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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.
Moreouer, when yee fast, be not as the Hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appeare vnto men to fast: Uerily I say vnto you, they haue their reward.But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face:That thou appeare not vnto men to fast, but vnto thy father which is in secret: and thy father which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
Is not this the fast that I haue chosen? to loose the bandes of wickednesse, to vndoe the heauie burdens, and to let the oppressed goe free, and that ye breake euery yoke?Is it not, to deale thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poore that are cast out, to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou couer him, and that thou hide not thy selfe from thine owne flesh?
Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turne yee euen to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning.And rent your heart and not your garments; and turne vnto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and mercifull, slow to anger, and of great kindnesse, and repenteth him of the euill.
And I set my face vnto the Lord God to seeke by prayer, and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes.
As they ministred to the Lord, and fasted, the holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul, for the worke whereunto I haue called them.And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their handes on them, they sent them away.
So the people of Nineueh beleeued God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackecloth from the greatest of them euen to the least of them.For word came vnto the King of Nineueh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him and couered him with sackcloth, & sate in ashes.And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineueh (by the decree of the King and his nobles) saying; Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flocke taste any thing; let them not feede, nor drinke water.But let man and beast be couered with sackecloth, and cry mightily vnto God: yea, let them turne euery one from his euill way, and from the violence that is in their hands.Who can tell if God will turne and repent, and turne away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?And God saw their workes, that they turned from their euill way, and God repented of the euill that hee had sayd, that he would doe vnto them, and he did it not.
Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the riuer Ahaua, that we might afflict our selues before our God, to seeke of him a right way for vs, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of souldiers and horsmen, to helpe vs against the enemie in the way: because wee had spoken vnto the king, saying, The hand of our God is vpon all them for good, that seeke him, but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.So we fasted, and besought our God for this, and hee was intreated of vs.
And Iehoshaphat feared, and set himselfe to seeke the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Iudah.And Iudah gathered themselues together, to aske helpe of the Lord: euen out of all the cities of Iudah they came to seeke the Lord.
And it came to passe when I heard these words, that I sate downe and wept, and mourned certaine dayes, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heauen,
And Iesus being full of the holy Ghost, returned from Iordane, and was led by the spirit into the wildernesse,Being fourtie dayes tempted of the deuil, and in those dayes he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungred.
And hee was there with the Lord forty dayes and forty nights: he did neither eat bread, nor drinke water; and he wrote vpon the Tables the words of the couenant, the ten Commandements.
And when they had ordeined them Elders in euery Church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they beleeued.
But as for me, when they were sicke, my clothing was sack-cloth: I humbled my soule with fasting, and my prayer returned into mine owne bosome.I behaued my selfe as though he had bene my friend, or brother: I bowed downe heauily, as one that mourneth for his mother.
And it came to passe when Ahab heard those wordes, that hee rent his clothes, and put sackecloth vpon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.And the word of the Lord came to Eliiah the Tishbite, saying,Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himselfe before mee? because hee humbleth himselfe before mee, I will not bring the euill in his dayes: but in his sonnes dayes will I bring the euill vpon his house.
Then came to him the disciples of Iohn, saying, Why doe we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?And Iesus saide vnto them, Can the children of the bride-chamber mourne, as long as the bridegrome is with them? But the dayes will come when the bridegrome shall bee taken from them, and then shall they fast.
In those dayes, I Daniel was mourning three full weekes.I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh, nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoynt my selfe at all, till three whole weekes were fulfilled.
Wherefore haue wee fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore haue wee afflicted our soule, & thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, and exact all your labours.Behold, yee fast for strife and debate; and to smite with the fist of wickednesse, yee shall not fast as yee doe this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.Is it such a fast that I haue chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soule? Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackecloth and ashes vnder him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord ?
Now in the twentie and fourth day of this moneth, the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, & with sackclothes, and earth vpon them.And the seede of Israel separated themselues from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sinnes, and the iniquities of their fathers.
Speake vnto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fift and seuenth moneth, euen those seuenty yeeres; did ye at all fast vnto me, euen to me?
And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and powred it out before the Lord, and fasted on that day, and said there, We haue sinned against the Lord. And Samuel iudged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.
Defraud you not one the other, except it bee with consent for a time, that yee may giue your selues to fasting and prayer, and come together againe, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinencie.
Dauid therfore besought God for the childe, and Dauid fasted, and went in, and lay all night vpon the earth.
Goe, gather together all the Iewes that are present in Shushan, and fast yee for me, and neither eate nor drinke three dayes, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise, and so will I goe in vnto the king, which is not according to the Law, and if I perish, I perish.
Sanctifie yee a fast: call a solemne assembly: gather the Elders, and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry vnto the Lord:
Then all the children of Israel, and all the people went vp, and came vnto the house of God, and wept, and sate there before the Lord, and fasted that day vntill Euen, and offered burnt offerings, and peace offerings before the Lord.
And hee arose, and did eate and drinke, and went in the strength of that meate fourtie dayes and fourtie nights, vnto Horeb the mount of God.
And Cornelius said, Foure daies agoe I was fasting vntill this houre, and at the ninth houre I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine almes are had in remembrance in the sight of God.
Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musicke brought before him, and his sleepe went from him.
So the people of Nineueh beleeued God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackecloth from the greatest of them euen to the least of them.
That thou appeare not vnto men to fast, but vnto thy father which is in secret: and thy father which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
When they fast I will not heare their crie, and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation I wil not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.
Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The fast of the fourth moneth, and the fast of the fift, and the fast of the seuenth, and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Iudah ioy and gladnesse, and cheerefull feasts: therefore loue the trueth and peace.
But as for me, when they were sicke, my clothing was sack-cloth: I humbled my soule with fasting, and my prayer returned into mine owne bosome.
Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctifie a fast, call a solemne assembly.Gather the people: sanctifie the congregation: assemble the elders: gather the children, and those that sucke the breasts: let the bridegroome goe forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
But I keepe vnder my body, and bring it into subiection: lest that by any meanes when I haue preached to others, I my selfe should be a castaway.
And it came to passe when I heard these words, that I sate downe and wept, and mourned certaine dayes, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heauen,And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heauen, the great and terrible God, that keepeth couenant and mercie for them that loue him, and obserue his commandements:Let thine eare now be attentiue, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest heare the prayer of thy seruant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy seruants, and confesse the sinnes of the children of Israel, which wee haue sinned against thee: both I, and my fathers house haue sinned.
And as he did so yeere by yeere, when she went vp to the house of the Lord, so she prouoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieued? Am not I better to thee, then ten sonnes?
As they ministred to the Lord, and fasted, the holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul, for the worke whereunto I haue called them.
And she was a widow of about fourescore and foure yeeres, which departed not from the Temple, but serued God with fastings and prayers night and day.
And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaime a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people:
And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sinne, and the sinne of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God, for the holy Mountaine of my God:Yea whiles I was speaking in praier, euen the man Gabriel, whom I had seene in the vision at the beginning, being caused to flie swiftly, touched me about the time of the euening oblation.And he informed mee, and talked with mee, and said; O Daniel, I am now come foorth to giue thee skill and vnderstanding.At the beginning of thy supplications the commandement came forth, and I am come to shew thee: for thou art greatly beloued: therefore vnderstand the matter, & consider the vision.
And they mourned and wept, and fasted vntill Euen, for Saul and for Ionathan his sonne, and for the people of the Lord, and for the house of Israel, because they were fallen by the sword.
Then all the children of Israel, and all the people went vp, and came vnto the house of God, and wept, and sate there before the Lord, and fasted that day vntill Euen, and offered burnt offerings, and peace offerings before the Lord.And the children of Israel enquired of the Lord, (for the Arke of ye couenant of God was there in those daies,And Phinehas the sonne of Eleazar the sonne of Aaron stood before it in those dayes.) saying; Shall I yet againe goe out to battel against the children of Beniamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the Lord said, Goe vp; for to morrow I will deliuer them into thine hand.
Sanctifie yee a fast: call a solemne assembly: gather the Elders, and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry vnto the Lord:Alas for the day: for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almightie shall it come.
But the dayes will come, when the Bridegrome shall bee taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those dayes.
To confirme these dayes of Purim, in their times appointed, according as Mordecai the Iew, and Esther the Queene had enioyned them, and as they had decreed for themselues and for their seed, the matters of the fastings and their cry.
Crie aloude, spare not, lift vp thy voice like a trumpet, and shewe my people their transgression, & the house of Iacob their sins.Yet they seeke mee daily, and delight to know my wayes, as a nation that did righteousnesse, and forsooke not the ordinance of their God: they aske of me the ordinances of iustice: they take delight in approching to God.Wherefore haue wee fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore haue wee afflicted our soule, & thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, and exact all your labours.Behold, yee fast for strife and debate; and to smite with the fist of wickednesse, yee shall not fast as yee doe this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.Is it such a fast that I haue chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soule? Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackecloth and ashes vnder him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord ?Is not this the fast that I haue chosen? to loose the bandes of wickednesse, to vndoe the heauie burdens, and to let the oppressed goe free, and that ye breake euery yoke?Is it not, to deale thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poore that are cast out, to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou couer him, and that thou hide not thy selfe from thine owne flesh?Then shall thy light breake foorth as the morning, and thine health shall spring foorth speedily: and thy righteousnesse shall goe before thee, the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward.Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answere; thou shalt cry, and he shal say, Here I am: if thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanitie:
Then was Iesus led vp of the Spirit into the wildernesse, to bee tempted of the deuill.And when hee had fasted forty dayes and forty nights, hee was afterward an hungred.And when the tempter came to him, hee said, If thou be the sonne of God, command that these stones bee made bread.But he answered, and said, It is written, Man shall not liue by bread alone, but by euery word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
If my people which are called by my Name, shall humble themselues and pray, and seeke my face, and turne from their wicked wayes: then will I heare from heauen, and will forgiue their sinne, and will heale their land.
And while the day was comming on, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye haue taried, and continued fasting, hauing taken nothing.Wherefore, I pray you to take some meat, for this is for your health: for there shall not an haire fall from the head of any of you.
Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musicke brought before him, and his sleepe went from him.Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste vnto the den of Lyons.And when he came to the den, he cryed with a lamentable voice vnto Daniel, and the king spake and said to Daniel: O Daniel, seruant of the liuing God, Is thy God whom thou seruest continually, able to deliuer thee from the Lyons?
And Iesus saide vnto them, Can the children of the bride-chamber mourne, as long as the bridegrome is with them? But the dayes will come when the bridegrome shall bee taken from them, and then shall they fast.
For the zeale of thine house hath eaten mee vp; and the reproches of them that reproched thee, are fallen vpon me.When I wept, and chastened my soule with fasting, that was to my reproch.
And it came to passe in the fifth yeere of Iehoiakim the sonne of Iosiah king of Iudah, in the ninth moneth, that they proclaimed a fast before the Lord to all the people in Ierusalem, & to all the people that came from the cities of Iudah vnto Ierusalem.
For word came vnto the King of Nineueh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him and couered him with sackcloth, & sate in ashes.And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineueh (by the decree of the King and his nobles) saying; Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flocke taste any thing; let them not feede, nor drinke water.But let man and beast be couered with sackecloth, and cry mightily vnto God: yea, let them turne euery one from his euill way, and from the violence that is in their hands.Who can tell if God will turne and repent, and turne away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
Then Ezra rose vp from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Iohanan, the sonne of Eliashib: and when hee came thither, hee did eate no bread, nor drinke water: for hee mourned because of the transgression of them that had bene caried away.
And they tooke their bones, and buried them vnder a tree at Iabesh, and fasted seuen dayes.
Now in the twentie and fourth day of this moneth, the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, & with sackclothes, and earth vpon them.And the seede of Israel separated themselues from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sinnes, and the iniquities of their fathers.And they stood vp in their place, and read in the booke of the Law of the Lord their God, one fourth part of the day, and another fourth part they confessed and worshipped the Lord their God.
In wearinesse and painfulnesse, in watchings often, in hunger & thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakednes.
When I was gone vp into the mount, to receiue the Tables of stone, euen the Tables of the Couenant which the Lord made with you, then I abode in the mount fortie dayes, and fortie nights, I neither did eate bread, nor drinke water:
Then all the children of Israel, and all the people went vp, and came vnto the house of God, and wept, and sate there before the Lord, and fasted that day vntill Euen, and offered burnt offerings, and peace offerings before the Lord.And the children of Israel enquired of the Lord, (for the Arke of ye couenant of God was there in those daies,
And the men of Israel were distressed that day; for Saul had adiured the people, saying, Cursed bee the man that eateth any foode vntill euening, that I may be auenged on mine enemies: so none of the people tasted any food.
Moreouer, when yee fast, be not as the Hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appeare vnto men to fast: Uerily I say vnto you, they haue their reward.
I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh, nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoynt my selfe at all, till three whole weekes were fulfilled.
But do thou for me, O God the Lord, for thy Names sake: because thy mercie is good: deliuer thou me.For I am poore and needie: and my heart is wounded within me.I am gone like the shadow, when it declineth: I am tossed vp and downe as the locust.My knees are weake through fasting: and my flesh faileth of fatnesse.
Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the riuer Ahaua, that we might afflict our selues before our God, to seeke of him a right way for vs, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.
But let man and beast be couered with sackecloth, and cry mightily vnto God: yea, let them turne euery one from his euill way, and from the violence that is in their hands.
And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gate him vp into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty dayes, and forty nights.
Then came to him the disciples of Iohn, saying, Why doe we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?And Iesus saide vnto them, Can the children of the bride-chamber mourne, as long as the bridegrome is with them? But the dayes will come when the bridegrome shall bee taken from them, and then shall they fast.No man putteth a piece of new cloth vnto an olde garment: for that which is put in to fill it vp, taketh from the garment, & the rent is made worse.Neither doe men put new wine into old bottels: else the bottels breake, and the wine runneth out, and the bottels perish: but they put new wine into new bottels, and both are preserued.
And in euery prouince, whithersoeuer the kings commaundement, and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Iewes, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing, and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
And Iehoshaphat feared, and set himselfe to seeke the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Iudah.
Is not this the fast that I haue chosen? to loose the bandes of wickednesse, to vndoe the heauie burdens, and to let the oppressed goe free, and that ye breake euery yoke?Is it not, to deale thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poore that are cast out, to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou couer him, and that thou hide not thy selfe from thine owne flesh?Then shall thy light breake foorth as the morning, and thine health shall spring foorth speedily: and thy righteousnesse shall goe before thee, the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward.Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answere; thou shalt cry, and he shal say, Here I am: if thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanitie:And if thou draw out thy soule to the hungry, and satisfie the afflicted soule: then shall thy light rise in obscuritie, and thy darkenesse be as the noone day.And the Lord shal guide thee continually, and satisfie thy soule in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters faile not.And they that shall be of thee, shall builde the olde waste places: thou shalt raise vp the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in.
And it came to passe when I heard these words, that I sate downe and wept, and mourned certaine dayes, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heauen,And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heauen, the great and terrible God, that keepeth couenant and mercie for them that loue him, and obserue his commandements:Let thine eare now be attentiue, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest heare the prayer of thy seruant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy seruants, and confesse the sinnes of the children of Israel, which wee haue sinned against thee: both I, and my fathers house haue sinned.We haue dealt very corruptly against thee, and haue not kept the commandements, nor the statutes, nor the iudgements, which thou commandedst thy seruant Moses.Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy seruant Moses, saying, If yee transgresse, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:But if ye turne vnto me, and keepe my commandements, and doe them: though there were of you cast out vnto the vttermost part of the heauen, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them vnto the place that I haue chosen, to set my Name there.Now these are thy seruants, and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine eare be attentiue to the prayer of thy seruant, and to the prayer of thy seruants, who desire to feare thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy seruant this day, and grant him mercie in the sight of this man. For I was the kings cup-bearer.
Proue thy seruants, I beseech thee, ten dayes, and let them giue pulse to eat, and water to drinke.
And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and powred it out before the Lord, and fasted on that day, and said there, We haue sinned against the Lord. And Samuel iudged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went vp against Israel: and when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines.And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to crie vnto the Lord our God for vs, that he will saue vs out of the hand of the Philistines.
And at the euening sacrifice, I arose vp from my heauinesse, and hauing rent my garment and my mantle, I fell vpon my knees, and spread out my hands vnto the Lord my God,
And Cornelius said, Foure daies agoe I was fasting vntill this houre, and at the ninth houre I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,
And the man of God said vnto the king, If thou wilt giue mee halfe thine house, I will not goe in with thee, neither will I eat bread, nor drinke water in this place:For so was it charged mee by the word of the Lord, saying, Eate no bread, nor drinke water, nor turne again by the same way that thou camest.
Then sayd hee vnto me; Feare not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou diddest set thine heart to vnderstand, and to chasten thy selfe before thy God, thy wordes were heard, and I am come for thy words.But the prince of the kingdome of Persia withstood mee one and twentie dayes: but loe, Michael one of the chiefe Princes came to helpe mee, and I remained there with the Kings of Persia.
[To the chiefe Musician, Maschil, for the sonnes of Korah.] As the Hart panteth after the water brookes, so panteth my soule after thee, O God.My soule thirsteth for God, for the liuing God: when shall I come and appeare before God?
And I gathered them together to the riuer, that runneth to Ahaua, and there abode wee in tents three dayes: and I viewed the people, and the Priests, and found there none of the sonnes of Leui.Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Iarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chiefe men; also for Iarib, and for Elnathan, men of vnderstanding.And I sent them with commandement vnto Iddo the chiefe at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say vnto Iddo, and to his brethren the Nethinims, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring vnto vs ministers for the house of our God.And by the good hand of our God vpon vs, they brought vs a man of vnderstanding, of the sonnes of Mahli the sonne of Leui, the sonne of Israel, and Sherebiah, with his sonnes, and his brethren, eighteene.And Hashabiah, and with him Ieshaiah of the sonnes of Merari, his brethren, and their sonnes, twentie.Also of the Nethinims, whom Dauid, and the Princes had appointed for the seruice of the Leuites, two hundred and twentie Nethinims: all of them were expressed by name.Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the riuer Ahaua, that we might afflict our selues before our God, to seeke of him a right way for vs, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of souldiers and horsmen, to helpe vs against the enemie in the way: because wee had spoken vnto the king, saying, The hand of our God is vpon all them for good, that seeke him, but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.So we fasted, and besought our God for this, and hee was intreated of vs.
Then was Iesus led vp of the Spirit into the wildernesse, to bee tempted of the deuill.And when hee had fasted forty dayes and forty nights, hee was afterward an hungred.And when the tempter came to him, hee said, If thou be the sonne of God, command that these stones bee made bread.But he answered, and said, It is written, Man shall not liue by bread alone, but by euery word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.Then the deuill taketh him vp into the holy Citie, and setteth him on a pinacle of the Temple,And saith vnto him, If thou bee the Sonne of God, cast thy selfe downe: For it is written, He shall giue his Angels charge concerning thee, & in their handes they shall beare thee vp, lest at any time thou dash thy foote against a stone.Iesus said vnto him, It is written againe, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.Againe the Deuill taketh him vp into an exceeding high mountaine, and sheweth him all the kingdomes of the world, and the glory of them:And saith vnto him, All these things will I giue thee, if thou wilt fall downe and worship me.Then saith Iesus vnto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him onely shalt thou serue.Then the deuill leaueth him, and behold, Angels came and ministred vnto him.
And they said vnto him, Why doe the disciples of Iohn fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees: but thine eat and drinke?And he said vnto them, Can yee make the children of the Bride-chamber fast, while the Bridegrome is with them?But the dayes will come, when the Bridegrome shall bee taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those dayes.
And the children of Israel enquired of the Lord, (for the Arke of ye couenant of God was there in those daies,And Phinehas the sonne of Eleazar the sonne of Aaron stood before it in those dayes.) saying; Shall I yet againe goe out to battel against the children of Beniamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the Lord said, Goe vp; for to morrow I will deliuer them into thine hand.
In the first yeere of Darius the sonne of Ahasuerus, of the seede of the Medes, which was made King ouer the realme of the Caldeans,In the first yeere of his reigne, I Daniel vnderstood by bookes the number of the yeeres, whereof the word of the Lord came to Ieremiah the Prophet, that he would accomplish seuentie yeeres in the desolations of Ierusalem.And I set my face vnto the Lord God to seeke by prayer, and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes.
And Nathan departed vnto his house: and the Lord strake the childe that Uriahs wife bare vnto Dauid, and it was very sicke.Dauid therfore besought God for the childe, and Dauid fasted, and went in, and lay all night vpon the earth.And the Elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him vp from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eate bread with them.And it came to passe on the seuenth day, that the childe died: and the seruants of Dauid feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they saide, Behold, while the childe was yet aliue, we spake vnto him, and he would not hearken vnto our voice: how will he then vexe himselfe, if we tell him that the childe is dead?But when Dauid saw that his seruants whispered, Dauid perceiued that the childe was dead: therefore Dauid said vnto his seruants, Is the child dead? and they said, He is dead.Then Dauid arose from the earth and washed, and anointed himselfe, and changed his apparell, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped: then hee came to his owne house, and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eate.Then said his seruants vnto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weepe for the childe, while it was aliue, but when the childe was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.And he said, While the child was yet aliue, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell, whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may liue?But now hee is dead, Wherefore should I fast? Can I bring him backe againe? I shall goe to him, but he shall not returne to me.
Gird your selues, and lament, yee Priests: howle, ye ministers of the Altar: come, lie all night in sackecloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drinke offering is withholden from the house of your God.Sanctifie yee a fast: call a solemne assembly: gather the Elders, and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry vnto the Lord:
And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heauen, the great and terrible God, that keepeth couenant and mercie for them that loue him, and obserue his commandements:Let thine eare now be attentiue, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest heare the prayer of thy seruant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy seruants, and confesse the sinnes of the children of Israel, which wee haue sinned against thee: both I, and my fathers house haue sinned.We haue dealt very corruptly against thee, and haue not kept the commandements, nor the statutes, nor the iudgements, which thou commandedst thy seruant Moses.Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy seruant Moses, saying, If yee transgresse, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:But if ye turne vnto me, and keepe my commandements, and doe them: though there were of you cast out vnto the vttermost part of the heauen, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them vnto the place that I haue chosen, to set my Name there.Now these are thy seruants, and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine eare be attentiue to the prayer of thy seruant, and to the prayer of thy seruants, who desire to feare thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy seruant this day, and grant him mercie in the sight of this man. For I was the kings cup-bearer.
When I wept, and chastened my soule with fasting, that was to my reproch.I made sackecloth also my garment: & I became a prouerbe to them.
And if thou draw out thy soule to the hungry, and satisfie the afflicted soule: then shall thy light rise in obscuritie, and thy darkenesse be as the noone day.And the Lord shal guide thee continually, and satisfie thy soule in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters faile not.
But Daniel purposed in his heart, that he would not defile himselfe with the portion of the kings meat, nor with the wine which he dranke: therefore hee requested of the Prince of the Eunuches, that hee might not defile himselfe.Now God had brought Daniel into fauour and tender loue with the Prince of the Eunuches.And the Prince of the Eunuches said vnto Daniel, I feare my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat, and your drinke: for why should he see your faces worse liking then the children which are of your sort? then shall yee make mee indanger my head to the King.Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the Prince of the Eunuches had set ouer Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,Proue thy seruants, I beseech thee, ten dayes, and let them giue pulse to eat, and water to drinke.Then let our countenances be looked vpon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the Kings meate: and as thou seest, deale with thy seruants.So hee consented to them in this matter, and proued them ten dayes.And at the end often dayes, their countenances appeared fairer, and fatter in flesh, then all the children, which did eate the portion of the kings meat.Thus Melzar tooke away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink: and gaue them pulse.
But thou when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy doore, pray to thy father which is in secret, and thy father which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
And I gathered them together to the riuer, that runneth to Ahaua, and there abode wee in tents three dayes: and I viewed the people, and the Priests, and found there none of the sonnes of Leui.
And Dauid said to Abiathar the Priest Ahimelechs sonne, I pray thee, bring mee hither the Ephod: and Abiathar brought thither the Ephod to Dauid.And Dauid enquired at the Lord, saying; Shall I pursue after this troupe? shall I ouertake them? And he answered him, Pursue, for thou shalt surely ouertake them, and without faile recouer all.
[A Psalme of Dauid, when hee was in the wildernesse of Iudah.] O God, thou art my God, earely will I seeke thee: my soule thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee, in a drie and thirstie lande, where no water is:To see thy power and thy glory, so as I haue seen thee in the Sanctuary.Because thy louing kindnes is better then life: my lips shal praise thee.Thus will I blesse thee, while I liue: I will lift vp my handes in thy Name.My soule shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatnesse: and my mouth shall praise thee with ioyfull lips:
And he prayed vnto the Lord, and sayd, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my countrey? Therefore I fledde before vnto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and mercifull, slow to anger, and of great kindnesse, and repentest thee of the euill.
O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.O feare the Lord yee his Saints: for there is no want to them that feare him.The young lyons doe lacke, and suffer hunger: but they that seeke the Lord, shall not want any good thing.
My soule longeth, yea euen fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh cryeth out for the liuing God.
Oh that men would praise the Lord, for his goodnesse: and for his wonderfull workes to the children of men.For he satisfieth the longing soule: and filleth the hungry soule with goodnesse.
And there was one Anna a Prophetesse, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser; she was of a great age, and had liued with an husband seuen yeeres from her virginitie.And she was a widow of about fourescore and foure yeeres, which departed not from the Temple, but serued God with fastings and prayers night and day.
Then hee sayd vnto them, Goe your way, eat the fat, & drinke the sweet, and send portions vnto them, for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy vnto our Lord: neither be ye sory, for the ioy of the Lord is your strength.
Then will the Lord be iealous for his land, and pitie his people.Yea the Lord will answere and say vnto his people; Behold, I will send you corne and wine, and oyle, and yee shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproch among the heathen.
And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters vnto all the Iewes, that were in all the prouinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh & farre,To stablish this among them, that they should keepe the fourteenth day of the moneth Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yeerely:As the dayes wherein the Iewes rested from their enemies, & the moneth which was turned vnto them, from sorrow to ioy, and from mourning into a good day: that they should make them daies of feasting and ioy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poore.
Nowe there were in the Church that was at Antioch, certaine Prophets and teachers: as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had bene brought vp with Herod the Tetrarch, and Saul.As they ministred to the Lord, and fasted, the holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul, for the worke whereunto I haue called them.And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their handes on them, they sent them away.
If thou turne away thy foote from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my Holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable, and shalt honour him, not doing thine owne wayes, nor finding thine owne pleasure, nor speaking thine owne wordes:Then shalt thou delight thy selfe in the Lord, and I will cause thee to ride vpon the high places of the earth, and feede thee with the heritage of Iacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
It came to passe after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them, other beside the Ammonites, came against Iehoshaphat to battell.Then there came some that tolde Iehoshaphat, saying, There commeth a great multitude against thee from beyond the Sea on this side Syria, and behold, they bee in Hazazon-Tamar, which is En-gedi.And Iehoshaphat feared, and set himselfe to seeke the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Iudah.And Iudah gathered themselues together, to aske helpe of the Lord: euen out of all the cities of Iudah they came to seeke the Lord.And Iehoshaphat stood in the Congregation of Iudah and Ierusalem, in the house of the Lord before the new Court,And said, O Lord God of our fathers, art not thou God in heauen? and rulest not thou ouer all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?Art not thou our God, who didst driue out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gauest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for euer?And they dwelt therein, and haue built thee a Sanctuarie therein for thy Name, saying,If, when euill commeth vpon vs, as the sword, iudgement, or pestilence, or famine, wee stand before this house, and in thy presence (for thy Name is in this house) and cry vnto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt heare & helpe.And now behold, the children of Ammon, and Moab, and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel inuade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not:Beholde, I say, how they reward vs, to come to cast vs out of thy possession, which thou hast giuen vs to inherit.O our God, wilt thou not iudge them? for wee haue no might against this great company that commeth against vs? neither know wee what to doe; but our eyes are vpon thee.And all Iudah stood before the Lord, with their litle ones, their wiues and their children.Then vpon Iahaziel the sonne of Zechariah, the sonne of Benaiah, the sonne of Iehiel, the sonne of Mattaniah, a Leuite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the Congregation:And he said, Hearken yee, all Iudah, and ye inhabitants of Ierusalem, and thou king Iehoshaphat, Thus sayth the Lord vnto you; Be not afraid, nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battell is not yours, but Gods.To morrow goe ye downe against them: behold, they come vp by the cliffe of Ziz, and ye shall finde them at the end of the brooke, before the wildernesse of Ieruel.Yee shall not neede to fight in this battell; set your selues, stand yee still, and see the saluation of the Lord with you, O Iudah and Ierusalem: feare not, nor be dismayed; to morow goe out against them, for the Lord will bee with you.And Iehoshaphat bowed his head, with his face to the ground: and all Iudah, and the inhabitants of Ierusalem, fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord.And the Leuites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood vp to praise the Lord God of Israel, with a loude voice on high.And they rose early in the morning, and went foorth into the wildernesse of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Iehoshaphat stood and said, Heare me, O Iudah, and yee inhabitants of Ierusalem; Beleeue in the Lord your God, so shall you be established; beleeue his Prophets, so shall yee prosper.And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed Singers vnto the Lord, and that should praise the beautie of holinesse, as they went out before the armie; and to say, Praise the Lord, for his mercy endureth for euer.And when they beganne to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Iudah, and they were smitten.For the children of Ammon and Moab, stood vp against the inhabitants of mount Seir, vtterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, euery one helped to destroy another.And when Iudah came toward the watch-tower in the wildernesse, they looked vnto the multitude, and behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.And when Iehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoile of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious iewels (which they stript off for themselues) more then they could cary away: and they were three dayes in gathering of the spoile, it was so much.And on the fourth day they assembled themselues in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the Lord: therfore the name of the same place was called the valley of Berachah vnto this day.Then they returned, euery man of Iudah and Ierusalem, and Iehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go againe to Ierusalem with ioy: for the Lord had made them to reioyce ouer their enemies.And they came to Ierusalem with Psalteries, and harpes, and trumpets, vnto the house of the Lord.And the feare of God was on all the kingdoms of those countreys, when they had heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel.So the Realme of Iehoshaphat was quiet; for his God gaue him rest round about.
Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the Prince of the Eunuches had set ouer Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,Proue thy seruants, I beseech thee, ten dayes, and let them giue pulse to eat, and water to drinke.
And it came to passe when Ahab heard those wordes, that hee rent his clothes, and put sackecloth vpon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
And the children of Israel arose, and went vp to the house of God, and asked counsell of God, and saide, Which of vs shall goe vp first to the battell against the children of Beniamin? And the Lord said, Iudah shall goe vp first.And the children of Israel rose vp in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah.And the men of Israel went out to battell against Beniamin, and the men of Israel put themselues in aray to fight against them at Gibeah.And the children of Beniamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroied downe to the ground of the Israelites that day, twenty & two thousand men.And the people the men of Israel incouraged themselues, & set their battel againe in aray, in the place where they put themselues in aray the first day.(And the children of Israel went vp and wept before the Lord vntill Euen, and asked counsel of the Lord, saying, Shall I goe vp againe to battell against the children of Beniamin my brother? And the Lord saide, Goe vp against him.)And the children of Israel came neere against the children of Beniamin, the second day.And Beniamin went foorth against them out of Gibeah the second day, & destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel againe, eighteene thousand men, all these drew the sword.Then all the children of Israel, and all the people went vp, and came vnto the house of God, and wept, and sate there before the Lord, and fasted that day vntill Euen, and offered burnt offerings, and peace offerings before the Lord.
And when hee had fasted forty dayes and forty nights, hee was afterward an hungred.And when the tempter came to him, hee said, If thou be the sonne of God, command that these stones bee made bread.But he answered, and said, It is written, Man shall not liue by bread alone, but by euery word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answere; thou shalt cry, and he shal say, Here I am: if thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanitie:And if thou draw out thy soule to the hungry, and satisfie the afflicted soule: then shall thy light rise in obscuritie, and thy darkenesse be as the noone day.
Sanctifie yee a fast: call a solemne assembly: gather the Elders, and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry vnto the Lord:Alas for the day: for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almightie shall it come.Is not the meate cut off before your eyes, yea ioy and gladnesse from the house of our God?
And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineueh (by the decree of the King and his nobles) saying; Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flocke taste any thing; let them not feede, nor drinke water.But let man and beast be couered with sackecloth, and cry mightily vnto God: yea, let them turne euery one from his euill way, and from the violence that is in their hands.Who can tell if God will turne and repent, and turne away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?And God saw their workes, that they turned from their euill way, and God repented of the euill that hee had sayd, that he would doe vnto them, and he did it not.
And they stood vp in their place, and read in the booke of the Law of the Lord their God, one fourth part of the day, and another fourth part they confessed and worshipped the Lord their God.
And Nathan departed vnto his house: and the Lord strake the childe that Uriahs wife bare vnto Dauid, and it was very sicke.Dauid therfore besought God for the childe, and Dauid fasted, and went in, and lay all night vpon the earth.
Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musicke brought before him, and his sleepe went from him.Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste vnto the den of Lyons.And when he came to the den, he cryed with a lamentable voice vnto Daniel, and the king spake and said to Daniel: O Daniel, seruant of the liuing God, Is thy God whom thou seruest continually, able to deliuer thee from the Lyons?Then said Daniel vnto the king, O king, liue for euer.My God hath sent his Angel, and hath shut the lyons mouthes that they haue not hurt me: forasmuch as before him, innocencie was found in me; and also before thee, O king, haue I done no hurt.Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel vp out of the denne: so Daniel was taken vp out of the den, and no maner of hurt was found vpon him, because he beleeued in his God.And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of Lyons, them, their children, and their wiues: and the Lyons had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or euer they came at the bottome of the den.
Being fourtie dayes tempted of the deuil, and in those dayes he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungred.
And immediatly there fell from his eyes as it had bene scales, and he receiued sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.And when hee had receiued meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certaine dayes with the disciples which were at Damascus.
Then Ezra rose vp from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Iohanan, the sonne of Eliashib: and when hee came thither, hee did eate no bread, nor drinke water: for hee mourned because of the transgression of them that had bene caried away.And they made Proclamation throughout Iudah and Ierusalem, vnto all the children of the captiuitie, that they should gather themselues together vnto Ierusalem;And that whosoeuer would not come within three dayes, according to the counsell of the Princes, and the Elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himselfe separated from the congregation of those that had beene caried away.
Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turne yee euen to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning.
In the third yere of Cyrus King of Persia, a thing was reuealed vnto Daniel (whose name was called Belteshazzar) and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long, and he vnderstood the thing, and had vnderstanding of the vision.In those dayes, I Daniel was mourning three full weekes.I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh, nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoynt my selfe at all, till three whole weekes were fulfilled.
And euery man that striueth for the masterie, is temperate in all things: Now they doe it to obtaine a corruptible crowne, but we an incorruptible.I therefore so runne, not as vncertainely: so fight I, not as one that beateth the ayre:But I keepe vnder my body, and bring it into subiection: lest that by any meanes when I haue preached to others, I my selfe should be a castaway.
[A Psalme of Dauid, when hee was in the wildernesse of Iudah.] O God, thou art my God, earely will I seeke thee: my soule thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee, in a drie and thirstie lande, where no water is:
And I prayed vnto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said; O Lord, the great and dreadfull God, keeping the couenant, and mercy to them that loue him, and to them that keepe his Commandements:We haue sinned, and haue committed iniquitie, and haue done wickedly, and haue rebelled, euen by departing from thy precepts, and from thy iudgements.Neither haue we hearkened vnto thy seruants the Prophets, which spake in thy Name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
And they said vnto him, Why doe the disciples of Iohn fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees: but thine eat and drinke?