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VERSES ABOUT FASTING
Fasting helps me grow closer to God and strengthens my relationship with my Heavenly Father. I try not to see it as something I do for my own benefit, but as a way to improve my walk with God. It's a voluntary choice, a time when I set aside the physical need for food to nourish my spirit. It's a special time to seek God's presence, which is why I find it helpful to fast in a quiet place where I can talk with Him alone.
The Bible talks about this too. Daniel 9:31 says, "So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes." It's really inspiring to see how people in the Bible sought God through fasting.
And when you fast, do not choose to become gloomy, like the hypocrites. For they alter their faces, so that their fasting may be apparent to men. Amen I say to you, that they have received their reward.But as for you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,so that your fasting will not be apparent to men, but to your Father, who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.
Is not this, instead, the kind of fast that I have chosen? Release the constraints of impiety; relieve the burdens that oppress; freely forgive those who are broken; and break apart every burden.Break your bread with the hungry, and lead the destitute and the homeless into your house. When you see someone naked, cover him, and do not despise your own flesh.
Now, therefore, the Lord says: "Be converted to me with your whole heart, in fasting and weeping and mourning."And rend your hearts, and not your garments, and convert to the Lord your God. For he is gracious and merciful, patient and full of compassion, and steadfast despite ill will.
And I set my face to the Lord, my God, to ask and make supplication with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes.
Now as they were ministering for the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said to them: "Separate Saul and Barnabas for me, for the work for which I have selected them."after about four hundred and fifty years. And after these things, he gave them judges, even until the prophet Samuel.And later on, they petitioned for a king. And God gave them Saul, the son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.And having removed him, he raised up for them king David. And offering testimony about him, he said, 'I have found David, the son of Jesse, to be a man according to my own heart, who will accomplish all that I will.'From his offspring, according to the Promise, God has brought Jesus the Savior to Israel.John was preaching, before the face of his advent, a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.Then, when John completed his course, he was saying: 'I am not the one you consider me to be. For behold, one arrives after me, the shoes of whose feet I am not worthy to loosen.'Noble brothers, sons of the stock of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, it is to you the Word of this salvation has been sent.For those who were living in Jerusalem, and its rulers, heeding neither him, nor the voices of the Prophets that are read on every Sabbath, fulfilled these by judging him.And although they found no case for death against him, they petitioned Pilate, so that they might put him to death.And when they had fulfilled everything that had been written about him, taking him down from the tree, they placed him in a tomb.Then, fasting and praying and imposing their hands upon them, they sent them away.
And I proclaimed a fast in that place, beside the river Ahava, so that we might afflict ourselves in the sight of the Lord our God, and so that we might request of him the right way for us, and for our sons, and for all our substance.For I was ashamed to petition the king for assistance and for horsemen, who would defend us from the enemy along the way. For we had said to the king: "The hand of our God is over all those who seek him in goodness. And his authority, and his strength and fury, is over all those who forsake him."And so we fasted and begged our God for this; and as a result, we prospered.
Then Jehoshaphat, being terrified with fear, gave himself entirely to petitioning the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all of Judah.And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was quiet. And God granted to him peace on all sides.And so Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. And he was thirty-five years old when he had begun to reign. Then he reigned for twenty-five years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi.And he walked in the way of his father, Asa, and he did not decline from it, doing the things that were pleasing before the Lord.Yet truly, he did not take away the high places, and the people still had not directed their heart to the Lord, the God of their fathers.But the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, the first and the last, have been written in the words of Jehu, the son of Hanani, which he digested into the books of the kings of Israel.After these things, Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, formed a friendship with Ahaziah, the king of Israel, whose works were very impious.And he was a partner in the making of ships, which would go to Tarshish. And they made the fleet at Eziongeber.Then Eliezer, the son of Dodavahu, from Mareshah, prophesied to Jehoshaphat, saying: "Because you have made a pact with Ahaziah, the Lord has struck your works, and the ships have been broken, and they have not been able to go to Tarshish."And Judah gathered together to pray to the Lord. Moreover, everyone from their cities came to beseech him.
And when I had heard this manner of words, I sat down, and I wept and mourned for many days. I fasted and prayed before the face of the God of heaven.
And Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan. And he was urged by the Spirit into the wildernessFor it is written that he has given his Angels charge over you, so that they may guard you,and so that they may take you into their hands, lest perhaps you may hurt your foot against a stone."And in response, Jesus said to him, "It is said: 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.' "And when all the temptation was completed, the devil withdrew from him, until a time.And Jesus returned, in the power of the Spirit, into Galilee. And his fame spread throughout the entire region.And he taught in their synagogues, and he was magnified by everyone.And he went to Nazareth, where he had been raised. And he entered into the synagogue, according to his custom, on the Sabbath day. And he rose up to read.And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. And as he unrolled the book, he found the place where it was written:"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; because of this, he has anointed me. He has sent me to evangelize the poor, to heal the contrite of heart,to preach forgiveness to captives and sight to the blind, to release the broken into forgiveness, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of retribution."for forty days, and he was tested by the devil. And he ate nothing in those days. And when they were completed, he was hungry.
Therefore, he was in that place with the Lord for forty days and forty nights; he did not eat bread and he did not drink water, and he wrote on the tablets the ten words of the covenant.
In that place, those who work iniquity have fallen. They have been expelled; they were not able to stand.
Then, when Ahab had heard these words, he tore his garments, and he put haircloth on his body, and he fasted, and he slept in sackcloth, and he walked with his head downcast.And the word of the Lord came to Elijah, the Tishbite, saying:"Have you not seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Therefore, since he has humbled himself because of me, I will not lead in the evil during his days. Instead, during the days of his son, I will bring in the evil to his house."
Then the disciples of John drew near to him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast frequently, but your disciples do not fast?"And Jesus said to them: "How can the sons of the groom mourn, while the groom is still with them? But the days will arrive when the groom will be taken away from them. And then they shall fast.
In those days, I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks of days.And he said, "Do you not know why I have come to you? And next I will return, to fight against the leader of the Persians. When I was leaving, there appeared the leader of the Greeks arriving.But, in truth, I announce to you what is expressed in the scripture of truth. And no one is my helper in all these things, except Michael your leader."I ate no desirable bread, and neither meat, nor wine, entered my mouth, neither was I anointed with ointment, until the three weeks of days were completed.
"Why have we fasted, and you have not taken notice? Why have we humbled our souls, and you have not acknowledged it?" Behold, in the day of your fasting, your own will is found, and you petition for payment from all your debtors.Behold, you fast with strife and contention, and you strike with the fist impiously. Do not choose to fast as you have done even to this day. Then your outcry will be heard on high.Is this a fast such as I have chosen: for a man to afflict his soul for a day, to contort his head in a circle, and to spread sackcloth and ashes? Should you call this a fast and a day acceptable to the Lord?
Then, on the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the sons of Israel came together in fasting and in sackcloth, and with soil upon them.And you gave signs and portents to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to the people of his land. For you knew that they acted arrogantly against them. And you made a name for yourself, just as it is in this day.And you divided the sea before them, and they crossed through the midst of the sea on dry land. But their pursuers you cast into the depths, like a stone into great waters.And in the pillar of cloud, you were their leader by day, and in the pillar of fire, by night, so that they might see the way along which they might advance.You also descended to mount Sinai, and you spoke with them from heaven. And you gave them upright judgments, and the law of truth, and ceremonies, and good precepts.You revealed to them your sanctified Sabbath, and you instructed them in commandments, and ceremonies, and the law, by the hand of Moses, your servant.You also gave them bread from heaven in their hunger, and you brought forth water from the rock for them in their thirst. And you said to them that they should enter and possess the land, over which you lifted up your hand so that you might give it to them.Yet truly, they and our fathers acted arrogantly, and they hardened their necks, and they did not listen to your commandments.And they were not willing to hear, and they did not remember, your miracles which you had accomplished for them. And they hardened their necks, and they offered their head, so that they would return to their servitude, as if in contention. But you, a forgiving God, lenient and merciful, longsuffering and full of compassion, did not abandon them.Indeed, even when they had made for themselves a molten calf, and they had said, 'This is your God, who led you away from Egypt!' and had committed great blasphemies,even so, in the multitude of your mercies, you did not send them away in the desert. The pillar of cloud did not withdraw from them by day, so that it might lead them on the way, nor the pillar of fire by night, so that it might show them the way along which they might advance.And the offspring of the sons of Israel were separated from all the sons of foreigners. And they stood up, and they confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.
Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying: Although you may have fasted and mourned in the fifth and the seventh month for these seventy years, did you indeed keep a fast unto me?
And they convened at Mizpah. And they drew water, and they poured it out in the sight of the Lord. And on that day they fasted, and in that place they said, "We have sinned against the Lord." And Samuel judged the sons of Israel at Mizpah.
So, do not fail in your obligations to one another, except perhaps by consent, for a limited time, so that you may empty yourselves for prayer. And then, return together again, lest Satan tempt you by means of your abstinence.
And when they were conversing together in Galilee, Jesus said to them: "The Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men.
And David begged the Lord on behalf of the little one. And David fasted strictly, and entering alone, he lay upon the ground.
And so she was led to the chamber of king Artaxerxes, in the tenth month, which is called Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
Sanctify a fast, call an assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of your God. And cry out to the Lord:
As a result, all the sons of Israel went to the house of God, and sitting down, they wept before the Lord. And they fasted that day until evening, and they offered to him holocausts and victims of peace offerings.
And he when he had risen up, he ate and drank. And he walked by the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights, as far as the mountain of God, Horeb.
And Cornelius said: "It is now the fourth day, to this very hour, since I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in a white vestment, and he said:'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your almsgiving has been remembered in the sight of God.
And the king departed into his house, and he went to bed without eating, and food was not set before him, moreover, even sleep fled from him.
And the men of Nineveh believed in God. And they proclaimed a fast, and they put on sackcloth, from the greatest all the way to the least.
so that your fasting will not be apparent to men, but to your Father, who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.
When they will fast, I will not heed their petitions. And if they offer holocausts and victims, I will not accept them. For I will consume them by the sword, and by famine, and by pestilence."
Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth will be for the house of Judah in joy and gladness and with bright solemnities. So then, love truth and peace.
In that place, those who work iniquity have fallen. They have been expelled; they were not able to stand.
Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call an assembly.Gather the people, sanctify the church, unite the elders, gather together the little ones and infants at the breast. Let the bridegroom depart from his bed, and the bride from her bridal chamber.
Instead, I chastise my body, so as to redirect it into servitude. Otherwise, I might preach to others, but become myself an outcast.
And when I had heard this manner of words, I sat down, and I wept and mourned for many days. I fasted and prayed before the face of the God of heaven.And I said: "I beg you, O Lord, God of heaven, strong, great, and terrible, who keeps covenant and mercy with those who love you and who keep your commandments:may your ears be attentive, and may your eyes be open, so that you may hear the prayer of your servant, which I am praying before you today, night and day, for the sons of Israel, your servants. And I am confessing the sins of the sons of Israel, which they have sinned against you. We have sinned, I and my father's house.
And she did so every year, when the time returned for them to ascend to the temple of the Lord. And she provoked her in this way. And so, she wept and did not take food.Therefore, her husband Elkanah said to her: "Hannah, why are you weeping? And why do you not eat? And for what reason do you afflict your heart? Am I not better to you than ten sons?"
Now as they were ministering for the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said to them: "Separate Saul and Barnabas for me, for the work for which I have selected them."
And then she was a widow, even to her eighty-fourth year. And without departing from the temple, she was a servant to fasting and prayer, night and day.
And this was the judgment of the letters: "Proclaim a fast, and cause Naboth to sit among the first rulers of the people.
And while I was still speaking and praying and confessing my sins, and the sins of my people, Israel, and offering my prayers in the sight of my God, on behalf of the holy mountain of my God,as I was still speaking in prayer, behold, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, flying swiftly, touched me at the time of the evening sacrifice.And he instructed me, and he spoke to me and said, "Now, Daniel, I have come forth to teach you and to help you understand.At the beginning of your prayers, the message came forth, yet I have come to explain it to you because you are a man who is seeking. Therefore, you must pay close attention to the message and understand the vision.
And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until evening, over Saul and over his son Jonathan, and over the people of the Lord and over the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
As a result, all the sons of Israel went to the house of God, and sitting down, they wept before the Lord. And they fasted that day until evening, and they offered to him holocausts and victims of peace offerings.And they inquired about their state. At that time, the ark of the covenant of the Lord was in that place.And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, was the first ruler of the house. And so, they consulted the Lord, and they said, "Should we continue to go forth in battle against the sons of Benjamin, our brothers, or should we cease?" And the Lord said to them: "Ascend. For tomorrow, I will deliver them into your hands."
Sanctify a fast, call an assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of your God. And cry out to the Lord:"Ah, ah, ah, the day!" For the day of the Lord is near, and it will arrive, like a devastation, before the powerful.
But the days will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast, in those days."
Cry out! Cease not! Exalt your voice like a trumpet, and announce to my people their wicked acts, and to the house of Jacob their sins.When you pour out your life for the hungry, and you satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light will rise up in darkness, and your darkness will be like the midday.And the Lord will give you rest continually, and he will fill your soul with splendor, and he will free your bones, and you will be like a watered garden and like a fountain of water whose waters will not fail.And places that have been desolate for ages will be built up by you. You will raise a foundation for generation after generation. And you will be called the repairer of hedges, who turns the roadways into quiet places.If you restrain your foot on the Sabbath, from doing your own will on my holy day, and if you call the Sabbath delightful, and the Holy of the Lord glorious, and if you glorify him, while you do not act according to your own ways, and your own will is not found, not even to speak a word,then you will find delight in the Lord, and I will take you up, above the heights of the earth, and I will nourish you with the inheritance of Jacob, your father. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.For they also seek me, from day to day, and they are willing to know my ways, like a nation which has done justice and has not abandoned the judgment of their God. They petition me for judgments of justice. They are willing to draw near to God."Why have we fasted, and you have not taken notice? Why have we humbled our souls, and you have not acknowledged it?" Behold, in the day of your fasting, your own will is found, and you petition for payment from all your debtors.Behold, you fast with strife and contention, and you strike with the fist impiously. Do not choose to fast as you have done even to this day. Then your outcry will be heard on high.Is this a fast such as I have chosen: for a man to afflict his soul for a day, to contort his head in a circle, and to spread sackcloth and ashes? Should you call this a fast and a day acceptable to the Lord?Is not this, instead, the kind of fast that I have chosen? Release the constraints of impiety; relieve the burdens that oppress; freely forgive those who are broken; and break apart every burden.Break your bread with the hungry, and lead the destitute and the homeless into your house. When you see someone naked, cover him, and do not despise your own flesh.Then your light will break forth like the morning, and your health will improve quickly, and your justice will go before your face, and the glory of the Lord will gather you up.Then you will call, and the Lord will heed; you will cry out, and he will say, "Here I am," if you take away the chains from your midst, and cease to point your finger and to speak what is not beneficial.
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert, in order to be tempted by the devil.Then Jesus said to him: "Go away, Satan. For it has been written: 'You shall adore the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.' "Then the devil left him. And behold, Angels approached and ministered to him.And when Jesus had heard that John had been handed over, he withdrew into Galilee.And leaving behind the city of Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, near the sea, at the borders of Zebulun and of Naphtali,in order to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:"Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way of the sea across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles:A people who were sitting in darkness have seen a great light. And unto those sitting in the region of the shadow of death, a light has risen."From that time, Jesus began to preach, and to say: "Repent. For the kingdom of heaven has drawn near."And Jesus, walking near the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea (for they were fishermen).And he said to them: "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."And when he had fasted for forty days and forty nights, afterwards he was hungry.And at once, leaving behind their nets, they followed him.And continuing on from there, he saw another two brothers, James of Zebedee, and his brother John, in a ship with their father Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them.And immediately, leaving their nets and their father behind, they followed him.And Jesus traveled throughout all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every infirmity among the people.And reports of him went out to all of Syria, and they brought to him all those who had maladies, those who were in the grasp of various sicknesses and torments, and those who were in the hold of demons, and the mentally ill, and paralytics. And he cured them.And a great crowd followed him from Galilee, and from the Ten Cities, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from across the Jordan.And approaching, the tempter said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."And in response he said, "It has been written: 'Not by bread alone shall man live, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' "
and if my people, over whom my name has been invoked, being converted, will have petitioned me and sought my face, and will have done penance for their wicked ways, then I will heed them from heaven, and I will forgive their sins, and I will heal their land.
And when it began to be light, Paul requested that they all take food, saying: "This is the fourteenth day that you have been waiting and continuing to fast, taking nothing.For this reason, I beg you to accept food for the sake of your health. For not a hair from the head of any of you shall perish."
And the king departed into his house, and he went to bed without eating, and food was not set before him, moreover, even sleep fled from him.Then the king, getting himself up at first light, went quickly to the den of lions.And over these, three leaders, of whom Daniel was one, so that the governors would be accountable to them and the king would have no trouble.And coming near to the den, he cried out with a tearful voice to Daniel and spoke to him. "Daniel, servant of the living God, your God, whom you serve always, do you believe he has prevailed to free you from the lions?"
And Jesus said to them: "How can the sons of the groom mourn, while the groom is still with them? But the days will arrive when the groom will be taken away from them. And then they shall fast.
And it happened that, in the fifth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, in the ninth month, they proclaimed a fast, in the sight of the Lord, to all the people in Jerusalem, and to the entire multitude which had flowed together, from the cities of Judah, into Jerusalem.
And word reached the king of Nineveh. And he rose from his throne, and he threw off his robe from himself and was clothed in sackcloth, and he sat in ashes.And he cried out and spoke: "In Nineveh, from the mouth of the king and of his princes, let it be said: Men and beasts and oxen and sheep may not taste anything. Neither shall they feed or drink water.And let men and beasts be covered with sackcloth, and let them cry out to the Lord with strength, and may man be converted from his evil way, and from the iniquity that is in their hands.Who knows if God may turn and forgive, and may turn away from his furious wrath, so that we might not perish?"
And Ezra rose up before the house of God, and he went away to the chamber of Jehohanan, the son of Eliashib, and he entered into it. He did not eat bread, and he did not drink water. For he was mourning the transgression of those who had arrived from the captivity.
And they took their bones, and they buried them in the forest of Jabesh. And they fasted for seven days.
Then, on the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the sons of Israel came together in fasting and in sackcloth, and with soil upon them.And you gave signs and portents to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to the people of his land. For you knew that they acted arrogantly against them. And you made a name for yourself, just as it is in this day.And you divided the sea before them, and they crossed through the midst of the sea on dry land. But their pursuers you cast into the depths, like a stone into great waters.And in the pillar of cloud, you were their leader by day, and in the pillar of fire, by night, so that they might see the way along which they might advance.You also descended to mount Sinai, and you spoke with them from heaven. And you gave them upright judgments, and the law of truth, and ceremonies, and good precepts.You revealed to them your sanctified Sabbath, and you instructed them in commandments, and ceremonies, and the law, by the hand of Moses, your servant.You also gave them bread from heaven in their hunger, and you brought forth water from the rock for them in their thirst. And you said to them that they should enter and possess the land, over which you lifted up your hand so that you might give it to them.Yet truly, they and our fathers acted arrogantly, and they hardened their necks, and they did not listen to your commandments.And they were not willing to hear, and they did not remember, your miracles which you had accomplished for them. And they hardened their necks, and they offered their head, so that they would return to their servitude, as if in contention. But you, a forgiving God, lenient and merciful, longsuffering and full of compassion, did not abandon them.Indeed, even when they had made for themselves a molten calf, and they had said, 'This is your God, who led you away from Egypt!' and had committed great blasphemies,even so, in the multitude of your mercies, you did not send them away in the desert. The pillar of cloud did not withdraw from them by day, so that it might lead them on the way, nor the pillar of fire by night, so that it might show them the way along which they might advance.And the offspring of the sons of Israel were separated from all the sons of foreigners. And they stood up, and they confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.And you gave them your good Spirit, so that he might teach them, and you did not withhold your manna from their mouth, and you gave them water in their thirst.For forty years, you fed them in the desert, and nothing was lacking to them; their garments did not grow old, and their feet were not worn down.And you gave them kingdoms and peoples, and you distributed to them by lot. And they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og, the king of Bashan.And you multiplied their sons like the stars of heaven. And you led them into the land, about which you had said to their fathers that they would enter and possess it.And the sons arrived and possessed the land. And you humbled the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, before them. And you delivered them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, so that they might do with them just as it was pleasing to them.And so they seized fortified cities and fat soil. And they possessed houses filled with all kinds of goods, cisterns made by others, vineyards, and olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance. And they ate and were satisfied. And they were fattened, and they abounded with delights from your great goodness.But they provoked you to wrath, and they withdrew from you, and they cast your law behind their backs. And they killed your prophets, who contended with them so that they might return to you. And they committed great blasphemies.And so you gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they afflicted them. And in the time of their tribulation, they cried out to you, and from heaven you heard them. And in accord with your great compassion, you gave to them saviors, who might save them from the hand of their enemies.But after they had rested, they turned back, so that they did evil in your sight. And you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, and they possessed them. And they converted, and they cried out to you. And from heaven you heeded them, and you freed them many times, by your mercies.And you contended with them, so that they might return to your law. Yet truly, they acted in arrogance, and they did not listen to your commandments, and they sinned against your judgments, which, if a man does them, he shall live by them. And they withdrew from offering their shoulder, and they hardened their neck; neither would they listen.And they arose to stand. And they read in the volume of the law of the Lord their God, four times in the day, and four times they confessed. And they adored the Lord their God.
with hardships and difficulties, with much vigilance, in hunger and thirst, with frequent fasts, in cold and nakedness,
when I ascended onto the mountain, so that I might receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which the Lord formed with you. And I persevered on the mountain for forty days and nights, neither eating bread, nor drinking water.
As a result, all the sons of Israel went to the house of God, and sitting down, they wept before the Lord. And they fasted that day until evening, and they offered to him holocausts and victims of peace offerings.And they inquired about their state. At that time, the ark of the covenant of the Lord was in that place.
And the men of Israel were joined together on that day. And Saul made the people swear, saying, "Cursed be the man who will eat bread, until evening, until I am avenged of my enemies." And the entire people did not consume bread.
And when you fast, do not choose to become gloomy, like the hypocrites. For they alter their faces, so that their fasting may be apparent to men. Amen I say to you, that they have received their reward.
I ate no desirable bread, and neither meat, nor wine, entered my mouth, neither was I anointed with ointment, until the three weeks of days were completed.
And I proclaimed a fast in that place, beside the river Ahava, so that we might afflict ourselves in the sight of the Lord our God, and so that we might request of him the right way for us, and for our sons, and for all our substance.
And let men and beasts be covered with sackcloth, and let them cry out to the Lord with strength, and may man be converted from his evil way, and from the iniquity that is in their hands.
And Moses, entering into the midst of the cloud, ascended the mountain. And he was there for forty days and forty nights.
They proclaimed a fast, and they caused Naboth to sit among the first rulers of the people.
Then the disciples of John drew near to him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast frequently, but your disciples do not fast?"And Jesus said to them: "How can the sons of the groom mourn, while the groom is still with them? But the days will arrive when the groom will be taken away from them. And then they shall fast.For no one would sew a patch of new cloth onto an old garment. For it pulls its fullness away from the garment, and the tear is made worse.Neither do they pour new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wineskins rupture, and the wine pours out, and the wineskins are destroyed. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins. And so, both are preserved."
and let investigators be sent throughout all the provinces for young women, beautiful and virgins. And let them bring them to the city of Susa, and deliver them to the house of the women under the hand of Hegai the eunuch, who is the overseer and keeper of the king's women. And let them receive feminine ornaments, and other things necessary for their use.
Then Jehoshaphat, being terrified with fear, gave himself entirely to petitioning the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all of Judah.
"I beg you to test us, your servants, for ten days, and let roots be given to us to eat and water to drink,
And they convened at Mizpah. And they drew water, and they poured it out in the sight of the Lord. And on that day they fasted, and in that place they said, "We have sinned against the Lord." And Samuel judged the sons of Israel at Mizpah.And the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered together at Mizpah. And the princes of the Philistines ascended against Israel. And when the sons of Israel had heard this, they were afraid before the face of the Philistines.And they said to Samuel, "May you not cease to cry out to the Lord our God on our behalf, so that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines."
And at the evening sacrifice, I rose up from my affliction, and, having torn my cloak and my tunic, I fell to my knees, and I reached out my hands to the Lord, my God.
And Cornelius said: "It is now the fourth day, to this very hour, since I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in a white vestment, and he said:
And the man of God responded to the king: "Even if you will give me one half part of your house, I will not go with you, nor eat bread, nor drink water in this place.For so it was commanded to me by the word of the Lord, ordering: 'You shall not eat bread, and you shall not drink water, nor shall you return by the way that you came.' "
And he said to me, "Do not be afraid, Daniel, because from the first day that you set your heart to understand, by afflicting yourself in the sight of your God, your words have been heeded, and I have arrived because of your words.But the leader of the kingdom of the Persians resisted me for twenty-one days, and behold, Michael, one of the primary leaders, came to help me, and I remained there next to the king of the Persians.
A Psalm of David. Judge me, O God, and discern my cause from that of a nation not holy; rescue me from a man unjust and deceitful.For you are God, my strength. Why have you rejected me? And why do I walk in sadness, while the adversary afflicts me?
Now I gathered them together at the river that runs down to Ahava, and we stayed there for three days. And I sought among the people and among the priests for the sons of Levi, and I found none there.And so I sent Eliezer, and Ariel, and Shemaiah, and Elnathan, and Jarib, and another Elnathan, and Nathan, and Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were leaders, and Joiarib and Elnathan, who were wise.And I sent them to Iddo, who is first within the place of Casiphia. And I placed in their mouth the words that they should speak to Iddo and his brothers, the temple servants, in the place of Casiphia, so that they would lead to us ministers for the house of our God.And because the good hand of our God was over us, they led to us a very learned man from the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, with Sherebiah, and his sons, and his eighteen brothers,and Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah, of the sons of Merari, and his brothers, and his sons, numbering twenty.From the sons of Phinehas, Gershom. From the sons of Ithamar, Daniel. From the sons of David, Hattush.And from the temple servants, whom David, and the leaders had provided for the ministry of the Levites, there were two hundred twenty temple servants. All these were called by their names.And I proclaimed a fast in that place, beside the river Ahava, so that we might afflict ourselves in the sight of the Lord our God, and so that we might request of him the right way for us, and for our sons, and for all our substance.For I was ashamed to petition the king for assistance and for horsemen, who would defend us from the enemy along the way. For we had said to the king: "The hand of our God is over all those who seek him in goodness. And his authority, and his strength and fury, is over all those who forsake him."And so we fasted and begged our God for this; and as a result, we prospered.
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert, in order to be tempted by the devil.Then Jesus said to him: "Go away, Satan. For it has been written: 'You shall adore the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.' "Then the devil left him. And behold, Angels approached and ministered to him.
But they said to him, "Why do the disciples of John fast frequently, and make supplications, and those of the Pharisees act similarly, while yours eat and drink?"And he said to them: "How can you cause the sons of the groom to fast, while the groom is still with them?But the days will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast, in those days."
And they inquired about their state. At that time, the ark of the covenant of the Lord was in that place.And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, was the first ruler of the house. And so, they consulted the Lord, and they said, "Should we continue to go forth in battle against the sons of Benjamin, our brothers, or should we cease?" And the Lord said to them: "Ascend. For tomorrow, I will deliver them into your hands."
In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, of the offspring of the Medes, who ruled over the kingdom of the Chaldeans,and we have not listened to the voice of the Lord, our God, so as to walk in his law, which he established for us by his servants, the prophets.And all Israel has transgressed your law and has turned away, not listening to your voice, and so the condemnation and the curse, which is written in the book of Moses, servant of God, has rained down upon us, because we have sinned against him.And he has fulfilled his words, which he has spoken over us and over our leaders who judged us, that he would lead over us a great evil, such as has never before existed under all of heaven, according to what has been done in Jerusalem.Just as it has been written in the law of Moses, all this evil has come upon us, and we did not entreat your face, O Lord our God, so that we might turn back from our iniquities and consider your truth.And the Lord kept watch over the evil and has led it over us; the Lord, our God, is just in all his works, which he has accomplished, for we have not listened to his voice.And now, O Lord, our God, who has led your people out of the land of Egypt with a strong hand and has made yourself a name in accordance with this day: we have sinned, we have done wrong.O Lord, for all your righteousness, turn away, I beg you, your anger and your fury from your city, Jerusalem, and from your holy mountain. For, because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people are a reproach to all who surround us.Now, therefore, heed, O God, the prayer of your servant and his requests, and reveal your face over your sanctuary, which is desolate, for your own sake.Incline your ear, O my God, and hear, open your eyes and see our desolation and the city over which your name is invoked. For it is not through our justifications that we offer requests before your face, but through the fullness of your compassion.Heed, O Lord. Be pleased, O Lord. Turn and act. Do not delay, for your own sake, O my God, because your name is invoked over your city and over your people."in year one of his reign, I, Daniel, understood in the books the number of the years, concerning the word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah, the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would be completed in seventy years.And while I was still speaking and praying and confessing my sins, and the sins of my people, Israel, and offering my prayers in the sight of my God, on behalf of the holy mountain of my God,as I was still speaking in prayer, behold, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, flying swiftly, touched me at the time of the evening sacrifice.And he instructed me, and he spoke to me and said, "Now, Daniel, I have come forth to teach you and to help you understand.At the beginning of your prayers, the message came forth, yet I have come to explain it to you because you are a man who is seeking. Therefore, you must pay close attention to the message and understand the vision.Seventy weeks of years are concentrated on your people and on your holy city, so that transgression shall be finished, and sin shall reach an end, and iniquity shall be wiped away, and so that everlasting justice shall be brought in, and vision and prophecy shall be fulfilled, and the Saint of saints shall be anointed.Therefore, know and take heed: from the going forth of the word to build up Jerusalem again, until the Christ leader, there will be seven weeks of years, and sixty-two weeks of years; and the wide path will be built again, and the walls, in a time of anguish.And after sixty-two weeks of years, the Christ leader will be slain. And the people who have denied him will not be his. And the people, when their leader arrives, will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will be devastation, and, after the end of the war, the desolation will be set up.But he will confirm a covenant with many for one week of years; and for half of the week of years, victim and sacrifice will nearly cease; but there will be in the temple the abomination of desolation. And the desolation will continue even to the consummation and the end."And I set my face to the Lord, my God, to ask and make supplication with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes.
And Nathan returned to his own house. And the Lord struck the little one, whom the wife of Uriah had borne to David, and he was despaired of.And David begged the Lord on behalf of the little one. And David fasted strictly, and entering alone, he lay upon the ground.Then the elders of his house came, urging him to rise up from the ground. And he was not willing, nor would he eat a meal with them.Then, on the seventh day, it happened that the infant died. And the servants of David were afraid to report to him that the little one had died. For they said: "Behold, when the child was still alive, we were speaking to him, but he would not listen to our voice. How much more will he afflict himself, if we tell him that the boy is dead?"But when David had seen his servants whispering, he realized that the infant had died. And he said to his servants, "Is the child dead?" And they responded to him, "He is dead."The wealthy man had very many sheep and oxen.Therefore, David rose up from the ground. And he washed and anointed himself. And when he had changed his clothing, he entered the house of the Lord, and he worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and he asked them to place bread before him, and he ate.But his servants said to him: "What is this word that you have done? You fasted and were weeping, on behalf of the infant, while he was still alive. But when the boy was dead, you arose and ate bread."And he said: "While he was yet alive, I fasted and wept on behalf of the infant. For I said: Who knows if the Lord may perhaps give him to me, and let the infant live?But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Would I be able to bring him back anymore? Instead, I will go to him. Yet truly, he will not return to me."
Priests, gird yourselves and lament. Ministers of the altars, wail. Enter, ministers of my God, lie in sackcloth. For sacrifice and libation have passed away from the house of your God.Sanctify a fast, call an assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of your God. And cry out to the Lord:
When you pour out your life for the hungry, and you satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light will rise up in darkness, and your darkness will be like the midday.And the Lord will give you rest continually, and he will fill your soul with splendor, and he will free your bones, and you will be like a watered garden and like a fountain of water whose waters will not fail.
But you, when you pray, enter into your room, and having shut the door, pray to your Father in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.
Now I gathered them together at the river that runs down to Ahava, and we stayed there for three days. And I sought among the people and among the priests for the sons of Levi, and I found none there.
And he said to the priest Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, "Bring the ephod to me." And Abiathar brought the ephod to David.And David consulted the Lord, saying, "Shall I pursue these robbers, and will I overtake them, or not?" And the Lord said to him: "Pursue. For without doubt, you will overtake them and find the prey."
Unto the end. A Psalm of David.and every man was afraid. And they announced the works of God, and they understood his acts.The just will rejoice in the Lord, and they will hope in him. And all the upright of heart will be praised.Hear, O God, my prayer of supplication. Rescue my soul from the fear of the enemy.You have protected me from the assembly of the malignant, from a multitude of workers of iniquity.For they have sharpened their tongues like a sword; they have formed their bow into a bitter thing,so that they may shoot arrows from hiding at the immaculate.
And he prayed to the Lord, and he said, "I beg you, Lord, was this not my word, when I was still in my own land? Because of this, I knew beforehand to flee into Tarshish. For I know that you are a lenient and merciful God, patient and great in compassion, and forgiving despite ill will.
God has spoken in his holiness. I will exult, and I will divide Shechem, and I will divide by measure the steep valley of tabernacles.Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine, and Ephraim is the supporter of my head. Judah is my king.
And there was a prophetess, Anna, a daughter of Phanuel, from the tribe of Asher. She was very advanced in years, and she had lived with her husband for seven years from her virginity.And then she was a widow, even to her eighty-fourth year. And without departing from the temple, she was a servant to fasting and prayer, night and day.
And he said to them: "Go, eat fat foods and drink sweet drinks, and send portions to those who have not prepared for themselves. For it is the holy day of the Lord. And do not be sad. For the joy of the Lord is also our strength."
The Lord has been zealous for his land, and he has spared his people.And the Lord responded, and he said to his people: "Behold, I will send you grain and wine and oil, and you will again be filled with them. And I will no longer give you disgrace among the Gentiles.
But she responded, "If it pleases the king, I beg you to come with me today, and Haman with you, to the feast that I have prepared."And immediately the king said, "Call Haman quickly, so that he may obey Esther's will. And so the king and Haman came to the feast, which the queen had prepared for them.And the king said to her, after he had drunk wine abundantly, "What are you asking for that should be given to you? And which things do you require? Even if you request half of my kingdom, you will obtain it."
Now there were, in the Church at Antioch, prophets and teachers, among whom were Barnabas, and Simon, who was called the Black, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manahen, who was the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.and he said: "So full of every deceit and of all falsehoods, son of the devil, enemy of all justice, you never cease to subvert the righteous ways of the Lord!And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you. And you will be blinded, not seeing the sun for a length of time." And immediately a fog and a darkness fell over him. And wandering around, he was seeking someone who might lead him by the hand.Then the proconsul, when he had seen what was done, believed, being in wonder over the doctrine of the Lord.And when Paul and those who were with him had sailed from Paphos, they arrived at Perga in Pamphylia. Then John departed from them and returned to Jerusalem.Yet truly, they, traveling on from Perga, arrived at Antioch in Pisidia. And upon entering the synagogue on the Sabbath day, they sat down.Then, after the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent to them, saying: "Noble brothers, if there is in you any word of exhortation to the people, speak."Then Paul, rising up and motioning for silence with his hand, said: "Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen closely.The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people, when they were settlers in the land of Egypt. And with an exalted arm, he led them away from there.And throughout a time of forty years, he endured their behavior in the desert.And by destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he divided their land among them by lot,Now as they were ministering for the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said to them: "Separate Saul and Barnabas for me, for the work for which I have selected them."after about four hundred and fifty years. And after these things, he gave them judges, even until the prophet Samuel.And later on, they petitioned for a king. And God gave them Saul, the son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.And having removed him, he raised up for them king David. And offering testimony about him, he said, 'I have found David, the son of Jesse, to be a man according to my own heart, who will accomplish all that I will.'From his offspring, according to the Promise, God has brought Jesus the Savior to Israel.John was preaching, before the face of his advent, a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.Then, when John completed his course, he was saying: 'I am not the one you consider me to be. For behold, one arrives after me, the shoes of whose feet I am not worthy to loosen.'Noble brothers, sons of the stock of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, it is to you the Word of this salvation has been sent.For those who were living in Jerusalem, and its rulers, heeding neither him, nor the voices of the Prophets that are read on every Sabbath, fulfilled these by judging him.And although they found no case for death against him, they petitioned Pilate, so that they might put him to death.And when they had fulfilled everything that had been written about him, taking him down from the tree, they placed him in a tomb.Then, fasting and praying and imposing their hands upon them, they sent them away.
If you restrain your foot on the Sabbath, from doing your own will on my holy day, and if you call the Sabbath delightful, and the Holy of the Lord glorious, and if you glorify him, while you do not act according to your own ways, and your own will is not found, not even to speak a word,then you will find delight in the Lord, and I will take you up, above the heights of the earth, and I will nourish you with the inheritance of Jacob, your father. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
After these things, the sons of Moab, and the sons of Ammon, and with them some from the Ammonites, gathered together so that they might fight against him.Now therefore, behold the sons of Ammon, and of Moab, and mount Seir, through whose lands you did not permit Israel to cross when they were departing from Egypt. Instead, they turned aside from them, and they did not put them to death.They are doing the contrary, and they are striving to cast us from the possession which you delivered to us.Therefore, will you, our God, not judge them? Certainly, in us there is not enough strength so that we would be able to withstand this multitude, which rushes against us. But although we do not know what we ought to do, we have this alone remaining, that we direct our eyes to you."Truly, all of Judah was standing before the Lord with their little ones and wives and children.But there was Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite from the sons of Asaph, upon whom the Spirit of the Lord went, in the midst of the crowd.And he said: "Pay attention, all of Judah, and you who live in Jerusalem, and you, king Jehoshaphat. Thus says the Lord to you: Do not be afraid. Neither should you be dismayed by this multitude. For the fight is not yours, but God's.Tomorrow, you shall descend against them. For they will ascend along the incline named Ziz, and will find them at the summit of the torrent, which is opposite the wilderness of Jeruel.It will not be you who will fight. Instead, only stand with confidence, and you will see the help of the Lord over you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid. Neither should you be dismayed. Tomorrow you shall go forth against them, and the Lord will be with you."Then Jehoshaphat, and Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell prone on the ground before the Lord, and they adored him.And the Levites from the sons of Kohath, and from the sons of Korah, were praising the Lord, the God of Israel, with a great voice, on high.And messengers arrived and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying: "A great multitude has arrived against you, from those places that are across the sea, and from Syria. And behold, they are standing together at Hazazon-tamar, which is Engedi."And when they had risen up in the morning, they went out through the desert of Tekoa. And as they were setting out, Jehoshaphat, standing in their midst, said: "Listen to me, men of Judah and all inhabitants of Jerusalem. Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be secure. Believe in his prophets, and everything will come to prosperity."And he gave counsel to the people. And he appointed the singing men of the Lord, so that they would praise him by their companies, and so that they would go before the army, and with one voice say: "Confess to the Lord. For his mercy is eternal."And when they had begun to sing praises, the Lord turned their ambushes upon themselves, that is, those of the sons of Ammon, and of Moab, and of mount Seir, who had gone forth so that they might fight against Judah. And they were struck down.For the sons of Ammon and of Moab rose up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, so that they might slay and destroy them. And when they had perpetrated this work, now also turning upon themselves, they cut one another with wounds.Then, when Judah had gone to the high point that looks out toward the desert, they saw, from far away, the entire wide region filled with dead bodies. Neither was there anyone who was left alive and had been able to escape death.Therefore, Jehoshaphat went, and all the people with him, in order to take away the spoils of the dead. And they found, among the dead bodies, diverse equipment, and also garments, and very precious vessels. And they despoiled these, to such an extent that they were unable to carry everything. Neither could they, over three days, take away the spoils because of the magnitude of the plunder.Then, on the fourth day, they were gathered together in the Valley of Blessing. For they had blessed the Lord there, and therefore they called that place the Valley of Blessing, even to the present day.And every man of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, returned, with Jehoshaphat before them, to Jerusalem, with great rejoicing. For the Lord had granted to them gladness concerning their enemies.And they entered into Jerusalem with psalteries, and harps, and trumpets, into the house of the Lord.Then the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands, when they had heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.Then Jehoshaphat, being terrified with fear, gave himself entirely to petitioning the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all of Judah.And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was quiet. And God granted to him peace on all sides.
And Daniel said to Malasar, whom the leader of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,"I beg you to test us, your servants, for ten days, and let roots be given to us to eat and water to drink,
Then, when Ahab had heard these words, he tore his garments, and he put haircloth on his body, and he fasted, and he slept in sackcloth, and he walked with his head downcast.
And they rose up and went to the house of God, that is, to Shiloh. And they consulted God, and they said, "Who shall be, in our army, the first to contend against the sons of Benjamin?" And the Lord responded to them, "Let Judah be your leader."And immediately the sons of Israel, rising up in the morning, made camp near Gibeah.And all the chiefs of the people, and every tribe of Israel, convened as an assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand foot soldiers for battle.And setting out from there to fight against Benjamin, they began to assault the city.And the sons of Benjamin, departing from Gibeah, slew twenty-two thousand men from the sons of Israel, on that day.Again the sons of Israel, trusting in both strength and number, set their troops in order, in the same place where they had contended before.But first they also went up and wept before the Lord, even until night. And they consulted him and said, "Should I continue to go forth, so as to contend against the sons of Benjamin, my brothers, or not?" And he responded to them, "Ascend against them, and undertake the struggle."And when the sons of Israel had continued to do battle against the sons of Benjamin on the next day,the sons of Benjamin burst forth from the gates of Gibeah. And meeting them, they made such a frenzied slaughter against them that they struck down eighteen thousand men who drew the sword.As a result, all the sons of Israel went to the house of God, and sitting down, they wept before the Lord. And they fasted that day until evening, and they offered to him holocausts and victims of peace offerings.
And when he had fasted for forty days and forty nights, afterwards he was hungry.And at once, leaving behind their nets, they followed him.And continuing on from there, he saw another two brothers, James of Zebedee, and his brother John, in a ship with their father Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them.And immediately, leaving their nets and their father behind, they followed him.And Jesus traveled throughout all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every infirmity among the people.And reports of him went out to all of Syria, and they brought to him all those who had maladies, those who were in the grasp of various sicknesses and torments, and those who were in the hold of demons, and the mentally ill, and paralytics. And he cured them.And a great crowd followed him from Galilee, and from the Ten Cities, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from across the Jordan.And approaching, the tempter said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."And in response he said, "It has been written: 'Not by bread alone shall man live, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' "
Sanctify a fast, call an assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of your God. And cry out to the Lord:"Ah, ah, ah, the day!" For the day of the Lord is near, and it will arrive, like a devastation, before the powerful.Has not your nourishment perished from before your eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God?
And they arose to stand. And they read in the volume of the law of the Lord their God, four times in the day, and four times they confessed. And they adored the Lord their God.
And Nathan returned to his own house. And the Lord struck the little one, whom the wife of Uriah had borne to David, and he was despaired of.And David begged the Lord on behalf of the little one. And David fasted strictly, and entering alone, he lay upon the ground.
And the king departed into his house, and he went to bed without eating, and food was not set before him, moreover, even sleep fled from him.Then the king, getting himself up at first light, went quickly to the den of lions.And over these, three leaders, of whom Daniel was one, so that the governors would be accountable to them and the king would have no trouble.And coming near to the den, he cried out with a tearful voice to Daniel and spoke to him. "Daniel, servant of the living God, your God, whom you serve always, do you believe he has prevailed to free you from the lions?"And Daniel, answering the king, said, "O king, live forever.My God has sent his angel, and he has closed the mouths of the lions, and they have not harmed me, because before him justice has been found in me, and, even before you, O king, I have committed no offense."Then was the king exceedingly glad for him, and he commanded that Daniel should be taken out of the den. And Daniel was taken out of the den, and no wound was found in him, because he believed in his God.Moreover, by order of the king, those men were brought who had accused Daniel, and they were cast into the lions' den, they, and their sons, and their wives, and they did not reach the bottom of the den before the lions seized them and crushed all their bones.
for forty days, and he was tested by the devil. And he ate nothing in those days. And when they were completed, he was hungry.
And immediately, it was as if scales had fallen from his eyes, and he received his sight. And rising up, he was baptized.And when he had taken a meal, he was strengthened. Now he was with the disciples who were at Damascus for some days.
And Ezra rose up before the house of God, and he went away to the chamber of Jehohanan, the son of Eliashib, and he entered into it. He did not eat bread, and he did not drink water. For he was mourning the transgression of those who had arrived from the captivity.And a voice was sent into Judah and Jerusalem, to all the sons of the transmigration, so that they would gather together in Jerusalem.And all those who would not arrive within three days, in accord with the counsel of the leaders and the elders, would have all his substance taken away, and he would be cast out of the assembly of the transmigration.
Now, therefore, the Lord says: "Be converted to me with your whole heart, in fasting and weeping and mourning."
In the third year of Cyrus, king of the Persians, a message was revealed to Daniel, called Belteshazzar, and a true word, and great strength. And he understood the message, for understanding is needed in a vision.And behold, a hand touched me, and raised me onto my knees and the knuckles of my hands.And he said to me, "Daniel, man of longing, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand yourself upright, for I am now sent to you." And when he had said these words to me, I stood trembling.And he said to me, "Do not be afraid, Daniel, because from the first day that you set your heart to understand, by afflicting yourself in the sight of your God, your words have been heeded, and I have arrived because of your words.But the leader of the kingdom of the Persians resisted me for twenty-one days, and behold, Michael, one of the primary leaders, came to help me, and I remained there next to the king of the Persians.But I have come to teach you what will happen to your people in the latter days, because the vision is for a long time from now."And while he was speaking words to me in this way, I cast my face down to the ground and was silent.And behold, something in the likeness of a son of man touched my lips. Then, opening my mouth, I spoke and said to him who stood before me, "My lord, at the sight of you, my limbs became weak and no strength has remained in me.And so, how can the servant of my lord speak with my lord? For no strength remains in me; and even my breathing is hindered."Therefore, he who looked like a man, touched me again and strengthened me.And he said, "Fear not, O man of longing. May peace be with you. Take courage and be strong." And when he spoke to me, I recovered, and I said, "Speak, my lord, for you have strengthened me."In those days, I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks of days.And he said, "Do you not know why I have come to you? And next I will return, to fight against the leader of the Persians. When I was leaving, there appeared the leader of the Greeks arriving.But, in truth, I announce to you what is expressed in the scripture of truth. And no one is my helper in all these things, except Michael your leader."I ate no desirable bread, and neither meat, nor wine, entered my mouth, neither was I anointed with ointment, until the three weeks of days were completed.
And one who competes in a contest abstains from all things. And they do this, of course, so that they may achieve a corruptible crown. But we do this, so that we may achieve what is incorruptible.And so I run, but not with uncertainty. And so I fight, but not by flailing in the air.Instead, I chastise my body, so as to redirect it into servitude. Otherwise, I might preach to others, but become myself an outcast.
Let the snare, of which he is ignorant, come upon him, and let the deception, which he has hidden, take hold of him: and may he fall into that very snare.
And I prayed to the Lord, my God, and I confessed, and I said, "I beg you, O Lord God, great and terrible, preserving the covenant and mercy for those who love you and keep your commandments.We have sinned, we have committed iniquity, we acted impiously and have withdrawn, and we have turned aside from your commandments as well as your judgments.We have not obeyed your servants, the prophets, who have spoken in your name to our kings, our leaders, our fathers, and all the people of the land.
But they said to him, "Why do the disciples of John fast frequently, and make supplications, and those of the Pharisees act similarly, while yours eat and drink?"