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VERSES ABOUT FASTING
Fasting helps me grow closer to God and strengthens my relationship with my Heavenly Father. I try not to see it as something I do for my own benefit, but as a way to improve my walk with God. It's a voluntary choice, a time when I set aside the physical need for food to nourish my spirit. It's a special time to seek God's presence, which is why I find it helpful to fast in a quiet place where I can talk with Him alone.
The Bible talks about this too. Daniel 9:31 says, "So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes." It's really inspiring to see how people in the Bible sought God through fasting.
And when ye fast, become not like the gloomy looking hypocrites, for they make their faces unsightly, so that they may appear fasting to men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward.But when thou fast, anoint thy head, and wash thy face,so that thou may not appear fasting to men, but to thy Father in secret. And thy Father, who sees in secret, will reward thee.
Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?Is it not to deal thy bread to a hungry man, and that thou bring the poor who are cast out to thy house, when thou see a naked man, that thou cover him, and that thou not hide thyself from thine own flesh?
Yet even now, says LORD, turn ye to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning.And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn to LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and relents of the evil.
And I set my face to LORD God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.
And while they were serving the Lord, and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Separate to me now Barnabas and Saul for the work that I have called them.Then, having fasted and prayed and laid hands on them, they sent them away.
And the people of Nineveh believed God, and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.And the news reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and laid his robe from him, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.And he made proclamation and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed, nor drink water,but let them be covered with sackcloth, both man and beast, and let them cry mightily to God. Yea, let them turn each one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in his hands.Who knows whether God will not turn and relent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we not perish?And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way. And God relented of the evil which he said he would do to them, and he did not do it.
Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a straight way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way, because we had spoken to the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all those who seek him, for good, but his power anSo we fasted and besought our God for this, and he was entreated by us.
And Jehoshaphat was afraid, and set himself to seek for LORD. And he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.And Judah gathered themselves together, to seek [help] from LORD, even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek LORD.
And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days. And I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven,
And Jesus, full of Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,being tempted forty days by the devil. And he ate nothing in those days, and when they were ended, afterward he was hungry.
And he was there with LORD forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread, nor drank water, and he wrote upon the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
And having appointed elders for them in every congregation, having prayed with fasting, they entrusted them to the Lord, in whom they had believed.
But as for me, when they were sick my clothing was sackcloth. I afflicted my soul with fasting, and my prayer returned into my own bosom.I behaved myself as though it had been my friend or my brother. I bowed down mourning, as he who bewails his mother.
And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.And the word of LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,See thou how Ahab humbles himself before me? Because he humbles himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days, but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.
Then the disciples of John come to him, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but thy disciples fast not?And Jesus said to them, The sons of the wedding hall cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them. But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.
In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three whole weeks.I ate no pleasant bread. Neither flesh nor wine came into my mouth. Neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
Why have we fasted, [they say], and thou see not? We have afflicted our soul, and thou take no knowledge. Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact from all your laborers.Behold, ye fast for strife and contention, and to smite with the fist of wickedness. Ye do not fast this day so as to make your voice to be heard on high.Is such the fast that I have chosen, the day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to LORD?
Now in the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackcloth, and earth upon them.And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.
Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh [month], even these seventy years, did ye at all fast to me, even to me?
And they gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against LORD. And Samuel judged the sons of Israel in Mizpah.
Do not defraud each other except from agreement for a time, so that ye may have time for fasting and prayer. And come together again for the same thing, so that Satan not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
David therefore besought God for the child. And David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the ground.
Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day. I also and my maidens will fast in like manner. And so I will go in to the king, which is not acc
Sanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly. Gather the old men [and] all the inhabitants of the land to the house of LORD your God, and cry to LORD.
Then all the sons of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came to Bethel, and wept, and sat there before LORD, and fasted that day until evening, and they offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before LORD.
And he arose, and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.
And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour, and the ninth hour praying in my house. And behold, a man stood before me in bright apparel.And he says, Cornelius, thy prayer was heard, and thy charities are remembered before God.
Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting, nor were instruments of music brought before him. And his sleep fled from him.
And the people of Nineveh believed God, and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
so that thou may not appear fasting to men, but to thy Father in secret. And thy Father, who sees in secret, will reward thee.
When they fast, I will not hear their cry. And when they offer burnt-offering and meal-offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.
Thus says LORD of hosts: The fast of the fourth [month], and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah, joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth
But as for me, when they were sick my clothing was sackcloth. I afflicted my soul with fasting, and my prayer returned into my own bosom.
Blow the trumpet in Zion. Sanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly.Gather the people. Sanctify the assembly. Assemble the old men. Gather the sons, and those who suck the breasts. Let the bridegroom go forth from his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
But I give my body a black eye and subdue it, lest somehow having preached to others, I myself might become disqualified.
And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days. And I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven,and said, I beseech thee, O LORD, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness with those who love him and keep his commandments:Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou may hearken to the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee at this time, day and night, for the sons of Israel thy servants while I confess the sins of the sons
And [as] he did so year by year when she went up to the house of LORD, so she provoked her. Therefore she wept, and did not eat.And Elkanah her husband said to her, Hannah, why do thou weep? And why do thou not eat? And why is thy heart grieved? Am not I better to thee than ten sons?
And while they were serving the Lord, and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Separate to me now Barnabas and Saul for the work that I have called them.
and this woman was a widow to eighty-four years), who did not depart from the temple, serving with fastings and supplications night and day.
And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.
And while I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God,yea, 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 oblation.And he instructed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I have now come forth to give thee wisdom and understanding.At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment went forth, and I have come to tell thee, for thou are greatly beloved. Therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision.
And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until evening, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of LORD, and for the house of Israel, because they were fallen by the sword.
Then all the sons of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came to Bethel, and wept, and sat there before LORD, and fasted that day until evening, and they offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before LORD.And the sons of Israel asked of LORD (for 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 in those days), saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the sons of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And LORD said, Go up, for tomorrow I will del
Sanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly. Gather the old men [and] all the inhabitants of the land to the house of LORD your God, and cry to LORD.Alas for the day! For the day of LORD is at hand, and it shall come as destruction from the Almighty.
But the days will also come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.
to confirm these days of Purim in their appointed times, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had ordained for themselves and for their seed in the matter of the fastings and their cry.
Cry aloud, spare not. Lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and declare to my people their transgression, and to the house of Jacob their sins.Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways. As a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God, they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near to God.Why have we fasted, [they say], and thou see not? We have afflicted our soul, and thou take no knowledge. Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact from all your laborers.Behold, ye fast for strife and contention, and to smite with the fist of wickedness. Ye do not fast this day so as to make your voice to be heard on high.Is such the fast that I have chosen, the day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to LORD?Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?Is it not to deal thy bread to a hungry man, and that thou bring the poor who are cast out to thy house, when thou see a naked man, that thou cover him, and that thou not hide thyself from thine own flesh?Then thy light shall break forth as the morning, and thy healing shall spring forth speedily. And thy righteousness shall go before thee. The glory of LORD shall be thy rearward.Then thou shall call, and LORD will answer, thou shall cry, and he will say, Here I am. If thou take the yoke away from the midst of thee, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedly,
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.And having fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward he was hungry.And after he who tempts came, he said to him, If thou are the Son of God, speak so that these stones may become bread.But having answered, he said, It is written, Man will not live on bread alone, but on every word coming out through the mouth of God.
if my people, who are called by my name, shall 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.
And until day was going to develop, Paul urged them all to partake of food, saying, Today is the fourteenth day, waiting, ye continue without food, having taken nothing.Therefore I encourage you to take of food, for this is for your safety. For not a hair will fall from the head of one of you.
Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting, nor were instruments of music 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 when he came near to the den to Daniel, he cried with a lamentable voice. The king spoke and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou serve continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?
And Jesus said to them, The sons of the wedding hall cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them. But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.
For the zeal of thy house has eaten me up, and the reproaches of those who reproach thee have fallen upon me.When I wept in my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach.
Now it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, that all the people in Jerusalem, and all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem, proclaimed a fast before
And the news reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and laid his robe from him, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.And he made proclamation and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed, nor drink water,but let them be covered with sackcloth, both man and beast, and let them cry mightily to God. Yea, let them turn each one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in his hands.Who knows whether God will not turn and relent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we not perish?
Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib. And [when] he came there, he ate no bread, nor drank water, for he mourned because of the trespass of those of the captivit
And they took their bones, and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
Now in the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackcloth, and earth upon them.And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of LORD their God a fourth part of the day, and [another] fourth part they confessed, and worshipped LORD their God.
in toil and hardship, in frequent sleeplessness, in hunger and thirst, in frequent fasts, in cold and nakedness.
When I was gone up onto the mount to receive the tablets of stone, even the tablets of the covenant which LORD made with you, then I abode on the mount forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water.
Then all the sons of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came to Bethel, and wept, and sat there before LORD, and fasted that day until evening, and they offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before LORD.And the sons of Israel asked of LORD (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,
And the men of Israel were distressed that day, for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man who eats any food until it be evening, and I be avenged on my enemies. So none of the people tasted food.
And when ye fast, become not like the gloomy looking hypocrites, for they make their faces unsightly, so that they may appear fasting to men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward.
I ate no pleasant bread. Neither flesh nor wine came into my mouth. Neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
But deal thou with me, O lord LORD, for thy name's sake. Because thy loving kindness is good, deliver thou me,for I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.I am gone like the shadow when it declines. I am tossed up and down as the locust.My knees are weak through fasting, and my flesh fails of fatness.
Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a straight way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.
but let them be covered with sackcloth, both man and beast, and let them cry mightily to God. Yea, let them turn each one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in his hands.
And Moses entered into the midst of the cloud, and went up onto the mount. And Moses was on the mount forty days and forty nights.
Then the disciples of John come to him, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but thy disciples fast not?And Jesus said to them, The sons of the wedding hall cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them. But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.And no man puts a patch of new cloth upon an old garment, for the patch of it pulls from the garment, and a tear becomes worse.Neither do they put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the wineskins will perish. But they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.
And in every province, wherever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing, and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
And Jehoshaphat was afraid, and set himself to seek for LORD. And he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?Is it not to deal thy bread to a hungry man, and that thou bring the poor who are cast out to thy house, when thou see a naked man, that thou cover him, and that thou not hide thyself from thine own flesh?Then thy light shall break forth as the morning, and thy healing shall spring forth speedily. And thy righteousness shall go before thee. The glory of LORD shall be thy rearward.Then thou shall call, and LORD will answer, thou shall cry, and he will say, Here I am. If thou take the yoke away from the midst of thee, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedly,and if thou draw out thy soul to a hungry man, and satisfy an afflicted soul, then thy light shall rise in darkness, and thine obscurity be as the noonday.And LORD will guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in dry places, and make strong thy bones. And thou shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters fail not.And those who shall be of thee shall build the old waste places. Thou shall raise up the foundations of many generations, and thou shall be called The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days. And I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven,and said, I beseech thee, O LORD, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness with those who love him and keep his commandments:Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou may hearken to the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee at this time, day and night, for the sons of Israel thy servants while I confess the sins of the sonsWe have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances, which thou commanded thy servant Moses.Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commanded thy servant Moses, saying, If ye trespass, I will scatter you abroad among the peoples,but if ye return to me, and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts were in the outermost part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and will bring them to the place that I have chosen, to cause my nameNow these are thy servants and thy people whom thou have redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.O LORD, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who delight to fear thy name, and, I pray thee, prosper thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight
Test thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat, and water to drink.
And they gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against LORD. And Samuel judged the sons of Israel in Mizpah.And when the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel were gathered together to Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the sons of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines.And the sons of Israel said to Samuel, Do not cease to cry to LORD our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.
And at the evening oblation I arose up from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn, and I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands to LORD my God,
And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour, and the ninth hour praying in my house. And behold, a man stood before me in bright apparel.
And the man of God said to the king, If thou will give me half thy house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place;for so it was charged me by the word of LORD, saying, Thou shall eat no bread, nor drink water, neither return by the way that thou came.
Then he said to me, Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that thou set thy heart to understand, and to humble thyself before thy God, thy words were heard. And I have come for thy words' sake.But the ruler of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me. And I remained there with the kings of Persia.
As the hart pants after the water brooks, so my soul pants after thee, O God.My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?
And I gathered them together to the river that runs to Ahava, and there we encamped three days. And I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi.Then I sent for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men, also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, who were teachers.And I sent them forth to Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say to Iddo, [and] his brothers the Nethinim, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring to us ministers for the house of our God.And according to the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brothers, eighteen,and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brothers and their sons, twenty,and of the Nethinim, whom David and the rulers had given for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim. All of them were mentioned by name.Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a straight way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way, because we had spoken to the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all those who seek him, for good, but his power anSo we fasted and besought our God for this, and he was entreated by us.
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.And having fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward he was hungry.And after he who tempts came, he said to him, If thou are the Son of God, speak so that these stones may become bread.But having answered, he said, It is written, Man will not live on bread alone, but on every word coming out through the mouth of God.Then the devil takes him into the holy city, and stands him on the pinnacle of the temple.And he says to him, If thou are the Son of God, cast thyself down, for it is written, He will command his agents about thee, and, They will take thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.Jesus said to him, Again it is written, Thou shall not challenge Lord thy God.Again, the devil takes him onto an exceedingly high mountain, and shows him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them.And he says to him, All these things I give thee, if after falling down, thou will worship me.Then Jesus says to him, Get thee behind me, Satan, for it is written, Thou shall worship Lord thy God, and him only thou shall serve.Then the devil leaves him, and behold, heavenly agents came and served him.
And they said to him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make supplications, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but thine eat and drink.And he said to them, Ye cannot make the sons of the wedding hall fast while the bridegroom is with them.But the days will also come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.
And the sons of Israel asked of LORD (for 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 in those days), saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the sons of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And LORD said, Go up, for tomorrow I will del
In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans,in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years of which the word of LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, for the accomplishing of the desolations of Jerusalem, even seventy years.And I set my face to LORD God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.
And Nathan departed to his house. And LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it was very sick.David therefore besought God for the child. And David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the ground.And the elders of his house arose, [and stood] beside him, to raise him up from the ground, but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive we spoke to him, and he did not hearken to ourBut when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel. And he came into the house of LORD, and worshipped. Then he came to his own house, and when he required, they set bread before him, and heThen his servants said to him, What thing is this that thou have done? Thou fasted and wept for the child while it was alive, but when the child was dead, thou arose and ate bread.And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept. For I said, Who knows whether LORD will not be gracious to me, that the child may live?But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.
Gird yourselves [with sackcloth], and lament, ye priests. Wail, ye ministers of the altar. Come, lay all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God. For the meal-offering and the drink-offering are withheld from the house of your GSanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly. Gather the old men [and] all the inhabitants of the land to the house of LORD your God, and cry to LORD.
and said, I beseech thee, O LORD, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness with those who love him and keep his commandments:Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou may hearken to the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee at this time, day and night, for the sons of Israel thy servants while I confess the sins of the sonsWe have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances, which thou commanded thy servant Moses.Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commanded thy servant Moses, saying, If ye trespass, I will scatter you abroad among the peoples,but if ye return to me, and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts were in the outermost part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and will bring them to the place that I have chosen, to cause my nameNow these are thy servants and thy people whom thou have redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.O LORD, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who delight to fear thy name, and, I pray thee, prosper thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight
When I wept in my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach.When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them.
and if thou draw out thy soul to a hungry man, and satisfy an afflicted soul, then thy light shall rise in darkness, and thine obscurity be as the noonday.And LORD will guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in dry places, and make strong thy bones. And thou shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters fail not.
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king's food, nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore he requested of the ruler of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.Now God made Daniel find kindness and compassion in the sight of the ruler of the eunuchs.And the ruler of the eunuchs said to Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink. For why should he see your faces worse looking than the youths that are of your own age? So ye would endanger my headThen Daniel said to the steward whom the ruler of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,Test thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat, and water to drink.Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the youths that eat of the king's food. And as thou see, deal with thy servants.So he hearkened to them in this matter, and tested them ten days.And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared finer, and they were fuller in flesh, than all the youths who ate of the king's dainties.So the steward took away their food, and the wine that they should drink, and gave them vegetables.
But thou, when thou pray, enter into thy private room, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father in secret, and thy Father who sees in secret will reward thee in the open.
And I gathered them together to the river that runs to Ahava, and there we encamped three days. And I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi.
And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, I pray thee, bring me here the ephod. And Abiathar brought there the ephod to David.And David inquired of LORD, saying, If I pursue after this troop, shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue, for thou shall surely overtake [them], and shall without fail recover [all].
O God, thou are my God. I will earnestly seek thee. My soul thirsts for thee, my flesh longs for thee, in a dry and weary land, where is no water.So I have looked upon thee in the sanctuary to see thy power and thy glory.Because thy loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.So I will bless thee while I live. I will lift up my hands in thy name.My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness. And my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips
And he prayed to LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I hastened to flee to Tarshish, for I knew that thou are a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abundan
O taste and see that LORD is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.O fear LORD, ye his sanctified, for there is no want to those who fear him.The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger, but those who seek LORD shall not want any good thing.
My soul longs, yea, even faints for the courts of LORD. My heart and my flesh cry out to the living God.
O that men would praise LORD for his loving kindness, and for his wonderful works to the sons of men!For he satisfies the longing soul, and he fills the hungry soul with good,
And there was Anna, a prophetess, a daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher (being advanced in many days, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity,and this woman was a widow to eighty-four years), who did not depart from the temple, serving with fastings and supplications night and day.
Then he said to them, Go your way, eat fat things, and drink sweet things, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy to our LORD; neither be ye grieved, for the joy of LORD is your strength.
Then LORD was jealous for his land, and had pity on his people.And LORD answered and said to his people, Behold, I will send you grain, and new wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith. And I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.
And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both near and far,to enjoin them that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly,as the days in which the Jews had rest from their enemies. And the month which was turned to them from sorrow to gladness, and from mourning into a good day, that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, and of sending
Now there were some men from the congregation that was in Antioch, prophets and teachers, including Barnabas, and Simeon called Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenian, and Manaen reared with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.And while they were serving the Lord, and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Separate to me now Barnabas and Saul for the work that I have called them.Then, having fasted and prayed and laid hands on them, they sent them away.
If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, [and] the holy of LORD honorable, and shall honor it, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nothen thou shall delight thyself in LORD, and I will make thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and I will feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father. For the mouth of LORD has spoken it.
And it came to pass after this, that the sons of Moab, and the sons of Ammon, and with them some of the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.Then there came some who told Jehoshaphat, saying, There comes a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea from Syria. And, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar (the same is En-gedi).And Jehoshaphat was afraid, and set himself to seek for LORD. And he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.And Judah gathered themselves together, to seek [help] from LORD, even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek LORD.And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of LORD before the new court.And he said, O LORD, the God of our fathers, are thou not God in heaven? And are thou not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? And in thy hand is power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee.Did thou not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and give it to the seed of Abraham thy friend forever?And they dwelt therein, and have built for thee a sanctuary in it for thy name, saying,If evil comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house, and before thee, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry out to thee in our affliction, and thou will hear and save.And now, behold, the sons of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir (whom thou would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned aside from them, and did not destroyed them),behold, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou have given us to inherit.O our God, will thou not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that comes against us. Neither do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon thee.And all Judah stood before LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their sons.Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite, of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of LORD in the midst of the assembly.And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat. Thus says LORD to you, Fear ye not, neither be dismayed because of this great multitude. For the battle is not yours, but God's.Tomorrow go ye down against them. Behold, they come up by the ascent of Ziz. And ye shall find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel.Ye shall not need to fight in this [battle]. Set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Fear not, nor be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, for LORD is with you.And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground. And all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before LORD, worshipping LORD.And the Levites, of the sons of the Kohathites and of the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise LORD, the God of Israel, with an exceedingly loud voice.And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa. And as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem. Believe in LORD your God, so shall ye be establAnd when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who should sing to LORD, and give praise in holy array, as they went out before the army, and say, Give thanks to LORD. For his loving kindness [is] forever.And when they began to sing and to praise, LORD set an ambushment against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir who came against Judah, and they were smitten.For the sons of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, to slay and destroy them utterly. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another [of themselves].And when Judah came to the watch-tower of the wilderness, they looked upon the multitude. And, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and there were none who escaped.And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches and dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away. And tAnd on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Beracah, for there they blessed LORD. Therefore the name of that place was called The valley of Beracah to this day.Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy. For LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies.And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets to the house of LORD.And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of the countries, when they heard that LORD fought against the enemies of Israel.So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet. For his God gave him rest round about.
Then Daniel said to the steward whom the ruler of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,Test thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat, and water to drink.
And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
And the sons of Israel arose, and went up to Bethel, and asked counsel of God. And they said, Who shall go up for us first to battle against the sons of Benjamin? And LORD said, Judah first.And the sons of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah.And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin. And the men of Israel set the battle in array against them at Gibeah.And the sons of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites on that day twenty-two thousand men.And the people, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves, and set the battle again in array in the place where they set themselves in array the first day.And the sons of Israel went up and wept before LORD until evening. And they asked of LORD, saying, Shall I again draw near to battle against the sons of Benjamin my brother? And LORD said, Go up against him.And the sons of Israel came near against the sons of Benjamin the second day.And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the sons of Israel again eighteen thousand men. All these drew the sword.Then all the sons of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came to Bethel, and wept, and sat there before LORD, and fasted that day until evening, and they offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before LORD.
And having fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward he was hungry.And after he who tempts came, he said to him, If thou are the Son of God, speak so that these stones may become bread.But having answered, he said, It is written, Man will not live on bread alone, but on every word coming out through the mouth of God.
Then thou shall call, and LORD will answer, thou shall cry, and he will say, Here I am. If thou take the yoke away from the midst of thee, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedly,and if thou draw out thy soul to a hungry man, and satisfy an afflicted soul, then thy light shall rise in darkness, and thine obscurity be as the noonday.
Sanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly. Gather the old men [and] all the inhabitants of the land to the house of LORD your God, and cry to LORD.Alas for the day! For the day of LORD is at hand, and it shall come as destruction from the Almighty.Is not the food cut off before our eyes, [yea], joy and gladness from the house of our God?
And he made proclamation and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed, nor drink water,but let them be covered with sackcloth, both man and beast, and let them cry mightily to God. Yea, let them turn each one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in his hands.Who knows whether God will not turn and relent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we not perish?And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way. And God relented of the evil which he said he would do to them, and he did not do it.
And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of LORD their God a fourth part of the day, and [another] fourth part they confessed, and worshipped LORD their God.
And Nathan departed to his house. And LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it was very sick.David therefore besought God for the child. And David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the ground.
Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting, nor were instruments of music 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 when he came near to the den to Daniel, he cried with a lamentable voice. The king spoke and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou serve continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?Then Daniel said to the king, O king, live forever.My God has sent his [heavenly] agent, and has shut the lions' mouths, and they have not hurt me, inasmuch as before him innocence was found in me. And also before thee, O king, I have done no harm.Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of harm was found upon him, because he had trusted in his God.And the king commanded, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their sons, and their wives. And the lions had the mastery of them, and broke all their bones in pieces, bef
being tempted forty days by the devil. And he ate nothing in those days, and when they were ended, afterward he was hungry.
And straightaway there fell from his eyes, like scales, and he looked up. And immediately after rising up, he was immersed.And having received nourishment, he was strengthened. And Saul became with the disciples in Damascus some days.
Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib. And [when] he came there, he ate no bread, nor drank water, for he mourned because of the trespass of those of the captivitAnd they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the sons of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together to Jerusalem.And that whoever did not come within three days, according to the counsel of the rulers and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the assembly of the captivity.
Yet even now, says LORD, turn ye 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 thing was revealed to Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar, and the thing was true, even a great warfare. And he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three whole weeks.I ate no pleasant bread. Neither flesh nor wine came into my mouth. Neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
And every man who strives for mastery exercises self-control in all things. Indeed therefore those men do it so that they might obtain a perishable crown, but we an imperishable.I therefore run this way, not as aimlessly. I fight this way, not as flaying air.But I give my body a black eye and subdue it, lest somehow having preached to others, I myself might become disqualified.
O God, thou are my God. I will earnestly seek thee. My soul thirsts for thee, my flesh longs for thee, in a dry and weary land, where is no water.
And I prayed to LORD my God, and made confession, and said, Oh, LORD, the great and fearful God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness with those who love him and keep his commandments,we have sinned, and have dealt perversely, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even turning aside from thy precepts and from thine ordinances,nor have we hearkened to thy servants the prophets, who spoke in thy name to our kings, our rulers, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
And they said to him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make supplications, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but thine eat and drink.