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and walked meekly.The word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,“See how Ahab humbles himself before Me? Because he humbles himself before Me, I will not bring the disaster during his lifetime, but during his son’s lifetime I will bring the disaster on his household.”

Then the disciples of John came to Him, asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?”Jesus answered, “Can the guests of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they will fast.

In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks.Then he said, “Do you understand why I have come to you? But now I shall return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I have gone forth, behold, the prince of Greece will come.But I will show you what is inscribed in the Scripture of Truth. Yet there is no one who stands firmly with me against these forces, except Michael your prince.I ate no tasty food; no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all until three whole weeks were fulfilled.

“Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You take no notice?” Behold, in the day of your fast you find your desire and are exacting on all your laborers.Behold, you fast for strife and debate, and to strike with the fist of wickedness. You do not fast as you do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.Is it such a fast that I have chosen, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast and an acceptable day to the Lord?

Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the Israelites were assembled with fasting and sackcloth, and there was dirt on them.You enacted signs and wonders against Pharaoh, against all his servants, and against all the people of his land because You knew how arrogantly they had acted against them. Thus, You made a name for Yourself, as it is this day.You divided the sea before them, so they might pass through the midst of the sea on dry ground, and cast their pursuers into the deep like a stone into stormy waters.By day You led them with a pillar of cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire to light the way for them to go.“You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them just requirements, true laws, good statutes and commandments.You also revealed to them Your Holy Sabbath and, by the hand of Moses Your servant, set in place for them the precepts, statutes, and laws.You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger and brought water out of the rock for them for their thirst. You told them to enter in order to possess the land which You had sworn to give them.“But they and our fathers acted proudly and hardened their necks and did not obey Your commandments.They refused to obey and were not mindful of Your wonders that You performed among them. But they hardened their necks and in their rebellion appointed a leader to return to their bondage. But You are a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in kindness, and did not forsake them.“Even when they had made themselves a molded calf and said, ‘This is your god that brought you out of Egypt,’ and committed terrible provocations,yet You in Your great mercy did not forsake them in the wilderness: The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, to lead them in the way, nor the pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way they should go.The offspring of Israel separated themselves from all the foreigners and then stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.

Say to all the people in the land and to the priests: When you fasted and lamented during the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, did you really fast for Me?

They gathered together to Mizpah. And they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. And they fasted on that day, and said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” So Samuel judged the Israelites in Mizpah.

Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer. Then come together again, so that Satan does not tempt you for lack of self-control.

But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, it became my reproach.

David entreated God on behalf of the child. He fasted for a period, and he would go in and lie throughout the night on the ground.

“Go, gather all the Jews who can be found in Susa, then fast for me. Stop eating and drinking for three days, night or day. I and my young women will fast likewise. Only then would I dare go to the king since it is not allowed by law, and if I perish, I perish.”

Consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly, assemble the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.

Then all the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel where they wept and sat before the Lord. They fasted that day until evening and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.

My knees are weak through fasting, and my flesh has grown gaunt with no fatness.

He arose and ate and drank and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.

Cornelius said, “Four days ago I was fasting until this hour. At the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms are remembered before God.

Then the king went to his palace and passed the night fasting, and no instruments of music were brought before him. And his sleep fled from him.

So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast. And everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.

so that you will not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

When they fast, I will not hear their cry. And when they offer a burnt offering and a grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.

Thus says the Lord of Hosts: The fast during the fourth and fifth months, and the fasts during the seventh and tenth months, will become rejoicing and joy and pleasant feasts for the house of Judah. So love what brings truth and peace.

But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer would return to my own heart.

Blow the ram’s horn in Zion, consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly.Gather the people, consecrate the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and those nursing at the breast; let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber.

But I bring and keep my body under subjection, lest when preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days. Then I fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,and said: “I beseech You, O  Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and mercy for those who love Him and keep His commandments.Let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant, which I pray before You now, day and night, for the Israelites Your servants, and confess the sins of the Israelites, which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned.

Thus it was yearly, when she went up to the house of the Lord, that she provoked her. So Hannah wept and did not eat.Then said Elkanah her husband to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? And why do you not eat? Why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”

As they worshipped the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

And she was a widow of about eighty-four years of age who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fasting and prayer night and day.

So we fasted and sought our God for this, and He was moved by our prayers.

In the letters she wrote, “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people,

While I was speaking and praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God,indeed, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening offering.He informed me and talked with me, and said, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding.At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved. Therefore understand the matter and consider the vision:

They mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul, Jonathan his son, the people of the Lord, and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

Then all the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel where they wept and sat before the Lord. They fasted that day until evening and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.The Israelites asked the Lord (because the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it then), “Should we go out again to wage war with our brother-tribesmen the Benjamites, or should we not?” The Lord said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands.”

Consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly, assemble the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.Alas, for the day! For the day of the Lord is near, and like devastation from the Almighty it comes.

But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them. Then in those days they will fast.”

in order to confirm these days of Purim at their appointed times, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had instituted for themselves and for their offspring, with the instructions for their times of fasting and their lamenting.

Cry aloud, do not hold back; lift up your voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression and the house of Jacob their sins.and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall rise in obscurity, and your darkness shall become as the noonday.And the Lord shall guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; and you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.Those from among you shall rebuild the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called, the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Paths in which to Dwell.If because of the Sabbath you turn away your foot from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and honor it, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words,then you shall delight yourself in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed you with the inheritance of Jacob your father. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.Yet they seek Me daily and delight to know My ways, as a nation that has done righteousness and has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching God.“Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You take no notice?” Behold, in the day of your fast you find your desire and are exacting on all your laborers.Behold, you fast for strife and debate, and to strike with the fist of wickedness. You do not fast as you do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.Is it such a fast that I have chosen, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast and an acceptable day to the Lord?Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke?Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry and bring the poor who are outcasts into your house? When you see the naked, to cover him and not hide yourself from your own flesh?Then your light shall break forth as the morning, and your healing shall spring forth quickly, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.Then you shall call, and the Lord shall answer; you shall cry, and He shall say, Here I am. If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil.Then Jesus said to him, “Get away from here, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.’ ”Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.Now when Jesus heard that John was put in prison, He left for Galilee.And leaving Nazareth, He came and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali,that what was spoken by Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, saying:“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles:The people who sat in darkness saw great light. And on those who sat in the land of the shadow of death, light has dawned.”From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent! For the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, throwing a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”And He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, and then He was hungry.They immediately left their nets and followed Him.And going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in a boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and He called them.They immediately left the boat and their father and followed Him.Jesus went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all sorts of diseases among the people.His fame went throughout all Syria. And they brought to Him all sick people who were taken with various diseases and tormented with pain, those who were possessed with demons, those who had seizures, and those who had paralysis, and He healed them.Great crowds followed Him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.And the tempter came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones be turned into bread.”But He answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ”

if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

As day was about to dawn, Paul asked them all to eat, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have waited and continued without food, having eaten nothing.So I urge you to eat. This is for your preservation, for not a hair shall fall from your head.”

Then the king went to his palace and passed the night fasting, and no instruments of music were brought before him. And his sleep fled from him.Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions.and over them three presidents, of whom Daniel was first, so that the officials might give accounts to them and the king not suffer loss.When he came to the den, he cried with a voice full of sorrow to Daniel. And the king spoke and said to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you serve continually been able to deliver you from the lions?”

Jesus answered, “Can the guests of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they will fast.

In the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, they proclaimed a fast before the Lord to all the people in Jerusalem and to all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem.

Blow the ram’s horn in Zion, consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly.

When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself in sackcloth, and sat in ashes.Then he made a proclamation in Nineveh: “By decree of the king and his nobles: No man or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not eat or drink water.Both man and animals shall cover themselves with sackcloth and cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands.Who knows? God may relent and change His mind. He may turn from His fierce anger, so that we will not perish.”

Then Ezra stood in front of the house of God and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib. When he arrived there, he ate no bread and drank no water because he was mourning over the vile unfaithfulness of the exiles.

Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the Israelites were assembled with fasting and sackcloth, and there was dirt on them.You enacted signs and wonders against Pharaoh, against all his servants, and against all the people of his land because You knew how arrogantly they had acted against them. Thus, You made a name for Yourself, as it is this day.You divided the sea before them, so they might pass through the midst of the sea on dry ground, and cast their pursuers into the deep like a stone into stormy waters.By day You led them with a pillar of cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire to light the way for them to go.“You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them just requirements, true laws, good statutes and commandments.You also revealed to them Your Holy Sabbath and, by the hand of Moses Your servant, set in place for them the precepts, statutes, and laws.You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger and brought water out of the rock for them for their thirst. You told them to enter in order to possess the land which You had sworn to give them.“But they and our fathers acted proudly and hardened their necks and did not obey Your commandments.They refused to obey and were not mindful of Your wonders that You performed among them. But they hardened their necks and in their rebellion appointed a leader to return to their bondage. But You are a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in kindness, and did not forsake them.“Even when they had made themselves a molded calf and said, ‘This is your god that brought you out of Egypt,’ and committed terrible provocations,yet You in Your great mercy did not forsake them in the wilderness: The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, to lead them in the way, nor the pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way they should go.The offspring of Israel separated themselves from all the foreigners and then stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst.Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing—their clothing did not wear out, nor did their feet swell.“You gave them kingdoms and nations, and You divided them as boundaries. They possessed the land of Sihon, which was the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og, the king of Bashan.Their descendants You increased like the stars of heaven, and You brought them into the land, which You had promised to their fathers that they would enter and possess it.So the descendants went in and possessed the land, and You subdued for them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hands—with their kings and the peoples of the land—to do with them as they would.They captured unassailable cities and a fertile land. They possessed houses full of all goods, wells dug, vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance, so they ate, were filled, and became fat, and they indulged themselves in Your great goodness.“Nevertheless they became disobedient, and rebelled against You, and cast Your law behind their backs, and killed Your prophets who had warned them to turn back to You. But they committed terrible provocations.Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies, who afflicted them. When they cried to You in the time of their affliction, You heard from heaven, and, according to Your abundant mercy, You gave them deliverers who delivered them out of the hand of their enemies.“But after they had rest, they again did evil before You. Therefore You abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them. Yet when they turned and cried to You, You heard from heaven, and many times You delivered them according to Your mercies.“You warned them in order to restore them again to Your law, but they acted arrogantly and did not listen to Your commandments. They sinned against Your ordinances (which would enable a man to live, if he would do them), stubbornly turning away and becoming belligerent so that they would not hear.They stood in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for one-fourth of the day. And for another fourth, they confessed and worshipped the Lord their God.

in weariness and painfulness, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, and in cold and nakedness.

For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

When I went up into the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which the Lord made with you, then I remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights. I did not eat bread or drink water.

Then all the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel where they wept and sat before the Lord. They fasted that day until evening and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.The Israelites asked the Lord (because the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,

Now Israel’s fighting men were distressed that day, for Saul had placed the people under a curse, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food before it is evening, and I have been avenged on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted any food.

“Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces so they may appear to men to be fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward.

I fast twice a week, and I tithe of all that I earn.’

I ate no tasty food; no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all until three whole weeks were fulfilled.

But You, O  God, the Lord, work on my behalf for Your name’s sake; because Your mercy is good, deliver me.For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.I am gone like a shadow when it lengthens; I am shaken off like a locust.My knees are weak through fasting, and my flesh has grown gaunt with no fatness.

Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him a good route for us, our little ones, and all our substance.

Both man and animals shall cover themselves with sackcloth and cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands.

Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up to the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.

They proclaimed a fast and set Naboth on high among the people.

Then the disciples of John came to Him, asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?”Jesus answered, “Can the guests of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they will fast.“No one sews a piece of new cloth into an old garment, for that which is sewn in to fill it up pulls on the garment, and the tear is made worse.Neither do men put new wine into old wineskins. Or else the wineskins burst, the wine runs out, and the wineskins perish. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

In each and every province where the king’s command and his decree came there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

Then Jehoshaphat was fearful and set himself to seek the Lord, and he called for a fast throughout all Judah.

“Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink.

They gathered together to Mizpah. And they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. And they fasted on that day, and said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” So Samuel judged the Israelites in Mizpah.When the Philistines heard that the Israelites were gathered together to Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the Israelites heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines.The Israelites said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying unto the Lord our God for us, that He might save us out of the hand of the Philistines.”

Then the Lord became jealous for His land and took pity upon His people.

At the evening sacrifice I rose up from my heaviness and, despite having my clothes and my robe torn, I knelt on my knees and stretched out my hands in prayer to the Lord my God

Cornelius said, “Four days ago I was fasting until this hour. At the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,

The man of God said to the king, “If you were to give me half your house, I would not go with you, nor will I eat bread, nor drink water in this place,for so I was commanded by the word of the Lord, saying: You shall eat no bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way that you came.”

Then he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand this and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come because of your words.But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me for twenty-one days. So Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.

As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God.As a shattering of my bones, my enemies reproach me, while they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God.My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?

I gathered them together at the river that runs to Ahava, and we camped in tents three days. As I examined the people and the priests, I discovered that none of the sons of Levi were there.So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, chief men; and also for Joiarib and Elnathan, discerning men.I gave them orders for Iddo, chief at the place Kasiphia, and crafted exactly what they would say to Iddo, his brothers, and the temple servants at the place Kasiphia so that they would bring us ministering servants for the house of our God.Because the good hand of our God was upon us, indeed they brought us a man of understanding descended from the sons of Mahli, who is a descendant of Levi, the son of Israel—Sherebiah along with his sons and his brothers, eighteen men;and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brothers and their sons, twenty men;of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, Hattush,and of the temple servants whom David and the leaders had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty temple servants, all of them designated by name.Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him a good route for us, our little ones, and all our substance.For I was ashamed to ask the king for an escort of foot and horse soldiers to help us against the enemy on the way, because we had spoken to the king, saying, “The hand of our God is upon all who seek Him for good, but His power and His wrath are against all who forsake Him.”So we fasted and sought our God for this, and He was moved by our prayers.

Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil.Then Jesus said to him, “Get away from here, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.’ ”Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

They said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?”He said to them, “Can you make the attendants of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them. Then in those days they will fast.”

The Israelites asked the Lord (because the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it then), “Should we go out again to wage war with our brother-tribesmen the Benjamites, or should we not?” The Lord said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands.”

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans,We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets.Indeed, all Israel has transgressed Your law, even by departing that they might not obey Your voice. “Therefore the curse has been poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the Law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against Him.He has confirmed His words, which He had spoken against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing on us great calamity. For under the whole heaven there has not been done such as has been done to Jerusalem.As it is written in the Law of Moses, great calamity has come on us. Yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God so that we might turn from our iniquities and give attention to Your truth.Therefore, the Lord has kept the disaster in store and brought it upon us. For the Lord our God is righteous in all His works which He does, but we have not obeyed His voice.“Now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself a name, even to this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly.O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I beseech You, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain, because for our sins and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach to all who are around us.“Now therefore, O God, hear the prayer of Your servant and his supplications, and for Your sake, O Lord, cause Your face to shine upon Your sanctuary, which is desolate.O my God, incline Your ear and hear. Open Your eyes and look at our desolations and the city which is called by Your name, for we do not present our supplications before You for our righteousness, but for Your great mercies.O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not defer, for Your own sake, O my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which were specified by the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet for the accomplishment of the desolations of Jerusalem, that is, seventy years.While I was speaking and praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God,indeed, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening offering.He informed me and talked with me, and said, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding.At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved. Therefore understand the matter and consider the vision:“Seventy weeks have been determined for your people and upon your holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make atonement for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.“Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the command to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem until the Prince Messiah shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks. It shall be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of trouble.After the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the troops of the prince who shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall come with a flood. And until the end of the war desolations are determined.And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week. But in the middle of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed destruction is poured out on the desolator.”I set my face toward the Lord God to seek by prayer and supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.

Then Nathan went to his house. The Lord struck the child that the wife of Uriah bore to David, and it became very ill.David entreated God on behalf of the child. He fasted for a period, and he would go in and lie throughout the night on the ground.The elders of his house stood beside him to rouse him from the ground, but he was not willing, nor would he consume food with them.The child died on the seventh day, and the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child had died. They said, “Behold, while the child was yet alive, we would speak to him, but he would not acknowledge our voices. Now how can we say to him, ‘The child is dead’? He may do harm.”When David noticed that his servants were whispering to one another, he perceived that the child was dead. So he asked his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.”The wealthy man had a very large flock and herd,So David arose from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his garments. Then he entered the house of the Lord and worshipped. He then went in to his own house. When he asked, they set down food for him and ate.His servants said to him, “What is this thing you have done? You fasted and wept for the sake of the living child, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.”He explained, “As long as the child was alive, I fasted and wept because I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me, so that the child may live.’But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Am I able to bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests; wail, ministers of the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, ministers of my God, because the grain offering and the drink offering are withheld from the house of your God.Consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly, assemble the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.

When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, it became my reproach.When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a proverb to them.

and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall rise in obscurity, and your darkness shall become as the noonday.And the Lord shall guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; and you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

But you, when you pray, enter your closet, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

I gathered them together at the river that runs to Ahava, and we camped in tents three days. As I examined the people and the priests, I discovered that none of the sons of Levi were there.

And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Please bring the ephod to me.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David.David inquired at the Lord, saying, “Should I pursue after this raiding party? Will I overtake them?” And He answered him, “Pursue them, for you will surely overtake them and will surely recover all.”

O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.They shall fall by the sword; they shall be prey for jackals.But the king shall rejoice in God; everyone who swears by Him shall glory, for the mouths of those who speak lies shall be stopped.So I have looked upon You in the sanctuary, beholding Your power and Your glory.Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You.Thus will I bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.

He prayed to the Lord and said, “O  Lord! Is this not what I said while I was still in my own land? This is the reason that I fled before to Tarshish, because I knew that You are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, abundant in faithfulness, and ready to relent from punishment.

My soul longs and even yearns for the courtyards of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the sons of men!For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.

And there was Anna a prophetess, a daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age and had lived with her husband seven years from her virginity.And she was a widow of about eighty-four years of age who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fasting and prayer night and day.

Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat, drink the sweet drink, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Then the Lord became jealous for His land and took pity upon His people.So the Lord answered and said to His people, Behold, I am sending you grain, new wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied, and I will never again make you a disgrace among the nations.

Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far,in order to institute for them the celebration for the fourteenth day and the fifteenth day of the month of Adar, each and every year,as the days when the Jews had rest from their enemies, and as the month when things turned around for them—changing from sorrow to joy and from mourning into a favorable day —so that they could celebrate a season of feasting and rejoicing and sending food portions to one another and gifts to the poor.

In the church that was in Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.“You son of the devil, enemy of all righteousness, full of deceit and of all fraud, will you not cease perverting the right ways of the Lord?Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is against you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell on him, and he went about seeking someone to lead him by the hand.When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed and was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.Now when Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John departed from them and returned to Jerusalem.But they departed from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And they went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down.After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.”Then Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said: “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen.The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they lived as foreigners in the land of Egypt, and with great power He led them out of it.For about forty years He endured their conduct in the desert.When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He gave them their land as an inheritance by lot.As they worshipped the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”“After about four hundred and fifty years, God gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.Then they requested a king. And God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.When He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, of whom He testified, saying, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will fulfill My entire will.’“From this man’s descendants God has raised a Savior for Israel, Jesus, according to His promise.Before His coming John had preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.As John was fulfilling his course, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not He. But behold, there is coming One after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’“Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those of you who fear God, the word of this salvation has been sent to us.Because those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, did not know Him, in condemning Him they have fulfilled the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath.Though they found in Him no cause worthy of death, yet they asked Pilate to have Him killed.When they had fulfilled all that was written of Him, they took Him down from the tree and placed Him in a tomb.Then after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

If because of the Sabbath you turn away your foot from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and honor it, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words,then you shall delight yourself in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed you with the inheritance of Jacob your father. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.

After that, the Moabites and the Ammonites, together with some Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle.“And now, behold, the Ammonites and Moabites and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, when they turned away from them and did not destroy them,behold how they are rewarding us by coming to drive us out of Your possession, which You have given us to inherit.O our God, will You not render judgment on them? For we have not strength enough to stand before this great army that is coming against us. And we do not know what we should do, but our eyes are on You.”Now all of Judah was standing before the Lord, even their infants, wives, and children.And in the midst of the assembly the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite from the line of Asaph.And he said, “Pay attention all Judah, and those dwelling in Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not fear, nor be dismayed because of this great army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.Tomorrow, go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the Ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the back of the valley, before the Wilderness of Jeruel.It will not be necessary for you to fight in this conflict. Take your positions, stand, and observe the deliverance of the Lord for you, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be filled with terror. Tomorrow, go out before them, and the Lord will be with you.”Then Jehoshaphat bowed his face to the ground, and all Judah and those dwelling in Jerusalem fell before the Lord to worship Him.And the Levites from the descendants of the Kohathites and Korahites rose up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a very loud voice.Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and behold, they are in Hazezon Tamar” (that is, En-gedi).So they rose up early in the morning and went out to the Wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and those dwelling in Jerusalem. Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be supported. Believe His prophets, and you will succeed.”And he consulted with the people and then appointed singers for the Lord and those praising Him in holy attire as they went before those equipped for battle saying, “Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever.”When they began singing and praising, the Lord set ambushes against Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were defeated.Then the Ammonites and Moabites stood up against those dwelling from Mount Seir to destroy and finish them. Then when they made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, each man attacked his companion to destroy each other.When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the vast army, and behold, there were dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped.Then Jehoshaphat and his people came to gather their plunder, and they found among them an abundance of riches with the corpses, and precious jewelry, which they took for themselves, more than they could carry. They were gathering the plunder for three days because there was so much to carry.On the fourth day they gathered at the Valley of Berakah, because there they blessed the Lord. For this reason people have called the name of this place the Valley of Berakah until this day.Then they all returned, every man from Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat as their head, to Jerusalem with joy because the Lord made them rejoice because of the death of their enemies.So they entered Jerusalem with harps, lyres, and trumpets to the house of the Lord.And it happened that the terror of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands who heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.Then Jehoshaphat was fearful and set himself to seek the Lord, and he called for a fast throughout all Judah.So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was quiet, because his God gave him rest on all sides.

Then Daniel said to the steward, whom the master of the officials had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,“Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink.

When Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and walked meekly.

The Israelites arose, went up to Bethel, and asked God, “Who should go up first to wage war against the Benjamites?” The Lord said, “Judah first.”The Israelites got up in the morning and camped against Gibeah.The leaders of all the people from all the tribes of Israel presented themselves in an assembly of the people of God, who numbered four hundred thousand infantrymen bearing swords.The men of Israel went out for battle with Benjamin, and the men of Israel lined up for battle at Gibeah.Then the Benjamites came out from Gibeah and struck twenty-two thousand men of Israel down to the ground.The people, the men of Israel, rallied and lined up for battle again in the place where they had lined up on the first day.Then the Israelites went up and wept before the Lord until evening. They asked the Lord, “Should we advance and fight our brother-tribesmen the Benjamites again?” The Lord said, “Advance against them.”So the Israelites advanced against the Benjamites for the second day.And on the second day, the Benjamites went out from Gibeah to meet them and again struck eighteen thousand men down to the ground, every one of them armed.Then all the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel where they wept and sat before the Lord. They fasted that day until evening and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.

And He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, and then He was hungry.They immediately left their nets and followed Him.And going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in a boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and He called them.They immediately left the boat and their father and followed Him.Jesus went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all sorts of diseases among the people.His fame went throughout all Syria. And they brought to Him all sick people who were taken with various diseases and tormented with pain, those who were possessed with demons, those who had seizures, and those who had paralysis, and He healed them.Great crowds followed Him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.And the tempter came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones be turned into bread.”But He answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ”

Consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly, assemble the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.Alas, for the day! For the day of the Lord is near, and like devastation from the Almighty it comes.Has not the food been cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God?

They stood in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for one-fourth of the day. And for another fourth, they confessed and worshipped the Lord their God.

Then Nathan went to his house. The Lord struck the child that the wife of Uriah bore to David, and it became very ill.David entreated God on behalf of the child. He fasted for a period, and he would go in and lie throughout the night on the ground.

Then the king went to his palace and passed the night fasting, and no instruments of music were brought before him. And his sleep fled from him.Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions.and over them three presidents, of whom Daniel was first, so that the officials might give accounts to them and the king not suffer loss.When he came to the den, he cried with a voice full of sorrow to Daniel. And the king spoke and said to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you serve continually been able to deliver you from the lions?”Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever!My God has sent His angel and has shut the lions’ mouths so that they have not hurt me, because innocence was found in me before Him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.”Then the king was exceeding glad for him and commanded that they take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of harm was found on him, because he believed in his God.Then the king commanded, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions—them, their children, and their wives. And the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces before they came to the bottom of the den.

being tempted by the devil for forty days. During those days He ate nothing. And when they were ended, He was hungry.

But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,

Immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he could see again. And he rose up and was baptized.When he had eaten, he was strengthened. For several days Saul was with the disciples in Damascus.

Then Ezra stood in front of the house of God and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib. When he arrived there, he ate no bread and drank no water because he was mourning over the vile unfaithfulness of the exiles.They made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem for all the children of the exile to assemble in Jerusalem.Whoever would not come within three days would forfeit all his possessions, according to the counsel of the leaders and the elders, and would himself be excluded from the congregation of the exiles.

Yet even now, declares the Lord, return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting and with weeping and with mourning.

In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar, and the message was true and one of great conflict. And he understood the message and had understanding of the vision.And behold, a hand touched me, which set me on my knees and on the palms of my hands.He said to me, “O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I have been sent to you now.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood trembling.Then he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand this and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come because of your words.But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me for twenty-one days. So Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.Now I have come to make you understand what shall befall your people in the latter days. For the vision is yet for many days.”When he had spoken such words to me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became mute.And behold, one in the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips. Then I opened my mouth and spoke and said to him who stood before me, “O my lord, because of the vision, sorrows have come upon me, and I have retained no strength.How can the servant of my lord talk with you, my lord? And as for me, there remains no strength in me now, nor is there any breath left in me.”Then again, the one having the appearance of a man came and touched me, and he strengthened me.He said, “O man, greatly beloved, do not fear. Peace be unto you. Be strong and courageous!” When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks.Then he said, “Do you understand why I have come to you? But now I shall return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I have gone forth, behold, the prince of Greece will come.But I will show you what is inscribed in the Scripture of Truth. Yet there is no one who stands firmly with me against these forces, except Michael your prince.I ate no tasty food; no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all until three whole weeks were fulfilled.

Everyone who strives for the prize exercises self-control in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible one.So, therefore, I run, not with uncertainty. So I fight, not as one who beats the air.But I bring and keep my body under subjection, lest when preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.

O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, “Alas, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping His covenant and mercy to those who love Him, and to those who keep His commandments.We have sinned and have committed iniquity and have done wickedly and have rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and from Your judgments.We have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our officials, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

They said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?”