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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.
“Now when you fast, don’t go around looking miserable, like the hypocrites. They make sour faces so that people will know they are fasting. Yes! I tell you, they have their reward already!But you, when you fast, wash your face and groom yourself,so that no one will know you are fasting — except your Father, who is with you in secret. Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
“Here is the sort of fast I want — releasing those unjustly bound, untying the thongs of the yoke, letting the oppressed go free, breaking every yoke,sharing your food with the hungry, taking the homeless poor into your house, clothing the naked when you see them, fulfilling your duty to your kinsmen!”
“Yet even now,” says Adonai, “turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping and lamenting.”Tear your heart, not your garments; and turn to Adonai your God. For he is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in grace, and willing to change his mind about disaster.
I turned to Adonai, God, to seek an answer, pleading with him in prayer, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.
One time when they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Ruach HaKodesh said to them, “Set aside for me Bar-Nabba and Sha’ul for the work to which I have called them.”All this took about 450 years. After that, he gave them judges, down to the prophet Sh’mu’el.Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Sha’ul Ben-Kish, a man from the tribe of Binyamin. After forty years,God removed him and raised up David as king for them, making his approval known with these words, ‘I found David Ben-Yishai to be a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want.’“In keeping with his promise, God has brought to Isra’el from this man’s descendants a deliverer, Yeshua.Now before the coming of Yeshua, Yochanan proclaimed to all the people of Isra’el an immersion in connection with turning to God from sin.But as Yochanan was ending his work, he said, ‘Who do you suppose I am? Well — I’m not! But after me is coming someone, the sandals of whose feet I am unworthy to untie.’“Brothers! — sons of Avraham and those among you who are ‘God-fearers’! It is to us that the message of this deliverance has been sent!For the people living in Yerushalayim and their leaders did not recognize who Yeshua was or understand the message of the Prophets read every Shabbat, so they fulfilled that message by condemning him.They could not find any legitimate ground for a death sentence; nevertheless they asked Pilate to have him executed;and when they had carried out all the things written about him, he was taken down from the stake and placed in a tomb.After fasting and praying, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
Then, there at the Ahava River, I proclaimed a fast; so that we could humble ourselves before our God and ask a safe journey of him for ourselves, our little ones and all our possessions.For I would have been ashamed to ask the king for a detachment of soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies along the road, since we had said to the king, “The hand of our God is on all who seek him, for good; but his power and fury is against all who abandon him.”So we fasted and asked our God for this, and he answered our prayer.
Y’hoshafat was frightened, so he determined to seek Adonai. He proclaimed a fast throughout all Y’hudah,So Y’hoshafat’s rule was a quiet one, because his God gave him rest all around.Y’hoshafat ruled over Y’hudah; he was thirty-five years old when he began his reign, and he ruled twenty-five years in Yerushalayim. His mother’s name was ‘Azuvah the daughter of Shilchi.He lived in the manner of Asa his father and did not turn away from it, doing what was right from Adonai’s perspective;although the high places were not taken away, and the people had not yet set their hearts toward the God of their ancestors.Other activities of Y’hoshafat, from beginning to end, are written in the records of Yehu the son of Hanani, which have been inserted in the Annals of the Kings of Isra’el.It was after this that Y’hoshafat joined up with Achazyah king of Isra’el, who was acting very wickedly.He joined together with him to build large ships capable of going to Tarshish; they made the ships in ‘Etzyon-Gever.Then Eli‘ezer the son of Dodavahu from Mareshah prophesied against Y’hoshafat: “Because you joined yourself with Achazyah, Adonai is wrecking your project.” And the ships were wrecked, so that they couldn’t go to Tarshish.and Y’hudah assembled to seek help from Adonai; they came from all the cities of Y’hudah to seek Adonai.
On hearing this answer, I sat down and wept; I mourned for several days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
Then Yeshua, filled with the Ruach HaKodesh, returned from the Yarden and was led by the Spirit in the wildernessFor the Tanakh says, ‘He will order his angels to be responsible for you and to protect you.They will support you with their hands, so that you will not hurt your feet on the stones.’”Yeshua answered him, “It also says, ‘Do not put Adonai your God to the test.’”When the Adversary had ended all his testings, he let him alone until an opportune time.Yeshua returned to the Galil in the power of the Spirit, and reports about him spread throughout the countryside.He taught in their synagogues, and everyone respected him.Now when he went to Natzeret, where he had been brought up, on Shabbat he went to the synagogue as usual. He stood up to read,and he was given the scroll of the prophet Yesha‘yahu. Unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written,“The Spirit of Adonai is upon me; therefore he has anointed me to announce Good News to the poor; he has sent me to proclaim freedom for the imprisoned and renewed sight for the blind, to release those who have been crushed,to proclaim a year of the favor of Adonai.”for forty days of testing by the Adversary. During that time he ate nothing, and afterwards he was hungry.
Moshe was there with Adonai forty days and forty nights, during which time he neither ate food nor drank water. [Adonai] wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Words.
After appointing elders for them in every congregation, Sha’ul and Bar-Nabba, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord in whom they had put their trust.
But I, when they were ill, wore sackcloth; I put myself out and fasted; I can pray that what I prayed for them might also happen to me.I behaved as I would for my friend or my brother; I bent down in sorrow as if mourning my mother.
Ach’av, on hearing these words, tore his clothes, put sackcloth on himself and fasted. He slept in the sackcloth and went about dejectedly.Then the word of Adonai came to Eliyahu from Tishbe:“Do you see how Ach’av has humbled himself before me? Since he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring this evil during his lifetime; but during his son’s lifetime I will bring the evil on his house.”
Next, Yochanan’s talmidim came to him and asked, “Why is it that we and the P’rushim fast frequently, but your talmidim don’t fast at all?”Yeshua said to them, “Can wedding guests mourn while the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them; then they will fast.
At that time I, Dani’el, had been mourning for three whole weeks.Then he said, “Do you know why I came to you? Although now I must return to fight the prince of Persia; and when I leave, the prince of Greece will come;nevertheless, I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. There is no one standing with me against them except Mikha’el your prince;I hadn’t eaten any food that satisfied me — neither meat nor wine had entered my mouth, and I didn’t anoint myself once, until three full weeks had passed.
[asking,] ‘Why should we fast, if you don’t see? Why mortify ourselves, if you don’t notice?’ “Here is my answer: when you fast, you go about doing whatever you like, while keeping your laborers hard at work.Your fasts lead to quarreling and fighting, to lashing out with violent blows. On a day like today, fasting like yours will not make your voice heard on high.“Is this the sort of fast I want, a day when a person mortifies himself? Is the object to hang your head like a reed and spread sackcloth and ashes under yourself? Is this what you call a fast, a day that pleases Adonai?
On the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Isra’el, wearing sackcloth and with dirt on them, assembled for a fast.You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, against all his servants and the people of the land; for you knew how arrogantly they treated them; and you won yourself a name which is yours to this day.You divided the sea ahead of them, so that they could pass through the sea on dry land; then you hurled their pursuers into the depths, like a stone into turbulent waters.“‘In a column of cloud you led them by day, and by night in a column of fire, so that they would have light ahead of them on the way that they were to go.“‘You descended on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven. You gave them right rulings and true teachings, good laws and mitzvot.You revealed to them your holy Shabbat and gave them mitzvot, laws and the Torah through Moshe your servant.“‘For their hunger you gave them bread from heaven; for their thirst you brought forth for them water from the rock. You ordered them to enter and possess the land you had sworn with your hand to give them.“‘But they and our ancestors were arrogant; they stiffened their necks and ignored your mitzvot;they refused to listen and paid no attention to the wonders you had done among them. No, they stiffened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a leader to return them to their slavery. But because you are a God of forgiveness, merciful, full of compassion, slow to grow angry and full of grace, you did not abandon them.Even when they cast themselves a metal calf, saying of it, “This is your god that brought you up from Egypt,” and committing other gross provocations;still, you, in your great compassion, did not abandon them in the desert. The column of cloud did not leave them by day; it kept leading them along the way. By night the column of fire kept showing them light and the path to take.Those descended from Isra’el separated themselves from all foreigners; then they stood up and confessed their own sins and the iniquities of their ancestors.
“Speak to all the people of the land and to the cohanim. Tell them, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months throughout these seventy years, were you really fasting for me? Was it for me?
So they gathered together at Mitzpah, drew water and poured it out before Adonai, fasted that day, and said there, “We have sinned against Adonai.” Sh’mu’el began serving as judge over the people of Isra’el at Mitzpah.
Do not deprive each other, except for a limited time, by mutual agreement, and then only so as to have extra time for prayer; but afterwards, come together again. Otherwise, because of your lack of self-control, you may succumb to the Adversary’s temptation.
because zeal for your house is eating me up, and on me are falling the insults of those insulting you.
David prayed to God on behalf of the child; David fasted, then came and lay all night on the ground.
“Go, assemble all the Jews to be found in Shushan, and have them fast for me, neither eating nor drinking for three days, night and day; also I and the girls attending me will fast the same way. Then I will go in to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.”
Proclaim a holy fast, call for a solemn assembly, gather the leaders and all who live in the land to the house of Adonai your God, and cry out to Adonai,
Then the whole army of Isra’el, all the people, went up to Beit-El and cried and sat there in the presence of Adonai. They fasted that day until evening, offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to Adonai,
He got up, ate and drank, and, on the strength of that meal, traveled forty days and nights until he reached Horev the mountain of God.
Cornelius answered, “Three days ago around this time, I was at minchah prayers in my house, when suddenly a man in shining clothes stood in front of meand said, ‘God has heard your prayer and remembered your acts of charity.
A stone was brought to block the opening of the pit, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, so that nothing concerning Dani’el could be changed.
when the people of Ninveh believed God. They proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least.
so that no one will know you are fasting — except your Father, who is with you in secret. Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
When they fast, I will not hear their cry; when they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Rather, I will destroy them with war, famine and disease.”
“Adonai-Tzva’ot says, ‘The fast days of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months are to become times of joy, gladness and cheer for the house of Y’hudah. Therefore, love truth and peace.’
But I, when they were ill, wore sackcloth; I put myself out and fasted; I can pray that what I prayed for them might also happen to me.
“Blow the shofar in Tziyon! Proclaim a holy fast, call for a solemn assembly.”Gather the people; consecrate the congregation; assemble the leaders; gather the children, even infants sucking at the breast; let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride the bridal chamber.
I treat my body hard and make it my slave so that, after proclaiming the Good News to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
On hearing this answer, I sat down and wept; I mourned for several days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.I said, “Please, Adonai! God of heaven! You great and fearsome God, who keeps his covenant and extends grace to those who love him and observe his mitzvot!Let your ear now be attentive and your eyes be open, so that you will listen to the prayer of your servant, which I am praying before you these days, day and night, for the people of Isra’el your servants — even as I confess the sins of the people of Isra’el that we have committed against you. Yes, I and my father’s house have sinned.
He did the same every year; and each time she went up to the house of Adonai, she taunted her so much that she would cry and not eat.Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why are you crying, and why aren’t you eating? Why be so sad? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”
One time when they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Ruach HaKodesh said to them, “Set aside for me Bar-Nabba and Sha’ul for the work to which I have called them.”
and had remained a widow ever since; now she was eighty-four. She never left the Temple grounds but worshipped there night and day, fasting and praying.
In the letters she wrote, “Proclaim a fast, and give Navot the seat of honor among the people.
While I was speaking, praying, confessing my own sin and the sin of my people Isra’el, and pleading before Adonai my God for the holy mountain of my God —yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gavri’el, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, swooped down on me in full flight at about the time of the evening sacrifice,and explained things to me. He said, “I have come now, Dani’el, to enable you to understand this vision clearly.At the beginning of your prayers, an answer was given; and I have come to say what it is; because you are greatly loved. Therefore look into this answer, and understand the vision.
They wailed and cried, and they fasted until evening for Sha’ul, for Y’honatan his son, for Adonai’s people and for the house of Isra’el; because they had fallen by the sword.
Then the whole army of Isra’el, all the people, went up to Beit-El and cried and sat there in the presence of Adonai. They fasted that day until evening, offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to Adonai,and asked Adonai what to do. The ark for the covenant of God was there at that time;and Pinchas the son of El‘azar, the son of Aharon, stood before it at that time. They asked, “Should we still go out to battle again against our kinsmen the people of Binyamin, or should we stop?” Adonai answered, “Attack, because tomorrow I will hand them over to you.”
Proclaim a holy fast, call for a solemn assembly, gather the leaders and all who live in the land to the house of Adonai your God, and cry out to Adonai,“Oh no! The Day! The Day of Adonai is upon us! As destruction from Shaddai it is coming!
The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; and when that time comes, they will fast.”
and requiring the observance of these days of Purim at their designated times, as Mordekhai the Jew and Ester the queen had enjoined them, and as they had established for themselves and their descendants concerning the matters of fasting and lamenting.
Shout out loud! Don’t hold back! Raise your voice like a shofar! Proclaim to my people what rebels they are, to the house of Ya‘akov their sins.generously offer food to the hungry and meet the needs of the person in trouble; then your light will rise in the darkness, and your gloom become like noon.Adonai will always guide you; he will satisfy your needs in the desert, he will renew the strength in your limbs; so that you will be like a watered garden, like a spring whose water never fails.You will rebuild the ancient ruins, raise foundations from ages past, and be called “Repairer of broken walls, Restorer of streets to live in.”“If you hold back your foot on Shabbat from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call Shabbat a delight, Adonai’s holy day, worth honoring; then honor it by not doing your usual things or pursuing your interests or speaking about them.If you do, you will find delight in Adonai — I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Ya‘akov, for the mouth of Adonai has spoken.”“Oh yes, they seek me day after day and [claim to] delight in knowing my ways. As if they were an upright nation that had not abandoned the rulings of their God, they ask me for just rulings and [claim] to take pleasure in closeness to God,[asking,] ‘Why should we fast, if you don’t see? Why mortify ourselves, if you don’t notice?’ “Here is my answer: when you fast, you go about doing whatever you like, while keeping your laborers hard at work.Your fasts lead to quarreling and fighting, to lashing out with violent blows. On a day like today, fasting like yours will not make your voice heard on high.“Is this the sort of fast I want, a day when a person mortifies himself? Is the object to hang your head like a reed and spread sackcloth and ashes under yourself? Is this what you call a fast, a day that pleases Adonai?“Here is the sort of fast I want — releasing those unjustly bound, untying the thongs of the yoke, letting the oppressed go free, breaking every yoke,sharing your food with the hungry, taking the homeless poor into your house, clothing the naked when you see them, fulfilling your duty to your kinsmen!”Then your light will burst forth like the morning, your new skin will quickly grow over your wound; your righteousness will precede you, and Adonai’s glory will follow you.Then you will call, and Adonai will answer; you will cry, and he will say, “Here I am.” If you will remove the yoke from among you, stop false accusation and slander,
Then the Spirit led Yeshua up into the wilderness to be tempted by the Adversary.“Away with you, Satan!” Yeshua told him, “For the Tanakh says, ‘Worship Adonai your God, and serve only him.’”Then the Adversary let him alone, and angels came and took care of him.When Yeshua heard that Yochanan had been put in prison, he returned to the Galil;but he left Natzeret and came to live in K’far-Nachum, a lake shore town near the boundary between Z’vulun and Naftali.This happened in order to fulfill what Yesha‘yahu the prophet had said,“Land of Z’vulun and land of Naftali, toward the lake, beyond the Yarden, Galil-of-the-Goyim —the people living in darkness have seen a great light; upon those living in the region, in the shadow of death, light has dawned.”From that time on, Yeshua began proclaiming, “Turn from your sins to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near!”As Yeshua walked by Lake Kinneret, he saw two brothers who were fishermen — Shim‘on, known as Kefa, and his brother Andrew — throwing their net into the lake.Yeshua said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men!”After Yeshua had fasted forty days and nights, he was hungry.At once they left their nets and went with him.Going on from there, he saw two other brothers — Ya’akov Ben-Zavdai and Yochanan his brother — in the boat with their father Zavdai, repairing their nets; and he called them.At once they left the boat and their father and went with Yeshua.Yeshua went all over the Galil teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing people from every kind of disease and sickness.Word of him spread throughout all Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill, suffering from various diseases and pains, and those held in the power of demons, and epileptics and paralytics; and he healed them.Huge crowds followed him from the Galil, the Ten Towns, Yerushalayim, Y’hudah, and ‘Ever-HaYarden.The Tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, order these stones to become bread.”But he answered, “The Tanakh says, ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of Adonai’”
then, if my people, who bear my name, will humble themselves, pray, seek my face and turn from their evil ways, I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land.
Just before daybreak, Sha’ul urged them all to eat, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have been in suspense, going hungry, eating nothing.Therefore I advise you to take some food; you need it for your own survival. For not one of you will lose so much as a hair from his head.”
A stone was brought to block the opening of the pit, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, so that nothing concerning Dani’el could be changed.Then the king returned to his palace. He spent the night fasting and refusing to be entertained, as sleep eluded him.Daryavesh decided to set over the kingdom 120 viceroys to rule throughout the entire kingdom,Early in the morning, the king got up and hurried to the lion pit.
Yeshua said to them, “Can wedding guests mourn while the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them; then they will fast.
A fast was proclaimed in the ninth month of the fifth year of Y’hoyakim the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Y’hudah, for all the people in Yerushalayim and all the people who came from the cities of Y’hudah to Yerushalayim.
When the news reached the king of Ninveh, he got up from his throne, took off his robe, put on sackcloth and sat in ashes.He then had this proclamation made throughout Ninveh: “By decree of the king and his nobles, no person or animal, herd or flock, is to put anything in his mouth; they are neither to eat nor drink water.They must be covered with sackcloth, both people and animals; and they are to cry out to God with all their might — let each of them turn from his evil way and from the violence they practice.Who knows? Maybe God will change his mind, relent and turn from his fierce anger; and then we won’t perish.”
‘Ezra then left his place in front of the house of God and went to the room of Y’hochanan the son of Elyashiv. After going there, he neither ate food nor drank water; because he was mourning over the treachery of the exiles.
Then they took their bones, buried them under the tamarisk tree in Yavesh and fasted seven days.
On the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Isra’el, wearing sackcloth and with dirt on them, assembled for a fast.You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, against all his servants and the people of the land; for you knew how arrogantly they treated them; and you won yourself a name which is yours to this day.You divided the sea ahead of them, so that they could pass through the sea on dry land; then you hurled their pursuers into the depths, like a stone into turbulent waters.“‘In a column of cloud you led them by day, and by night in a column of fire, so that they would have light ahead of them on the way that they were to go.“‘You descended on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven. You gave them right rulings and true teachings, good laws and mitzvot.You revealed to them your holy Shabbat and gave them mitzvot, laws and the Torah through Moshe your servant.“‘For their hunger you gave them bread from heaven; for their thirst you brought forth for them water from the rock. You ordered them to enter and possess the land you had sworn with your hand to give them.“‘But they and our ancestors were arrogant; they stiffened their necks and ignored your mitzvot;they refused to listen and paid no attention to the wonders you had done among them. No, they stiffened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a leader to return them to their slavery. But because you are a God of forgiveness, merciful, full of compassion, slow to grow angry and full of grace, you did not abandon them.Even when they cast themselves a metal calf, saying of it, “This is your god that brought you up from Egypt,” and committing other gross provocations;still, you, in your great compassion, did not abandon them in the desert. The column of cloud did not leave them by day; it kept leading them along the way. By night the column of fire kept showing them light and the path to take.Those descended from Isra’el separated themselves from all foreigners; then they stood up and confessed their own sins and the iniquities of their ancestors.You also gave your good Spirit to teach them, did not withhold man from their mouths and provided them water to quench their thirst.Yes, forty years you sustained them in the desert; they lacked nothing — their clothes did not wear out; their feet did not swell up.“‘You gave them kingdoms and peoples; you even gave them extra land, so that they took possession of the land of Sichon, also the land of the king of Heshbon and the land of ‘Og king of Bashan.You made their children as numerous as the countless stars in the sky. “‘Then you brought them into the land about which you had said to their fathers that they should go in and take possession of it.So the children went in and possessed the land, as you subdued ahead of them the Kena‘ani living in the land, and handed them over to them, along with their kings and the peoples of the land, for them to do with as they wished.They took fortified cities and fertile land, possessed houses full of all kinds of good things, dug-out cisterns, vineyards, olive groves, fruit trees in plenty; so they ate their fill and grew robust, luxuriating in your great goodness.“‘Yet they disobeyed and rebelled against you, throwing your Torah behind their backs. They killed your prophets for warning them that they should return to you and committed other gross provocations.So you handed them over to the power of their adversaries, who oppressed them. Yet in the time of their trouble, when they cried out to you, you heard from heaven, and in keeping with your great compassion, you gave them saviors to save them from the power of their adversaries.But as soon as they had gotten some relief, they went back to do evil before you. So you left them in the power of their enemies, who came down hard on them. Yet when they returned and cried out to you, you heard from heaven many times and saved them, according to your compassion.You warned them, in order to bring them back to your Torah; yet they were arrogant. They paid no attention to your mitzvot, but sinned against your rulings, which, if a person does them, he will have life through them. However, they stubbornly turned their shoulders, stiffened their necks and refused to hear.Standing where they were, they read in the scroll of the Torah of Adonai their God for one-quarter of the day. For another quarter they confessed and prostrated themselves before Adonai their God.
I have toiled and endured hardship, often not had enough sleep, been hungry and thirsty, frequently gone without food, been cold and naked.
I had gone up the mountain to receive the stone tablets, the tablets on which was written the covenant Adonai had made with you. I stayed on the mountain forty days and nights without eating food or drinking water.
Then the whole army of Isra’el, all the people, went up to Beit-El and cried and sat there in the presence of Adonai. They fasted that day until evening, offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to Adonai,and asked Adonai what to do. The ark for the covenant of God was there at that time;
Isra’el’s soldiers had been driven to exhaustion that day; but Sha’ul issued this warning to the people: “A curse on any man who eats any food until evening, when I will have finished taking vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the people even tasted food.
“Now when you fast, don’t go around looking miserable, like the hypocrites. They make sour faces so that people will know they are fasting. Yes! I tell you, they have their reward already!
I hadn’t eaten any food that satisfied me — neither meat nor wine had entered my mouth, and I didn’t anoint myself once, until three full weeks had passed.
But you, God, Adonai, treat me as your name demands; rescue me, because your grace is good.For I am poor and needy, and my heart within me is wounded.Like a lengthening evening shadow, I am gone; I am shaken off like a locust.My knees are weak from lack of food, my flesh wastes away for lack of nourishment.
Then, there at the Ahava River, I proclaimed a fast; so that we could humble ourselves before our God and ask a safe journey of him for ourselves, our little ones and all our possessions.
They must be covered with sackcloth, both people and animals; and they are to cry out to God with all their might — let each of them turn from his evil way and from the violence they practice.
Moshe entered the cloud and went up on the mountain; he was on the mountain forty days and nights. Haftarah Mishpatim: Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 34:8–22; 33:25–26 B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Mishpatim: Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:38–42; 15:1–20; Mark 7:1–23; Acts 23:1–11; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 9:15–22; 10:28–39
Next, Yochanan’s talmidim came to him and asked, “Why is it that we and the P’rushim fast frequently, but your talmidim don’t fast at all?”Yeshua said to them, “Can wedding guests mourn while the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them; then they will fast.No one patches an old coat with a piece of unshrunk cloth, because the patch tears away from the coat and leaves a worse hole.Nor do people put new wine in old wineskins; if they do, the skins burst, the wine spills and the wineskins are ruined. No, they pour new wine into freshly prepared wineskins, and in this way both are preserved.”
In every province reached by the king’s order and decree, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing, as many lay down on sackcloth and ashes.
Y’hoshafat was frightened, so he determined to seek Adonai. He proclaimed a fast throughout all Y’hudah,
“Please! Try an experiment on your servants — for ten days have them give us only vegetables to eat and water to drink.
So they gathered together at Mitzpah, drew water and poured it out before Adonai, fasted that day, and said there, “We have sinned against Adonai.” Sh’mu’el began serving as judge over the people of Isra’el at Mitzpah.When the P’lishtim heard that the people of Isra’el had gathered together at Mitzpah, the leaders of the P’lishtim marched up against Isra’el; and when the people of Isra’el heard about this, they were afraid of the P’lishtim.The people of Isra’el said to Sh’mu’el, “Don’t stop crying out to Adonai our God for us, to save us from the power of the P’lishtim.”
At the evening offering, with my cloak and tunic torn, I got up from afflicting myself, fell on my knees, spread out my hands to Adonai my God,
Cornelius answered, “Three days ago around this time, I was at minchah prayers in my house, when suddenly a man in shining clothes stood in front of me
But the man of God replied to the king, “Even if you give me half your household, I will not accept your hospitality; nor will I eat food or drink water in this place.For this is the order I received through the word of Adonai: ‘Don’t eat food or drink water, and don’t return by the road you took when you came.’”
Then he said to me, “Don’t be afraid, Dani’el; because since the first day that you determined to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words have been heard; and I have come because of what you said.The prince of the kingdom of Persia prevented me from coming for twenty-one days; but Mikha’el, one of the chief princes, came to assist me; so that I was no longer needed there with the kings of Persia.
For the leader. A maskil of the descendants of Korach:I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, under pressure by the enemy?My adversaries’ taunts make me feel as if my bones were crushed, as they ask me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’ ”My soul, why are you so downcast? Why are you groaning inside me? Hope in God, since I will praise him again for being my Savior and God.Just as a deer longs for running streams, God, I long for you.
I assembled them by the river that runs to Ahava, and we camped there three days. I reviewed the people and the cohanim but found no L’vi’im there.So I sent for Eli‘ezer, Ari’el, Sh’ma‘yah, Elnatan, Yariv, Elnatan, Natan, Z’kharyah and Meshulam, who were leaders, and also for Yoyariv and Elnatan, who were men of discernment.I gave them instructions for Iddo, the leading man in a place called Kasifya, and told them what to say to Iddo and his brother, who were in charge of Kasifya, so that they would bring us men to minister in the house of our God.Since the good hand of our God was on us, they brought us Ish-Sekhel from the descendants of Machli the son of Levi, the son of Isra’el; Sherevyah with eighteen of his sons and kinsmen;Hashavyah, with Yesha‘yah, from the descendants of M’rari, and twenty of his kinsmen and their sons;of the descendants of Pinchas: Gershom; of the descendants of Itamar: Dani’el; of the descendants of David: Hatush;and from the temple servants, whom David and the princes had assigned to serve the L’vi’im, two hundred temple servants, all recorded by name.Then, there at the Ahava River, I proclaimed a fast; so that we could humble ourselves before our God and ask a safe journey of him for ourselves, our little ones and all our possessions.For I would have been ashamed to ask the king for a detachment of soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies along the road, since we had said to the king, “The hand of our God is on all who seek him, for good; but his power and fury is against all who abandon him.”So we fasted and asked our God for this, and he answered our prayer.
Then the Spirit led Yeshua up into the wilderness to be tempted by the Adversary.“Away with you, Satan!” Yeshua told him, “For the Tanakh says, ‘Worship Adonai your God, and serve only him.’”Then the Adversary let him alone, and angels came and took care of him.
Next they said to him, “Yochanan’s talmidim are always fasting and davvening, and likewise the talmidim of the P’rushim; but yours go on eating and drinking.”Yeshua said to them, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is still with them?The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; and when that time comes, they will fast.”
and asked Adonai what to do. The ark for the covenant of God was there at that time;and Pinchas the son of El‘azar, the son of Aharon, stood before it at that time. They asked, “Should we still go out to battle again against our kinsmen the people of Binyamin, or should we stop?” Adonai answered, “Attack, because tomorrow I will hand them over to you.”
In the first year of Daryavesh the son of Achashverosh, a Mede by birth who was made king over the kingdom of the Kasdim —We didn’t listen to the voice of Adonai our God, so that we could live by his laws, which he presented to us through his servants the prophets.Yes, all Isra’el flouted your Torah and turned away, unwilling to listen to your voice. Therefore the curse and oath written in the Torah of Moshe the servant of God was poured out on us, because we sinned against him.He carried out the threats he spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us disaster so great that under all of heaven, nothing has been done like what has been done to Yerushalayim.As written in the Torah of Moshe, this whole disaster came upon us. Yet we did not appease Adonai our God by renouncing our wrongdoing and discerning your truth.So Adonai watched for the right moment to bring this disaster upon us, for Adonai our God was just in everything he did, yet we didn’t listen when he spoke.“Now, Adonai our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a strong hand, thereby winning renown for yourself, as is the case today — we sinned, we acted wickedly.Adonai, in keeping with all your justice, please allow your anger and fury to be turned away from your city Yerushalayim, your holy mountain; because it is due to our sins and the wrongdoings of our ancestors that Yerushalayim and your people have become objects of scorn among everyone around us.Therefore, our God, listen to the prayer and pleadings of your servant; and cause your face to shine on your desolated sanctuary, for your own sake.My God, turn your ear, and hear; open your eyes and see how desolated we are, as well as the city which bears your name. For we plead with you not because of our own righteousness, but because of your compassion.Adonai, hear! Adonai, forgive! Adonai, pay attention, and don’t delay action — for your own sake, my God, because your city and your people bear your name!”in the first year of his reign, I, Dani’el, was reading the Scriptures and thinking about the number of years which Adonai had told Yirmeyah the prophet would be the period of Yerushalayim’s desolation, seventy years.While I was speaking, praying, confessing my own sin and the sin of my people Isra’el, and pleading before Adonai my God for the holy mountain of my God —yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gavri’el, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, swooped down on me in full flight at about the time of the evening sacrifice,and explained things to me. He said, “I have come now, Dani’el, to enable you to understand this vision clearly.At the beginning of your prayers, an answer was given; and I have come to say what it is; because you are greatly loved. Therefore look into this answer, and understand the vision.“Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and for your holy city for putting an end to the transgression, for making an end of sin, for forgiving iniquity, for bringing in everlasting justice, for setting the seal on vision and prophet, and for anointing the Especially Holy Place.Know, therefore, and discern that seven weeks [of years] will elapse between the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Yerushalayim until an anointed prince comes. It will remain built for sixty-two weeks [of years], with open spaces and moats; but these will be troubled times.Then, after the sixty-two weeks, Mashiach will be cut off and have nothing. The people of a prince yet to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary, but his end will come with a flood, and desolations are decreed until the war is over.He will make a strong covenant with leaders for one week [of years]. For half of the week he will put a stop to the sacrifice and the grain offering. On the wing of detestable things the desolator will come and continue until the already decreed destruction is poured out on the desolator.”I turned to Adonai, God, to seek an answer, pleading with him in prayer, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.
Then Natan returned to his house. Adonai struck the child that Uriyah’s wife had borne to David, and it became very ill.David prayed to God on behalf of the child; David fasted, then came and lay all night on the ground.The court officials got up and stood next to him trying to get him off the ground, but he refused, and he wouldn’t eat food with them.On the seventh day, the child died. The servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, because they said, “While the child was still alive, we spoke to him, and he didn’t listen to us; if we tell him now that the child is dead, he may do himself some harm.”But when David saw his servants whispering to each other, he suspected that the child was dead. David asked his servants, “Is the child dead?” and they answered, “He is dead.”The rich man had vast flocks and herds;Then David got up off the ground, washed, anointed himself and changed his clothes. He went into the house of Adonai and worshipped; then he went to his own palace; and when he asked for food, they served it to him; and he ate.His servants asked him, “What are you doing? You fasted and wept for the child while it was alive; but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat food!”He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; because I thought, ‘Maybe Adonai will show his grace to me and let the child live.’But now that he’s dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”
Cohanim, put on sackcloth, and weep! Wail, you who serve at the altar! Come, lie in sackcloth all night long, you who serve my God! For the grain offering and drink offering are withheld from the house of your God.Proclaim a holy fast, call for a solemn assembly, gather the leaders and all who live in the land to the house of Adonai your God, and cry out to Adonai,
because zeal for your house is eating me up, and on me are falling the insults of those insulting you.I weep bitterly, and I fast, but that too occasions insults.
generously offer food to the hungry and meet the needs of the person in trouble; then your light will rise in the darkness, and your gloom become like noon.Adonai will always guide you; he will satisfy your needs in the desert, he will renew the strength in your limbs; so that you will be like a watered garden, like a spring whose water never fails.
But you, when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
I assembled them by the river that runs to Ahava, and we camped there three days. I reviewed the people and the cohanim but found no L’vi’im there.
David said to Avyatar the cohen, the son of Achimelekh, “Please bring the ritual vest here to me.” Avyatar brought the vest to David.Then David consulted Adonai. He asked, “Should I go in pursuit of these raiders? Will I catch up with them?” And [Adonai] answered him, “Go in pursuit, because you will overtake them and recover everyone and everything.”
A psalm of David, when he was in the desert of Y’hudah:But those who seek to destroy my life — may they go to the lowest parts of the earth.May they be given over to the power of the sword; may they become prey for jackals.But the king will rejoice in God. Everyone who swears by him will exult, for the mouths of liars will be silenced.O God, you are my God; I will seek you eagerly. My heart thirsts for you, my body longs for you in a land parched and exhausted, where no water can be found.I used to contemplate you in the sanctuary, seeing your power and glory;for your grace is better than life. My lips will worship you.Yes, I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.
He prayed to Adonai, “Now, Adonai, didn’t I say this would happen, when I was still in my own country? That’s why I tried to get away to Tarshish ahead of time! I knew you were a God who is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in grace, and that you relent from inflicting punishment.
Let them give thanks to Adonai for his grace, for his wonders bestowed on humanity!For he has satisfied the hungry, filled the starving with good.
There was also a prophet named Hannah Bat-P’nu’el, of the tribe of Asher. She was a very old woman — she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriageand had remained a widow ever since; now she was eighty-four. She never left the Temple grounds but worshipped there night and day, fasting and praying.
Then he said to them, “Go, eat rich food, drink sweet drinks, and send portions to those who can’t provide for themselves; for today is consecrated to our Lord. Don’t be sad, because the joy of Adonai is your strength.”
Then Adonai will become jealous for his land and have pity on his people.Here is how Adonai will answer his people: “I will send you grain, wine and olive oil, enough to satisfy you; and no longer will I make you a mockery among the Goyim.
Mordekhai recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews in all the provinces of King Achashverosh, both near and far,instructing them to observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and the fifteenth day, every year,[to commemorate] the days on which the Jews obtained rest from their enemies and the month which for them was turned from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; they were to make them days of celebrating and rejoicing, sending portions [of food] to each other and giving gifts to the poor.
In the Antioch congregation were prophets and teachers — Bar-Nabba, Shim‘on (known as “the Black”), Lucius (from Cyrene), Menachem (who had been brought up with Herod the governor) and Sha’ul.“You son of Satan, full of fraud and evil! You enemy of everything good! Won’t you ever stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?So now, look! The hand of the Lord is upon you; and for a while you will be blind, unable to see the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over Elymas; and he groped about, trying to find someone to lead him by the hand.Then, on seeing what had happened, the governor trusted, astounded by the teaching about the Lord.Having set sail from Paphos, Sha’ul and his companions arrived at Perga in Pamphylia. There Yochanan left them and returned to Yerushalayim,but the others went on from Perga to Pisidian Antioch, and on Shabbat they went into the synagogue and sat down.After the reading from the Torah and from the Prophets, the synagogue leaders sent them a message, “Brothers, if any of you has a word of exhortation for the people, speak!”So Sha’ul stood, motioned with his hand, and said: “Men of Isra’el and God-fearers, listen!The God of this people Isra’el chose our fathers. He made the people great during the time when they were living as aliens in Egypt and with a stretched-out arm he led them out of that land.For some forty years he took care of them in the desert,and after he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Kena‘an he gave their land to his people as an inheritance.One time when they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Ruach HaKodesh said to them, “Set aside for me Bar-Nabba and Sha’ul for the work to which I have called them.”All this took about 450 years. After that, he gave them judges, down to the prophet Sh’mu’el.Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Sha’ul Ben-Kish, a man from the tribe of Binyamin. After forty years,God removed him and raised up David as king for them, making his approval known with these words, ‘I found David Ben-Yishai to be a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want.’“In keeping with his promise, God has brought to Isra’el from this man’s descendants a deliverer, Yeshua.Now before the coming of Yeshua, Yochanan proclaimed to all the people of Isra’el an immersion in connection with turning to God from sin.But as Yochanan was ending his work, he said, ‘Who do you suppose I am? Well — I’m not! But after me is coming someone, the sandals of whose feet I am unworthy to untie.’“Brothers! — sons of Avraham and those among you who are ‘God-fearers’! It is to us that the message of this deliverance has been sent!For the people living in Yerushalayim and their leaders did not recognize who Yeshua was or understand the message of the Prophets read every Shabbat, so they fulfilled that message by condemning him.They could not find any legitimate ground for a death sentence; nevertheless they asked Pilate to have him executed;and when they had carried out all the things written about him, he was taken down from the stake and placed in a tomb.After fasting and praying, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
“If you hold back your foot on Shabbat from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call Shabbat a delight, Adonai’s holy day, worth honoring; then honor it by not doing your usual things or pursuing your interests or speaking about them.If you do, you will find delight in Adonai — I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Ya‘akov, for the mouth of Adonai has spoken.”
Some time later, the people of Mo’av and the people of ‘Amon with other ‘Amonim came up to fight Y’hoshafat.“So now, see: the people of ‘Amon, Mo’av and Mount Se‘ir, whom you would not let Isra’el invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, so that they turned away from them and did not destroy them,are now repaying us [evil]; they have come to throw us out of your possession, which you gave us as an inheritance.Our God! Won’t you execute judgment against them? For we haven’t strength enough to defeat this huge horde coming against us, and we don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”All Y’hudah stood before Adonai with their little ones, their wives and their children.Then, in the middle of the assembly, the Spirit of Adonai came upon Yachzi’el the son of Z’kharyahu, the son of B’nayah, the son of Ye‘i’el, the son of Matanyah the Levi, from the descendants of Asaf.He said, “Listen, all Y’hudah, you who live in Yerushalayim and King Y’hoshafat: here is what Adonai is saying to you: ‘Don’t be afraid or distressed by this great horde; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.Tomorrow, go down against them. They will be coming up by the ascent of Tzitz, and you will find them at the end of the vadi, before the Yeru’el Desert.You won’t even need to fight this battle! Just take your positions, Y’hudah and Yerushalayim, stand still, and watch how Adonai will deliver you! Don’t be afraid or distressed; tomorrow, go out against them; for Adonai is with you.’”Y’hoshafat bowed his head with his face to the ground; while all Y’hudah and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim fell down before Adonai, worshipping Adonai;and the L’vi’im from the descendants of the K’hati and the descendants of the Korchi, stood up and praised Adonai the God of Isra’el at the top of their voices.Y’hoshafat was told, “A huge army from beyond the [Dead] Sea, from Aram, is on its way to fight you; right now they are in Hatzatzon-Tamar” (that is, ‘Ein-Gedi).The next morning, they rose early and went out into the T’koa Desert. As they left, Y’hoshafat stood and said, “Listen to me, Y’hudah and you inhabitants of Yerushalayim! “Trust in Adonai your God, and you will be safe. Trust in his prophets, and you will succeed.”After consulting with the people, he appointed those who would sing to Adonai and praise the splendor of his holiness as they went out ahead of the army, saying, “Give thanks to Adonai, for his grace continues forever.”Then, during the time when they were singing and praising, Adonai brought a surprise attack against the people of ‘Amon, Mo’av and Mount Se‘ir who had come to fight Y’hudah; and they were defeated.What happened was that the people of ‘Amon and Mo’av began attacking those people who lived by Mount Se‘ir, to kill and destroy them completely; and when they had finished off the people from Se‘ir, they set to work slaughtering one another.So when Y’hudah reached the watchtower overlooking the desert, they looked toward the horde; and there in front of them were corpses fallen to the ground; none had escaped.Y’hoshafat and his army came to take the spoil from them and found among them personal property in abundance and corpses with precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves until they couldn’t carry any more. They took three days just to collect the spoil, there was so much.On the fourth day, they assembled in the Valley of B’rakhah [blessing], where they blessed Adonai; hence that place is called the Valley of B’rakhah to this day.Then they returned, everyone from Y’hudah and Yerushalayim, with Y’hoshafat leading them joyfully back to Yerushalayim; for Adonai had caused them to rejoice over their enemies.They came to Yerushalayim with lyres, lutes and trumpets and went to the house of Adonai.A panic from God was on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that Adonai had fought against the enemies of Isra’el.Y’hoshafat was frightened, so he determined to seek Adonai. He proclaimed a fast throughout all Y’hudah,So Y’hoshafat’s rule was a quiet one, because his God gave him rest all around.
Then Dani’el said to the guard whom the chief officer had put in charge of Dani’el, Hananyah, Misha’el and ‘Azaryah,“Please! Try an experiment on your servants — for ten days have them give us only vegetables to eat and water to drink.
Ach’av, on hearing these words, tore his clothes, put sackcloth on himself and fasted. He slept in the sackcloth and went about dejectedly.
The army of Isra’el began by going up to Beit-El, where they asked God, “Who should go up first to attack the army of Binyamin?” Adonai said, “Y’hudah first.”So the army of Isra’el got up in the morning and set up their camp near Giv‘ah.The leaders of all the tribes of Isra’el presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, 400,000 foot soldiers armed with swords.Then the army of Isra’el went out to attack Binyamin and set up their battle line in front of Giv‘ah.But the army of Binyamin came out of Giv‘ah and slaughtered the army of Isra’el; on that day 22,000 men fell.The people, the men of Isra’el, restored their morale and again positioned themselves for battle where they had been the first day.Then the army of Isra’el went up and cried before Adonai until evening. They asked Adonai, “Should we attack our kinsmen the people of Binyamin again? Adonai answered, “Attack them.”So the army of Isra’el went out to attack the army of Binyamin the second day.But Binyamin went out against them from Giv‘ah the second day and slaughtered the army of Isra’el; 18,000 men armed with swords fell.Then the whole army of Isra’el, all the people, went up to Beit-El and cried and sat there in the presence of Adonai. They fasted that day until evening, offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to Adonai,
After Yeshua had fasted forty days and nights, he was hungry.At once they left their nets and went with him.Going on from there, he saw two other brothers — Ya’akov Ben-Zavdai and Yochanan his brother — in the boat with their father Zavdai, repairing their nets; and he called them.At once they left the boat and their father and went with Yeshua.Yeshua went all over the Galil teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing people from every kind of disease and sickness.Word of him spread throughout all Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill, suffering from various diseases and pains, and those held in the power of demons, and epileptics and paralytics; and he healed them.Huge crowds followed him from the Galil, the Ten Towns, Yerushalayim, Y’hudah, and ‘Ever-HaYarden.The Tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, order these stones to become bread.”But he answered, “The Tanakh says, ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of Adonai’”
Proclaim a holy fast, call for a solemn assembly, gather the leaders and all who live in the land to the house of Adonai your God, and cry out to Adonai,“Oh no! The Day! The Day of Adonai is upon us! As destruction from Shaddai it is coming!The food is cut off before our very eyes, also joy and gladness from the house of our God.
Standing where they were, they read in the scroll of the Torah of Adonai their God for one-quarter of the day. For another quarter they confessed and prostrated themselves before Adonai their God.
Then Natan returned to his house. Adonai struck the child that Uriyah’s wife had borne to David, and it became very ill.David prayed to God on behalf of the child; David fasted, then came and lay all night on the ground.
A stone was brought to block the opening of the pit, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, so that nothing concerning Dani’el could be changed.Then the king returned to his palace. He spent the night fasting and refusing to be entertained, as sleep eluded him.Daryavesh decided to set over the kingdom 120 viceroys to rule throughout the entire kingdom,Early in the morning, the king got up and hurried to the lion pit.On approaching the pit where Dani’el was, the king cried in a pained voice to Dani’el, “Dani’el, servant of the living God! Has your God, whom you are always serving, been able to save you from the lions?”Then Dani’el answered the king, “May the king live forever!My God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths, so they haven’t hurt me. This is because before him I was found innocent; and also I have done no harm to you, your majesty.”The king was overjoyed and ordered Dani’el taken up from the pit. So Dani’el was taken up from the pit, and he was found to be completely unharmed, because he had trusted in his God.
for forty days of testing by the Adversary. During that time he ate nothing, and afterwards he was hungry.
In that moment, something like scales fell away from Sha’ul’s eyes; and he could see again. He got up and was immersed;then he ate some food and regained his strength. Sha’ul spent some days with the talmidim in Dammesek,
‘Ezra then left his place in front of the house of God and went to the room of Y’hochanan the son of Elyashiv. After going there, he neither ate food nor drank water; because he was mourning over the treachery of the exiles.A proclamation was issued throughout Y’hudah and Yerushalayim that all the exiles were to assemble in Yerushalayim;and that whoever didn’t come within three days, in answer to the summons from the officials and leaders, would forfeit all he owned and himself be banished from the community of the exiles.
“Yet even now,” says Adonai, “turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping and lamenting.”
In the third year of Koresh king of Persia, a word was revealed to Dani’el, also called Belt’shatzar. The word was certain: a great war. He understood the word, having gained understanding in the vision.Then a hand touched me and raised me, tottering, to my hands and knees.He said to me, “Dani’el, you are a greatly loved man. Now pay attention to the words I am saying to you, and stand upright; for it is to you that I have been sent now.” After he had said this to me, I stood up, trembling.Then he said to me, “Don’t be afraid, Dani’el; because since the first day that you determined to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words have been heard; and I have come because of what you said.The prince of the kingdom of Persia prevented me from coming for twenty-one days; but Mikha’el, one of the chief princes, came to assist me; so that I was no longer needed there with the kings of Persia.So I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the acharit-hayamim; for there is still another vision which will relate to those days.”After he had said these things to me, I looked down at the ground and couldn’t speak.Then someone who looked like a human being touched my lips, after which I could open my mouth and speak; I said to the one standing in front of me, “My lord, it is because of the vision that I am seized with such anguish; I don’t have any strength.For how can this servant of my lord speak with my lord, when my strength and breath have failed me?”Then, again someone who looked human touched me and revived me.He said, “You man so greatly loved, don’t be afraid. Shalom to you; and be strong, yes, truly strong.” His speaking to me strengthened me, and I said, “My lord, keep speaking; because you’ve given me strength.”At that time I, Dani’el, had been mourning for three whole weeks.Then he said, “Do you know why I came to you? Although now I must return to fight the prince of Persia; and when I leave, the prince of Greece will come;nevertheless, I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. There is no one standing with me against them except Mikha’el your prince;I hadn’t eaten any food that satisfied me — neither meat nor wine had entered my mouth, and I didn’t anoint myself once, until three full weeks had passed.
Now every athlete in training submits himself to strict discipline, and he does it just to win a laurel wreath that will soon wither away. But we do it to win a crown that will last forever.Accordingly, I don’t run aimlessly but straight for the finish line; I don’t shadow-box but try to make every punch count.I treat my body hard and make it my slave so that, after proclaiming the Good News to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
I prayed to Adonai my God and made this confession: “Please, Adonai, great and fearsome God, who keeps his covenant and extends grace to those who love him and observe his mitzvot!We have sinned, done wrong, acted wickedly, rebelled and turned away from your mitzvot and rulings.We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our leaders, our ancestors and to all the people of the land.
Next they said to him, “Yochanan’s talmidim are always fasting and davvening, and likewise the talmidim of the P’rushim; but yours go on eating and drinking.”