Category
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.
Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen of men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward.But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face;that thou be not seen of men to fast, but of thy Father who is in secret: and thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall recompense thee.\par
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 the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Yet even now, saith Jehovah, turn ye unto me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto Jehovah your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.
And as they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.\par
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 tidings reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and laid his robe from him, and covered him 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 unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in his hands.Who knoweth whether God will not turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil which he said he would do unto them; and he did it not.\par
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 unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them that seek him, for good; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was entreated of us.\par
And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek unto Jehovah; and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.And Judah gathered themselves together, to seek {\i help} of Jehovah: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek Jehovah.\par
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 the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led in the Spirit in the wildernessduring forty days, being tempted of the devil. And he did eat nothing in those days: and when they were completed, he hungered.
And he was there with Jehovah forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
And when they had appointed for them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they had believed.
But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth:\par\tab I afflicted my soul with fasting;\par\tab And my prayer returned into mine own bosom.I behaved myself as though it had been my friend or my brother:\par\tab I bowed down mourning, as one that bewaileth his mother.
And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.And the word of Jehovah came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth 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 come to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?And Jesus said unto them, {\cf6 Can the sons of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then will they fast.
In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three whole weeks.I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine into my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
Wherefore have we fasted, {\i say they}, and thou seest not? {\i wherefore} have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find {\i your own} pleasure, and exact all your labors.Behold, ye fast for strife and contention, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye fast not 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? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to Jehovah?
Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children 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 unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh {\i month}, even these seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?
And they gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before Jehovah, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against Jehovah. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah.
Defraud ye not one the other, except it be by consent for a season, that ye may give yourselves unto prayer, and may be together again, that Satan tempt you not because of your incontinency.
David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.
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 will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.
Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the old men {\i and} all the inhabitants of the land unto the house of Jehovah your God, and cry unto Jehovah.\par
Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto Beth-el, and wept, and sat there before Jehovah, and fasted that day until even; and they offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Jehovah.
And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.
And Cornelius said, Four days ago, until this hour, I was keeping the ninth hour of prayer in my house; and behold, a man stood before me in bright apparel,and saith, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God.
Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting; neither were instruments of music brought before him: and his sleep fled from him.\par
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.
that thou be not seen of men to fast, but of thy Father who is in secret: and thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall recompense thee.\par
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.\par
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The fast of the fourth {\i 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 and peace.
But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth:\par\tab I afflicted my soul with fasting;\par\tab And my prayer returned into mine 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 children, and those that suck the breasts; let the bridegroom go forth from his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected.\par
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 Jehovah, the God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and lovingkindness with them that love him and keep his commandments:let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants while I confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee. Yea, I and my father's house have sinned:
And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of Jehovah, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.And Elkanah her husband said unto her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?
And as they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
and she had been a widow even unto fourscore and four years), who departed not from the temple, worshipping 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 Jehovah 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 am now come forth to give thee wisdom and understanding.At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment went forth, and I am come to tell thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision.\par
and they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of Jehovah, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.
Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto Beth-el, and wept, and sat there before Jehovah, and fasted that day until even; and they offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Jehovah.And the children of Israel asked of Jehovah (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 children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And Jehovah said, Go up; for to-morrow I will deliver him into thy hand.
Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the old men {\i and} all the inhabitants of the land unto the house of Jehovah your God, and cry unto Jehovah.\parAlas for the day! for the day of Jehovah is at hand, and as destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
But the days will come; and when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, then will they 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 unto 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 unto God.Wherefore have we fasted, {\i say they}, and thou seest not? {\i wherefore} have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find {\i your own} pleasure, and exact all your labors.Behold, ye fast for strife and contention, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye fast not 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? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to Jehovah?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 the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy healing shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of Jehovah shall be thy rearward.Then shalt thou call, and Jehovah will answer; thou shalt cry, and he will say, Here I am.\par\par\tab If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedly;
Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he afterward hungered.And the tempter came and said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.But he answered and said, {\cf6 It is written, {\b Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of 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 will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take some food, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye wait and continue fasting, having taken nothing.Wherefore I beseech you to take some food: for this is for your safety: for there shall not a hair perish from the head of any of you.
Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting; neither were instruments of music brought before him: and his sleep fled from him.\parThen the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions.And when he came near unto the den to Daniel, he cried with a lamentable voice; the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?
And Jesus said unto them, {\cf6 Can the sons of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then will they fast.
For the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up;\par\tab And the reproaches of them that reproach thee are fallen upon me.When I wept, {\i and chastened} my soul with fasting,\par\tab 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 that came from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem, proclaimed a fast before Jehovah.
And the tidings reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and laid his robe from him, and covered him 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 unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in his hands.Who knoweth whether God will not turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib: and {\i when} he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water; for he mourned because of the trespass of them of the captivity.
And they took their bones, and buried them under the tamarisk-tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children 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 Jehovah their God a fourth part of the day; and {\i another} fourth part they confessed, and worshipped Jehovah their God.
{\i in} labor and travail, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which Jehovah made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights; I did neither eat bread nor drink water.
Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto Beth-el, and wept, and sat there before Jehovah, and fasted that day until even; and they offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Jehovah.And the children of Israel asked of Jehovah (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 that eateth any food until it be evening, and I be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted food.
Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen of men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward.
I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine into my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
But deal thou with me, O Jehovah the Lord, for thy name's sake:\par\tab Because thy lovingkindness is good, deliver thou me;For I am poor and needy,\par\tab And my heart is wounded within me.I am gone like the shadow when it declineth:\par\tab I am tossed up and down as the locust.My knees are weak through fasting;\par\tab And my flesh faileth 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 unto God: yea, let them turn every 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 into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.
Then come to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?And Jesus said unto them, {\cf6 Can the sons of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then will they fast.And no man putteth a piece of undressed cloth upon an old garment; for that which should fill it up taketh from the garment, and a worse rent is made.Neither do {\i men} put new wine into old wine-skins: else the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins perish: but they put new wine into fresh wine-skins, and both are preserved.}\par
And in every province, whithersoever 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.\par
And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek unto Jehovah; 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 the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy healing shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of Jehovah shall be thy rearward.Then shalt thou call, and Jehovah will answer; thou shalt cry, and he will say, Here I am.\par\par\tab If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedly;and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul: then shall thy light rise in darkness, and thine obscurity be as the noonday;and Jehovah will guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in dry places, and make strong thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.\par
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 Jehovah, the God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and lovingkindness with them that love him and keep his commandments:let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants while I confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee. Yea, I and my father's house have sinned:we have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye trespass, I will scatter you abroad among the peoples:but if ye return unto me, and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts were in the uttermost part of the heavens, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen, to cause my name to dwell there.Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast 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 prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.\par\par\tab Now I was cupbearer to the king.
Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.
And they gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before Jehovah, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against Jehovah. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah.And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines.And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto Jehovah 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 rent; and I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto Jehovah my God;
And Cornelius said, Four days ago, until this hour, I was keeping the ninth hour of prayer in my house; and behold, a man stood before me in bright apparel,
And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt 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 was it charged me by the word of Jehovah, saying, Thou shalt eat no bread, nor drink water, neither return by the way that thou camest.
Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel; for from the first day that thou didst set thy heart to understand, and to humble thyself before thy God, thy words were heard: and I am come for thy words' sake.But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days; but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me: and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
{\b For the Chief Musician. Maschil of the sons of Korah.}\par\par\tab As the hart panteth after the water brooks,\par\tab So panteth my soul after thee, O God.My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God:\par\tab When shall I come and appear before God?
And I gathered them together to the river that runneth 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 sent I 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 unto Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia; and I told them what they should say unto Iddo, {\i and} his brethren the Nethinim, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring unto 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 brethren, eighteen;and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty;and of the Nethinim, whom David and the princes had given for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim: all of them were mentioned by name.\parThen 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 unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them that seek him, for good; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was entreated of us.\par
Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he afterward hungered.And the tempter came and said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.But he answered and said, {\cf6 It is written, {\b Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.}}Then the devil taketh him into the holy city; and he set him on the pinnacle of the temple,and saith unto him, If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written,\par\tab {\b He shall give his angels charge concerning thee}:\par\tab and,\par\tab {\b On their hands they shall bear thee up,\par\tab Lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone.}Jesus said unto him, {\cf6 Again it is written, {\b Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God.}}Again, the devil taketh him unto an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;and he said unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.Then saith Jesus unto him, {\cf6 Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, {\b Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.}}Then the devil leaveth him; and behold, angels came and ministered unto him.\par
And they said unto him, The disciples of John fast often, and make supplications; likewise also the {\i disciples} of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink.And Jesus said unto them, {\cf6 Can ye make the sons of the bride-chamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?But the days will come; and when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, then will they fast in those days.}
And the children of Israel asked of Jehovah (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 children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And Jehovah said, Go up; for to-morrow I will deliver him into thy hand.
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 whereof the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah the prophet, for the accomplishing of the desolations of Jerusalem, even seventy years.\parAnd I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.
And Nathan departed unto his house. And Jehovah struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto 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 earth.And the elders of his house arose, and stood beside him, to raise him up from the earth: 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 spake unto him, and he hearkened not unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead!But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead; and David said unto 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 Jehovah, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who knoweth whether Jehovah will not be gracious to me, that the child may live?But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.
Gird yourselves {\i with sackcloth}, and lament, ye priests; wail, ye ministers of the altar; come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meal-offering and the drink-offering are withholden from the house of your God.Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the old men {\i and} all the inhabitants of the land unto the house of Jehovah your God, and cry unto Jehovah.\par
and said, I beseech thee, O Jehovah, the God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and lovingkindness with them that love him and keep his commandments:let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants while I confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee. Yea, I and my father's house have sinned:we have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye trespass, I will scatter you abroad among the peoples:but if ye return unto me, and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts were in the uttermost part of the heavens, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen, to cause my name to dwell there.Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast 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 prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.\par\par\tab Now I was cupbearer to the king.
When I wept, {\i and chastened} my soul with fasting,\par\tab That was to my reproach.When I made sackcloth my clothing,\par\tab I became a byword unto them.
and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul: then shall thy light rise in darkness, and thine obscurity be as the noonday;and Jehovah will guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in dry places, and make strong thy bones; and thou shalt 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 dainties, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.Now God made Daniel to find kindness and compassion in the sight of the prince of the eunuchs.And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath 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 would ye endanger my head with the king.Then said Daniel to the steward whom the prince of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse 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 dainties; and as thou seest, deal with thy servants.\parSo he hearkened unto them in this matter, and proved them ten days.And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer, and they were fatter in flesh, than all the youths that did eat of the king's dainties.So the steward took away their dainties, and the wine that they should drink, and gave them pulse.\par
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thine inner chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee.
And I gathered them together to the river that runneth 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 hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David.And David inquired of Jehovah, saying, If I pursue after this troop, shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue; for thou shalt surely overtake them, and shalt without fail recover all.
{\b A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.}\par\par\tab O God, thou art my God; earnestly will I seek thee:\par\tab My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee,\par\tab In a dry and weary land, where no water is.So have I looked upon thee in the sanctuary,\par\tab To see thy power and thy glory.Because thy lovingkindness is better than life,\par\tab My lips shall praise thee.So will I bless thee while I live:\par\tab I will lift up my hands in thy name.My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness;\par\tab And my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips;
And he prayed unto Jehovah, and said, I pray thee, O Jehovah, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I hasted to flee unto Tarshish; for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
Oh taste and see that Jehovah is good:\par\tab Blessed is the man that taketh refuge in him.Oh fear Jehovah, ye his saints;\par\tab For there is no want to them that fear him.The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger;\par\tab But they that seek Jehovah shall not want any good thing.
My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of Jehovah;\par\tab My heart and my flesh cry out unto the living God.
Oh that men would praise Jehovah for his lovingkindness,\par\tab And for his wonderful works to the children of men!For he satisfieth the longing soul,\par\tab And the hungry soul he filleth with good.
And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher (she was of a great age, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity,and she had been a widow even unto fourscore and four years), who departed not from the temple, worshipping with fastings and supplications night and day.
Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye grieved; for the joy of Jehovah is your strength.
Then was Jehovah jealous for his land, and had pity on his people.And Jehovah answered and said unto 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 unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh 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 wherein the Jews had rest from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto 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 portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.
Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was {\i there}, prophets and teachers, Barnabas, and Symeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen the foster-brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.And as they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.\par
If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, {\i and} the holy of Jehovah honorable; and shalt honor it, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking {\i thine own} words:then shalt thou delight thyself in Jehovah; 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 Jehovah hath spoken it.\par
And it came to pass after this, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them some of the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh 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 feared, and set himself to seek unto Jehovah; and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.And Judah gathered themselves together, to seek {\i help} of Jehovah: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek Jehovah.\parAnd Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of Jehovah, before the new court;and he said, O Jehovah, the God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and art not thou ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? and in thy hand is power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee.Didst not thou, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and give it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying,If evil come 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 unto thee in our affliction, and thou wilt hear and save.And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned aside from them, and destroyed them not;behold, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.And all Judah stood before Jehovah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.\parThen 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 Jehovah in the midst of the assembly;and he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat: Thus saith Jehovah unto you, Fear not ye, neither be dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.To-morrow 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 {\i battle}: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of Jehovah with you, O Judah and Jerusalem; fear not, nor be dismayed: to-morrow go out against them: for Jehovah 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 Jehovah, worshipping Jehovah.And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites, stood up to praise Jehovah, the God of Israel, with an exceeding loud voice.\parAnd 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 Jehovah your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed them that should sing unto Jehovah, and give praise in holy array, as they went out before the army, and say, Give thanks unto Jehovah; for his lovingkindness {\i endureth} for ever.And when they began to sing and to praise, Jehovah set liers-in-wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, that were come against Judah; and they were smitten.For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.\parAnd 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 that 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 they were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much.And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Beracah; for there they blessed Jehovah: therefore the name of that place was called The valley of Beracah unto 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 Jehovah had made them to rejoice over their enemies.And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of Jehovah.And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of the countries, when they heard that Jehovah fought against the enemies of Israel.So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet; for his God gave him rest round about.\par
Then said Daniel to the steward whom the prince of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.
And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
And the children of Israel arose, and went up to Beth-el, and asked counsel of God; and they said, Who shall go up for us first to battle against the children of Benjamin? And Jehovah said, Judah shall go up first.And the children 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 children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites on that day twenty and 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 children of Israel went up and wept before Jehovah until even; and they asked of Jehovah, saying, Shall I again draw nigh to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother? And Jehovah said, Go up against him.And the children of Israel came near against the children 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 children of Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword.Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto Beth-el, and wept, and sat there before Jehovah, and fasted that day until even; and they offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Jehovah.
And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he afterward hungered.And the tempter came and said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.But he answered and said, {\cf6 It is written, {\b Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.}}
Then shalt thou call, and Jehovah will answer; thou shalt cry, and he will say, Here I am.\par\par\tab If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedly;and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul: then shall thy light rise in darkness, and thine obscurity be as the noonday;
Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the old men {\i and} all the inhabitants of the land unto the house of Jehovah your God, and cry unto Jehovah.\parAlas for the day! for the day of Jehovah is at hand, and as destruction from the Almighty shall it come.Is not the food cut off before our eyes, {\i 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 unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in his hands.Who knoweth whether God will not turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil which he said he would do unto them; and he did it not.\par
And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of Jehovah their God a fourth part of the day; and {\i another} fourth part they confessed, and worshipped Jehovah their God.
And Nathan departed unto his house. And Jehovah struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto 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 earth.
Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting; neither were instruments of music brought before him: and his sleep fled from him.\parThen the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions.And when he came near unto the den to Daniel, he cried with a lamentable voice; the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, and they have not hurt me; forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.Then was the king exceeding 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 hurt was found upon him, because he had trusted in his God.\parAnd the king commanded, and they brought those men that had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces, before they came to the bottom of the den.\par
during forty days, being tempted of the devil. And he did eat nothing in those days: and when they were completed, he hungered.
And straightway there fell from his eyes as it were scales, and he received his sight; and he arose and was baptized;and he took food and was strengthened. And he was certain days with the disciples that were at Damascus.\par
Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib: and {\i when} he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water; for he mourned because of the trespass of them of the captivity.And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem;and that whosoever came not within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the assembly of the captivity.\par
Yet even now, saith Jehovah, turn ye unto 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 unto 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 came flesh nor wine into my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
And every man that striveth in the games exerciseth self-control in all things. Now they {\i do it} to receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.I therefore so run, as not uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating the air:but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected.\par
Oh taste and see that Jehovah is good:\par\tab Blessed is the man that taketh refuge in him.
{\b A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.}\par\par\tab O God, thou art my God; earnestly will I seek thee:\par\tab My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee,\par\tab In a dry and weary land, where no water is.
And I prayed unto Jehovah my God, and made confession, and said, Oh, Lord, the great and dreadful God, who keepeth covenant and lovingkindness with them that 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;neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, that spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
And they said unto him, The disciples of John fast often, and make supplications; likewise also the {\i disciples} of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink.