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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.
“Whenever you fast, do not be sullen like the hypocrites, for they make their faces unrecognizable in order that they may be seen fasting by people. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward in full!But when you are fasting, put olive oil on your head and wash your faceso that you will not be seen by people as fasting, but to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Is this not the fast I choose: to release the bonds of injustice, to untie the ropes of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and tear every yoke to pieces?Is it not to break your bread for the hungry? You must bring home the poor, the homeless. When you see the naked, you must cover him, and you must not hide yourself from your relatives.
“And even now,” declares Yahweh, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, and weeping, and wailing.”Rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to Yahweh your God, because he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and great in loyal love, and relenting from harm.
Then I turned my face to the Lord God to seek him by prayer and pleas for mercy, in fasting and in sackcloth and ashes.
And while they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart now for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”This took about four hundred and fifty years. And after these things, he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.And then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.And after removing him, he raised up David for their king, about whom he also said, testifying, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse to be a man in accordance with my heart, who will carry out all my will.’From the descendants of this man, according to his promise, God brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus.Before his coming John had publicly proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.But while John was completing his mission, he said, ‘What do you suppose me to be? I am not he! But behold, one is coming after me of whom I am not worthy to untie the sandals of his feet!’“Men and brothers, sons of the family of Abraham and those among you who fear God—to us the message of this salvation has been sent!For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize this one, and the voices of the prophets that are read on every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him.And although they found no charge worthy of death, they asked Pilate that he be executed.And when they had carried out all the things that were written about him, they took him down from the tree and placed him in a tomb.Then, after they had fasted and prayed and placed their hands on them, they sent them away.
I proclaimed a fast there at the river Ahava to humble ourselves before our God in order to seek from him a safe journey for us, our children, and our possessions.For I was ashamed to ask the king for troops and horses to protect us from enemies on the way because we said to the king, “the hand of our God is favorable to all who seek him, but his strength and anger are against all who forsake them.”So we fasted and sought our God for this and he responded to our prayer.
Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek Yahweh. And he called for a fast through all Judah.So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at rest, since his God gave rest to him all around.So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began to reign. And he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi.And he walked in the way of his father Asa and did not turn aside from it, to do what was right in the eyes of Yahweh.Only the high places were not removed. The people still had not yet set their heart on the God of their ancestors.Now the rest of the words of Jehoshaphat, from the first to the last, behold, they are written in the chronicles of Jehu the son of Hanani, which are recorded in the scroll of the kings of Israel.And afterward Jehoshaphat the king of Judah joined with Ahaziah the king of Israel, who acted wickedly.He joined with him to build ships to go to Tarshish. And they built the ships in Ezion Geber.Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because of your joining with Ahaziah, Yahweh will break down your works.” And the ships were destroyed and were not able to go to Tarshish.And Judah assembled to seek after Yahweh; even from all the cities of Judah they came to seek Yahweh.
When I heard these words, I sat and wept and mourned for days, and I was fasting and praying before the God of the heavens.
And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wildernessfor it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’and ‘on their hands they will lift you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is said, ‘You are not to put to the test the Lord your God.’ ”And when the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him until a favorable time.And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news about him went out throughout all the surrounding region.And he began to teach in their synagogues, and was praised by all.And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and according to his custom he entered into the synagogue on the day of the Sabbath and stood up to read.And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him, and unrolling the scroll he found the place where it was written,“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because of which he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to send out in freedom those who are oppressed,to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days, and when they were completed, he was hungry.
And he was there with Yahweh forty days and forty nights. He ate no food and drank no water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten words.
And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, after praying with fasting, they entrusted them to the Lord, in whom they had believed.
But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I weakened my soul with fasting, and my prayer returned to me unanswered.I behaved as though he were a friend or as a brother to me. As one lamenting a mother, I was bowed down in mourning.
When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth over his flesh, fasted, lay in the sackcloth, and went about dejectedly.Then the word of Yahweh came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,“Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring disaster in his days. I will bring the disaster on his house in the days of his son.”
Then the disciples of John approached him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?”And Jesus said to them, “The bridegroom’s attendants are not able to mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them. But days are coming when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.
In those days, I, Daniel, I myself was in mourning for three whole weeks.Then he asked, “Do you know why I have come to you? And now I return to fight against the prince of Persia and I myself am going, and look, the prince of Javan will come.However, I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth, and there is not one who contends with me against these beings except Michael, your prince.”I had not eaten any choice food, and meat and wine did not enter my mouth, and I did not use any ointment until the end of three whole weeks.
‘Why do we fast, and you do not see it? We humiliate our soul, and you do not notice it?’ Look! You find delight on the day of your fast, and you oppress all your workers!Look! You fast to quarrel and strife, and to strike with a wicked fist. You shall not fast as you do today, to make your voice heard on the height.Is the fast I choose like this, a day for humankind to humiliate himself? To bow his head like a reed, and make his bed on sackcloth and ashes; you call this a fast and a day of pleasure to Yahweh?
On the twenty-fourth day of this month the Israelites gathered in fasting, in sackcloths, and with soil on them.You gave signs and wonders against Pharaoh, all of his servants, and all of the people of his land because you knew that they acted arrogantly against them. You made a name for yourself, as it is this day.And you divided the sea before them, and they passed through the sea on dry ground, but their pursuers you threw into the depths like a stone into mighty waters.You led them by day with a column of cloud and with a column of fire by night, to give them light on the way that they were to go.Then you came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them right judgments and true teachings, good regulations and commandments.You made known your holy Sabbath to them and gave them commandments, regulations, and law by the hand of your servant Moses.You gave them bread from heaven for their starvation, and you caused water to go out from a rock for their thirst. You told them to go in order to take into possession the land that you have sworn by your hand to give to them.“But they and our ancestors acted arrogantly and stiffened their neck and did not listen to your commandments.They refused to listen and did not remember your wonders that you did among them. They stiffened their neck and in their rebellion determined to return to their slavery. But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abundant in loyal love, so you did not abandon them.Even when they made for themselves a molten idol of a calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you out from Egypt,’ and committed great blasphemies.But you in your many mercies did not abandon them in the desert. The column of cloud that was over them in the day did not cease to leave them on the way, and the column of fire by night that gave light to them on the way that they went.Those of the seed of Israel separated themselves from all of the foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors.
“Say to all the people of the land and to the priests: ‘When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, did you really fast for me?
So they gathered to Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before Yahweh. They fasted on that day and said there, “We have sinned against Yahweh!” So Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.
Do not defraud one another, except perhaps by agreement, for a time, in order that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and then you should be together again, lest Satan tempt you because of your lack of self control.
David pleaded with God on behalf of the boy and David fasted. He went to spend the night and lay upon the ground.
“Go, gather all the Jews that are found in Susa and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, both night and day. I and my young girls will fast likewise, and then I will go to the king, which is not according to the law; if I perish, I perish.
Solemnize a fast! Call an assembly! Gather the elders, all of the inhabitants of the land in the house of Yahweh your God, and cry out to Yahweh.
And all the Israelites and all the troops went up and came to Bethel and wept; and they sat there before Yahweh and fasted on that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before Yahweh.
So he got up, ate, drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights up to Horeb, the mountain of God.
And Cornelius said, “Four days ago at this hour, the ninth, I was praying in my house. And behold, a man in shining clothing stood before meand said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your charitable deeds have been remembered before God.
Then the king went to his palace and spent the night in fasting, and no food was brought in before him and his sleep fled from him.
And the people of Nineveh believed in God, and they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth—from the greatest of them to the least important.
so that you will not be seen by people as fasting, but to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Although they fast, I am not listening to their cry of entreaty. And although they present burnt offering and grain offering, I am not favorable to them. But by the sword, and by the famine, and by the plague, I am about to destroy them.”
“Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘The fast of the fourth month, the fifth month, the seventh month, and the tenth month will be for the house of Judah jubilation and joy and merry festivals; therefore love truth and peace.’
But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I weakened my soul with fasting, and my prayer returned to me unanswered.
Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call an assembly;gather the people, consecrate the assembly; assemble the elders, gather the children, even those who are breast-feeding; let the bridegroom come out from his private room, and the bride from her canopy.
But I discipline my body and subjugate it, lest somehow after preaching to others, I myself should become disqualified.
When I heard these words, I sat and wept and mourned for days, and I was fasting and praying before the God of the heavens.I said, “O Yahweh God of the heavens, the great and awesome one who keeps the covenant and loyal love for the ones who love him and for those who keep his commands.Please, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant that I am praying before you by day and by night for your servants, the Israelites, and confessing the sins of the Israelites that we have sinned against you. I and my father’s house have sinned.
And so he used to do year after year; whenever she went up to the house of Yahweh, she would provoke her so that she would weep and would not eat.So Elkanah her husband would say to her: “Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not eat? And why are you heartsick? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”
And while they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart now for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
and herself as a widow up to eighty-four years) who did not depart from the temple with fastings and prayers, serving night and day.
She had written in the letters, saying, “Call a fast and seat Naboth at the head of the people.
Now I was still speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before Yahweh my God, on behalf of the holy mountain of my God.And I was still speaking in prayer, and the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, in my weariness touched me at the time of the evening offering.And he instructed me and he spoke with me and he said, “Daniel I have now come out to teach you understanding.At the beginning of your pleas for mercy, a word went out, and now I have come to declare it, for you are highly esteemed, and so consider the word and understand the vision.
Then they mourned and wept and fasted over Saul and Jonathan his son until the evening, as well as over the people of Yahweh and over the house of Israel because they had fallen by the sword.
And all the Israelites and all the troops went up and came to Bethel and wept; and they sat there before Yahweh and fasted on that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before Yahweh.And the Israelites inquired of Yahweh (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there,and Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was standing before it to minister in those days), saying, “Should we go out once more to battle against the descendants of Benjamin our relatives, or should we stop?” And Yahweh said, “Go up tomorrow; I will give them into your hand.”
Solemnize a fast! Call an assembly! Gather the elders, all of the inhabitants of the land in the house of Yahweh your God, and cry out to Yahweh.Ah! For the day! For the day of Yahweh is near. It will come like destruction from Shaddai.
But days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.”
to establish these days of Purim at their appointed times, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had imposed, and just as they had imposed on themselves and their offspring regulations of the fast and their lament.
“Call with the throat; you must not keep back! lift up your voice like a trumpet, and declare to my people their rebellion, and to the house of Jacob their sins.if you offer your soul to the hungry, and you satisfy the appetite of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness, and your darkness will be like noon.And Yahweh will lead you continually, and satisfy your soul in a barren land, and he will strengthen your bones, and you shall be like a well-watered garden, and like a spring of water whose water does not fail.And they shall rebuild ancient ruins from you; you shall erect the foundations of many generations, and you shall be called the bricklayer of the breach, the restorer of paths to live in.If you hold your foot back from the Sabbath, from doing your affairs on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a pleasure, the holy day of Yahweh honorable, if you honor him more than doing your ways, than finding your affairs and speaking a word,then you shall take your pleasure in Yahweh, and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth, and I will feed you the heritage of Jacob your ancestor, for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.”Yet they seek me day by day, and they desire the knowledge of my ways like a nation that practiced righteousness, and had not forsaken the judgment of its God; they ask me for righteous judgments, they desire the closeness of God.‘Why do we fast, and you do not see it? We humiliate our soul, and you do not notice it?’ Look! You find delight on the day of your fast, and you oppress all your workers!Look! You fast to quarrel and strife, and to strike with a wicked fist. You shall not fast as you do today, to make your voice heard on the height.Is the fast I choose like this, a day for humankind to humiliate himself? To bow his head like a reed, and make his bed on sackcloth and ashes; you call this a fast and a day of pleasure to Yahweh?Is this not the fast I choose: to release the bonds of injustice, to untie the ropes of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and tear every yoke to pieces?Is it not to break your bread for the hungry? You must bring home the poor, the homeless. When you see the naked, you must cover him, and you must not hide yourself from your relatives.Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall grow quickly. And your salvation shall go before you; the glory of Yahweh will be your rear guard.Then you shall call, and Yahweh himself will answer. You shall cry for help, and he will say, ‘Here I am!’ If you remove from among you the yoke, the finger-pointing and evil speech,
Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil,Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan, for it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’ ”Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and began ministering to him.Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee.And leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,in order that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled, who said,“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, toward the sea, on the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, and the ones who sit in the land and shadow of death, a light has dawned on them.”From that time on, Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven is near.”Now as he was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew, throwing a casting net into the sea (for they were fishermen).And he said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of people.”and after he had fasted forty days and forty nights, then he was hungry.And immediately they left their nets and followed him.And going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them.And immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.And he went around through all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.And a report about him went out throughout Syria, and they brought to him all those who were sick with various diseases and afflicted by torments, demon-possessed and epileptics and paralytics, and he healed them.And large crowds followed him from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from the other side of the Jordan.And the tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, order that these stones become bread.”But he answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man will not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.”
then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and will pray and will seek my face and will turn from their evil ways, then I myself shall hear from the heavens and will forgive their sins and heal their land.
And until the day was about to come, Paul was urging them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have waited anxiously, and you have continued without eating, having taken nothing.Therefore I urge you to take some food, for this is necessary for your preservation. For not a hair from your head will be lost.”
Then the king went to his palace and spent the night in fasting, and no food was brought in before him and his sleep fled from him.Then the king got up at daybreak, at first light, and he went in haste to the lion pit.and over them were three administrators, of whom Daniel was one, so that these satraps were giving account to them, and the king would not be suffering loss.And when he came near to the pit, he cried out to Daniel with a distressed voice, and the king spoke and said to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, your God whom you serve faithfully, was he able to rescue you from the lions?”
And Jesus said to them, “The bridegroom’s attendants are not able to mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them. But days are coming when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.
And then in the fifth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the towns of Judah to Jerusalem proclaimed a fast before Yahweh.
And the news reached the king of Nineveh, and he rose from his throne and removed his royal robe, put on sackcloth, and sat in the ashes.And he had a proclamation made, and said, “In Nineveh, by a decree of the king and his nobles: “No human being or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything! They must not eat, and they must not drink water!And the human beings and the animals must be covered with sackcloth! And they must call forcefully to God, and each must turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.Who knows? God may relent and change his mind and turn from his blazing anger so that we will not perish.”
Ezra rose from before the house of God and went to the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. He did not eat food nor drink water because he was mourning over the sin of the exiles.
Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk in Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days.
On the twenty-fourth day of this month the Israelites gathered in fasting, in sackcloths, and with soil on them.You gave signs and wonders against Pharaoh, all of his servants, and all of the people of his land because you knew that they acted arrogantly against them. You made a name for yourself, as it is this day.And you divided the sea before them, and they passed through the sea on dry ground, but their pursuers you threw into the depths like a stone into mighty waters.You led them by day with a column of cloud and with a column of fire by night, to give them light on the way that they were to go.Then you came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them right judgments and true teachings, good regulations and commandments.You made known your holy Sabbath to them and gave them commandments, regulations, and law by the hand of your servant Moses.You gave them bread from heaven for their starvation, and you caused water to go out from a rock for their thirst. You told them to go in order to take into possession the land that you have sworn by your hand to give to them.“But they and our ancestors acted arrogantly and stiffened their neck and did not listen to your commandments.They refused to listen and did not remember your wonders that you did among them. They stiffened their neck and in their rebellion determined to return to their slavery. But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abundant in loyal love, so you did not abandon them.Even when they made for themselves a molten idol of a calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you out from Egypt,’ and committed great blasphemies.But you in your many mercies did not abandon them in the desert. The column of cloud that was over them in the day did not cease to leave them on the way, and the column of fire by night that gave light to them on the way that they went.Those of the seed of Israel separated themselves from all of the foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors.And you gave your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst.Forty years you sustained them in the desert—they were not in need. Their clothing did not wear out and their feet did not swell.And you gave them kingdoms and nations and allotted them a portion. They took into possession the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and the land of Og king of Bashan.You made their children numerous like the stars of the heavens and brought them to the land that you told their ancestors to enter in order to take possession.So the children went in and took possession of the land. You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites; you gave them into their hand, and their kings and the nations of the land to do with them according to their pleasure.And they captured fortified cities and a fertile land and took possession of houses filled with every good thing: hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive groves, and many fruit trees. They ate and became full, and they became fat and took delight in your great goodness.“But they rebelled and were rebellious against you and cast your law behind their back and killed your prophets, who had warned them to turn back to you, and they did great blasphemies.Therefore you gave them into the hand of their enemy, and they brought trouble to them. Then in the time of their trouble they cried out to you, and you heard from the heavens, and according to your great compassions, you gave them saviors, and you saved them from the hand of their enemies.But when they had rest they returned to doing evil before you, and you abandoned them in the hand of their enemies, and they ruled over them. Then they returned and cried out to you, and from the heavens you heard and many times rescued them according to your compassions.You warned them so that they would return to your law. Yet they acted arrogantly and did not listen to your commandments but sinned against your judgments that a person must do so that they may live. They turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck and would not listen.They stood up in their place and read from the book of the law of Yahweh their God for a fourth part of the day, and for a fourth they were confessing and worshiping Yahweh their God.
with toil and hardship, often in sleepless nights, with hunger and thirst, often going hungry, in cold and poorly clothed.
When I went up the mountain to receive the stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant that Yahweh made with you, and remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights, I did not eat food and I did not drink water.
And all the Israelites and all the troops went up and came to Bethel and wept; and they sat there before Yahweh and fasted on that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before Yahweh.And the Israelites inquired of Yahweh (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there,
Now the men of Israel were hard pressed on that day, because Saul had made the army take an oath, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats any food until evening, when I will have avenged myself on my enemies!” So none of the army tasted any food.
“Whenever you fast, do not be sullen like the hypocrites, for they make their faces unrecognizable in order that they may be seen fasting by people. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward in full!
I had not eaten any choice food, and meat and wine did not enter my mouth, and I did not use any ointment until the end of three whole weeks.
But you, O Yahweh my Lord, deal with me for your name’s sake. Because your loyal love is good, deliver me,for I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.Like a lengthening shadow I am passing away; I am shaken off like a locust.My knees buckle from fasting, and my body grows lean without fat.
I proclaimed a fast there at the river Ahava to humble ourselves before our God in order to seek from him a safe journey for us, our children, and our possessions.
And the human beings and the animals must be covered with sackcloth! And they must call forcefully to God, and each must turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.
And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and he went up the mountain, and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Then the disciples of John approached him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?”And Jesus said to them, “The bridegroom’s attendants are not able to mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them. But days are coming when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.But no one puts a patch of unshrunken cloth on an old garment, for its patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear becomes worse.Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the wineskins burst and the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are destroyed. But they put new wine into new wineskins and both are preserved.”
In every province each place where the king’s edict and his law came, there was great mourning for the Jews with fasting, crying, wailing, and sackcloth; and ashes were spread out as a bed for them.
Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek Yahweh. And he called for a fast through all Judah.
“Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us some of the vegetables, and let us eat and let us drink water.
So they gathered to Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before Yahweh. They fasted on that day and said there, “We have sinned against Yahweh!” So Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.Now when the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines.Then the Israelites said to Samuel, “You must not cease from crying out to Yahweh our God, so that he will deliver us from the hand of the Philistines.”
At the evening offering I got up from my mourning posture and, with my garment and robe torn, I fell down on my knees and I spread out my palms to Yahweh my God
And Cornelius said, “Four days ago at this hour, the ninth, I was praying in my house. And behold, a man in shining clothing stood before me
Then the man of God said to the king, “Even if you give to me half of your house I will not come with you, nor will I eat bread or drink water in this place,for the word of Yahweh has commanded me, saying, ‘You shall not eat bread nor drink water, and you shall not return on the way that you came.’ ”
And he said to me, “You must not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I myself have come because of your words.But the prince of the kingdom of Persia stood before me for twenty-one days. And look, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to assist me, and I left him there beside the king of the Persians.
As a deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God.As with a shattering in my bones my oppressors taunt me, while they say to me all day, “Where is your God?”Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, because I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?
I gathered them by the river that goes to Ahava and we camped there for three days. And I looked at the people and the priests, I found no one there from the sons of Levi.And I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were family heads, and for Jehoiarib and Elnathan who were wise.I sent them to Iddo, the head of the place called Casiphia, and I placed in their mouths what words to say to Iddo and his brothers the temple servants in Casiphia, to send to us ministers for the house of our God.With the good hand of our God before us, they brought us a man of understanding from the sons of Mahli, son of Levi, son of Israel—Sherebiah and his sons and brothers, eighteen in total.Also Hashabiah and with him Jeshaiah, the sons of Merari, with his brothers and their sons, twenty in total.From the descendants of Phinehas: Gershom. From the descendants of Ithamar: Daniel. From the descendants of David: Hattush.And from the temple servants, whom David and his officials had set up to serve the Levites, two hundred and twenty in total. All of them were registered by name.I proclaimed a fast there at the river Ahava to humble ourselves before our God in order to seek from him a safe journey for us, our children, and our possessions.For I was ashamed to ask the king for troops and horses to protect us from enemies on the way because we said to the king, “the hand of our God is favorable to all who seek him, but his strength and anger are against all who forsake them.”So we fasted and sought our God for this and he responded to our prayer.
Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil,Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan, for it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’ ”Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and began ministering to him.
And they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and make prayers—likewise also the disciples of the Pharisees—but yours are eating and drinking!”So he said to them, “You are not able to make the bridegroom’s attendants fast as long as the bridegroom is with them, are you?But days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.”
And the Israelites inquired of Yahweh (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there,and Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was standing before it to minister in those days), saying, “Should we go out once more to battle against the descendants of Benjamin our relatives, or should we stop?” And Yahweh said, “Go up tomorrow; I will give them into your hand.”
In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, from the offspring of the Medes, who became king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans—and we have not listened to the voice of Yahweh our God, by following his law which he placed before us by the hand of his servants the prophets.“And all Israel transgressed your law and turned aside so as not to listen to your voice, and so the curse and the oath which was written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, has been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him.And so he has carried out his words which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, to bring upon us a great calamity which was not done under all of heaven as it was done in Jerusalem.Just as it is written in the law of Moses, all of this calamity has come upon us, and we have not implored the face of Yahweh our God so as to turn from our iniquities and to attend closely to your faithfulness.So Yahweh has kept watch over the calamity, and now he has brought it upon us. Indeed, Yahweh our God is righteous concerning all his works that he has done, but we have not listened to his voice.“And now, Lord our God, who have brought your people out from the land of Egypt with a strong hand, and you have made for yourself a name until this day—we have sinned, we have acted wickedly.Lord, according to all your righteousness, please let your anger and your rage turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain, because through our sins and through the iniquities of our ancestors Jerusalem and your people have become an object of mockery among all of our neighbors.“And now, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy. Shine your face upon your desolate sanctuary for your sake, O Lord.Incline your ear, my God, and listen; open your eyes and look at our desolation and the city that is called by your name, for we are not presenting our pleas for mercy before you because of our righteousness, but rather because of your great compassion.Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, pay heed and act! You must not delay for your sake, my God; because your city and your people are called by your name.”in the first year of his kingship I, Daniel, observed in the scrolls the number of the years that it was that were to be fulfilled according to the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah the prophet for the devastation of Jerusalem—seventy years.Now I was still speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before Yahweh my God, on behalf of the holy mountain of my God.And I was still speaking in prayer, and the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, in my weariness touched me at the time of the evening offering.And he instructed me and he spoke with me and he said, “Daniel I have now come out to teach you understanding.At the beginning of your pleas for mercy, a word went out, and now I have come to declare it, for you are highly esteemed, and so consider the word and understand the vision.“Seventy weeks is decreed for your people and for your holy city, to put an end to the transgression and to seal up sin and to make atonement for guilt and to bring in everlasting righteousness and to seal vision and prophet and to anoint the most holy place.And you must know and you must understand that from the time of the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem until an anointed one—a leader—will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be restored and will be built with streets and a moat, but in a time of oppression.“And after the sixty and two weeks an anointed one shall be cut off, and he shall have nothing, and the people of the coming leader will destroy the city and the sanctuary, and its end will be with the flood and on to the end there shall be war; these desolations are determined.And he will make a strong covenant with the many for one week, but in half of the week he will let cease sacrifice and offering and in its place a desolating abomination comes even until the determined complete destruction is poured out on the desolator.”Then I turned my face to the Lord God to seek him by prayer and pleas for mercy, in fasting and in sackcloth and ashes.
Then Nathan went to his house, and Yahweh struck the child that the wife of Uriah bore for David, and he became ill.David pleaded with God on behalf of the boy and David fasted. He went to spend the night and lay upon the ground.The elders of his household stood over him to lift him up from the ground, but he was not willing, and he did not eat any food with them.It happened on the seventh day that the child died, and the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Look, when the child was alive, we spoke to him, but he would not listen to our voice. How can we tell him, ‘The child is dead’? He may do something evil.”When David saw that his servants were whispering together, he realized that the child was dead. Then David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.”The rich man had very many flocks and herds,David stood up from the ground and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothing. Then he went to the house of Yahweh and worshiped, and he went to his own house. He asked, so they served him food, and he ate.Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept; now that the child has died, you get up and eat food!”He said, “When the child was still alive, I fasted and I wept because I thought, ‘Who knows? Yahweh may have mercy on me that the child will live.’But now he is dead. Why should I be fasting? Am I able to return him again? I am going to him, but he cannot return to me.”
Gird yourselves and lament, O priests! Wail, O ministers of the altar! Come spend the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God, because offering and libation are withheld from the house of your God.Solemnize a fast! Call an assembly! Gather the elders, all of the inhabitants of the land in the house of Yahweh your God, and cry out to Yahweh.
When I wept in the fasting of my soul, it became reproaches for me.When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became for them a byword.
if you offer your soul to the hungry, and you satisfy the appetite of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness, and your darkness will be like noon.And Yahweh will lead you continually, and satisfy your soul in a barren land, and he will strengthen your bones, and you shall be like a well-watered garden, and like a spring of water whose water does not fail.
But whenever you pray, enter into your inner room and shut your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
I gathered them by the river that goes to Ahava and we camped there for three days. And I looked at the people and the priests, I found no one there from the sons of Levi.
Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Please bring the ephod here for me.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David.And David inquired of Yahweh, saying, “Should I pursue after this band of raiders? Will I overtake them?” He said to him, “Pursue them, for you will certainly overtake them, and you will certainly rescue them.”
O God, you are my God; I will seek you diligently. My soul thirsts for you; my flesh longs for you as in a dry and weary land without water.They who would deliver him to the sword will become a portion for jackals.However, the king will rejoice in God. Everyone who swears an oath by him will boast, because the mouth of the liars will be stopped.Thus I have seen you in the sanctuary, beholding your strength and glory.Because your loyal love is better than life, my lips will praise you.So I will bless you while I live. I will lift up my hands in your name.My soul will be satisfied as with the best and richest food, and with joyful lips my mouth will praise.
And he prayed to Yahweh and said, “O Yahweh, was this not what I said while I was in my homeland? Therefore I originally fled to Tarshish, because I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and having great steadfast love, and one who relents concerning calamity.
My soul longs and even fails for the courtyards of Yahweh. My heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.
Let them give thanks to Yahweh for his loyal love, and his wonderful deeds for the children of humankind,for he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good.
And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher (she was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,and herself as a widow up to eighty-four years) who did not depart from the temple with fastings and prayers, serving night and day.
Then he said to them, “Go, eat festive food and drink sweet drinks, and send a share to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our lord. Do not be grieved because the joy of Yahweh is your refuge.”
Then Yahweh became jealous for his land and took pity on his people.And Yahweh answered and said to his people, “Look at me, I am sending to you grain, new wine, and olive oil, and you will be satisfied by it. I will not give you over any more as a disgrace among the nations.
Mordecai wrote down these things and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all of the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far,to impose on them to keep the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and the fifteenth day, every year,as the day that the Jews found relief from their enemies, and the month which changed for them from sorrow to joy, and from a mourning ceremony to a festive day; to make them days of feasting and joy, and giving gifts to each other and to the poor.
Now there were prophets and teachers in Antioch in the church that was there: Barnabas, and Simeon (who was called Niger), and Lucius the Cyrenian, and Manaen (a close friend of Herod the tetrarch), and Saul.and said, “O you who are full of all deceit and of all unscrupulousness, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness! Will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord!And now behold, the hand of the Lord is against you, and you will be blind, not seeing the sun for a while. And immediately mist and darkness fell over him, and he was going around looking for people to lead him by the hand.Then when the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, because he was astounded at the teaching about the Lord.Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia, but John departed from them and returned to Jerusalem.And they went on from Perga and arrived at Pisidian Antioch. And they entered into the synagogue on the day of the Sabbath and sat down.So after the reading from the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Men and brothers, if there is any message of exhortation by you for the people, say it.”So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand, he said, “Israelite men, and those who fear God, listen!The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and exalted the people during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it.And for a period of time of about forty years, he put up with them in the wilderness.And after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave their land to his people as an inheritance.And while they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart now for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”This took about four hundred and fifty years. And after these things, he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.And then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.And after removing him, he raised up David for their king, about whom he also said, testifying, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse to be a man in accordance with my heart, who will carry out all my will.’From the descendants of this man, according to his promise, God brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus.Before his coming John had publicly proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.But while John was completing his mission, he said, ‘What do you suppose me to be? I am not he! But behold, one is coming after me of whom I am not worthy to untie the sandals of his feet!’“Men and brothers, sons of the family of Abraham and those among you who fear God—to us the message of this salvation has been sent!For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize this one, and the voices of the prophets that are read on every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him.And although they found no charge worthy of death, they asked Pilate that he be executed.And when they had carried out all the things that were written about him, they took him down from the tree and placed him in a tomb.Then, after they had fasted and prayed and placed their hands on them, they sent them away.
If you hold your foot back from the Sabbath, from doing your affairs on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a pleasure, the holy day of Yahweh honorable, if you honor him more than doing your ways, than finding your affairs and speaking a word,then you shall take your pleasure in Yahweh, and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth, and I will feed you the heritage of Jacob your ancestor, for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.”
And it happened that afterward, the Moabites, the Ammonites, and some of the Meunites came against Jehoshaphat for war.And now, look, the people of Moab and Ammon and Mount Seir whom you did not allow Israel to come against when they came from Egypt, from whom they turned aside and did not destroy,now behold, they are rewarding us by coming to dispossess us from your possession which you gave us as an inheritance.O our God, will you not judge them, for there is no power in us before this great multitude that is coming against us. Now we do not know what we shall do, for our eyes are upon you.”And all Judah was standing before Yahweh, and also their little children, their wives, and their children.Then the Spirit of Yahweh came upon Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite from the descendants of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly.And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat, thus says Yahweh to you: ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed before this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they are coming up the ascent of Ziz. And you will find them at the end of the valley facing the desert of Jeruel.There will be no need for you to fight in this battle. Take your stand! Stand and see the deliverance of Yahweh among you, O Judah and Jerusalem! Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out before them and Yahweh will be with you.’ ”Then Jehoshaphat bowed his face down to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before Yahweh to worship Yahweh.Then the Levites, from the Kohathites and from the Korahites stood up to praise Yahweh the God of Israel with an exceedingly loud voice.And they came and reported it to Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude from beyond the sea, from Aram, is coming against you. Now behold, they are in Hazazon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi).And they rose up early in the morning and went out to the desert of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in Yahweh your God, and you shall be established! Believe in his prophets, and you shall succeed!”And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed singers to Yahweh who were giving praise to the splendor of his holiness when they went out before the army. And they said, “Give thanks to Yahweh, for his loyal love is everlasting!”And when they began with singing and praise, Yahweh set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who were coming against Judah. And they were defeatedwhen the people of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to destroy and demolish them. And when the inhabitants of Seir had made an end of them, each helped to destroy his comrade.And Judah came against the watchtower of the wilderness. And they looked at the crowd, and behold, corpses were lying on the ground. There was none who had escaped.When Jehoshaphat came with his people to plunder their booty, they found among them in abundance possessions, corpses, and precious items. And they took plunder for themselves until they could carry no more. And they were three days in plundering the booty, for it was abundant.And on the fourth day, they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, for there they blessed Yahweh. Therefore the name of that place is called the Valley of Berakah up to this day.And all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned, and Jehoshaphat was at their head in returning to Jerusalem with joy, for Yahweh caused them to rejoice over their enemies.And they came to Jerusalem with harps, stringed instruments, and trumpets to the house of Yahweh.And the fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the earth when they heard that Yahweh had fought against the enemies of Israel.Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek Yahweh. And he called for a fast through all Judah.So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at rest, since his God gave rest to him all around.
Then Daniel asked the guard whom the commander of the court officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,“Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us some of the vegetables, and let us eat and let us drink water.
When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth over his flesh, fasted, lay in the sackcloth, and went about dejectedly.
Then the Israelites got up and went up to Bethel, and they inquired of God, saying, “Who will go up first for the battle against the descendants of Benjamin?” And Yahweh said, “Judah will go first.”And the Israelites got up in the morning, and they encamped against Gibeah.And the leaders of all the people, all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand sword-bearing infantry.Then the men of Israel marched out for the battle against Benjamin, and the men of Israel took up positions against them for battle at Gibeah.The descendants of Benjamin went out from Gibeah, and they struck down on that day twenty-two thousand men of Israel to the ground.But the troops, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves, and again they arranged their battle lines in the place where they had arranged themselves the first day.The Israelites went up and wept before Yahweh until evening and inquired of Yahweh, saying, “Should we again draw near from the battle against the descendants of Benjamin, our relatives?” And Yahweh said, “Go up against them.”And the Israelites drew near to the descendants of Benjamin on the second day.And Benjamin went out from Gibeah to meet them on the second day, and they struck down the Israelites again, eighteen thousand men to the ground; all of these were sword-wielding.And all the Israelites and all the troops went up and came to Bethel and wept; and they sat there before Yahweh and fasted on that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before Yahweh.
and after he had fasted forty days and forty nights, then he was hungry.And immediately they left their nets and followed him.And going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them.And immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.And he went around through all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.And a report about him went out throughout Syria, and they brought to him all those who were sick with various diseases and afflicted by torments, demon-possessed and epileptics and paralytics, and he healed them.And large crowds followed him from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from the other side of the Jordan.And the tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, order that these stones become bread.”But he answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man will not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.”
Solemnize a fast! Call an assembly! Gather the elders, all of the inhabitants of the land in the house of Yahweh your God, and cry out to Yahweh.Ah! For the day! For the day of Yahweh is near. It will come like destruction from Shaddai.Is not food cut off before our eyes, from the house of our God, joy and gladness?
They stood up in their place and read from the book of the law of Yahweh their God for a fourth part of the day, and for a fourth they were confessing and worshiping Yahweh their God.
Then Nathan went to his house, and Yahweh struck the child that the wife of Uriah bore for David, and he became ill.David pleaded with God on behalf of the boy and David fasted. He went to spend the night and lay upon the ground.
Then the king went to his palace and spent the night in fasting, and no food was brought in before him and his sleep fled from him.Then the king got up at daybreak, at first light, and he went in haste to the lion pit.and over them were three administrators, of whom Daniel was one, so that these satraps were giving account to them, and the king would not be suffering loss.And when he came near to the pit, he cried out to Daniel with a distressed voice, and the king spoke and said to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, your God whom you serve faithfully, was he able to rescue you from the lions?”Then Daniel spoke to the king, “O king, live forever!My God sent his angel and he shut the mouth of the lions and they did not hurt me, because before him I was found blameless, and also before you, O king, I have not done any wrong.”Then the king was exceedingly glad over it and commanded that Daniel be lifted up from the pit; and there was not any wound found on him, because he had trusted in his God.The king then commanded, and these men were brought who had accused Daniel, and they threw them and their children and their wives into the lion pit, and they had not reached the floor of the pit before the lions had overpowered them and they had crushed all of their bones.
forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days, and when they were completed, he was hungry.
And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes and he regained his sight and got up and was baptized,and after taking food, he regained his strength. And he was with the disciples in Damascus several days.
Ezra rose from before the house of God and went to the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. He did not eat food nor drink water because he was mourning over the sin of the exiles.And they sent a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem to all the returned exiles to assemble in Jerusalem.Anyone who did not come within three days, by decision of the officials and elders, all of his possessions would be devoted to God, and he himself would be excluded from the assembly of exiles.
“And even now,” declares Yahweh, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, and weeping, and wailing.”
In the third year of Cyrus the king of the Persians, a word was revealed to Daniel, who was called by his name Belteshazzar, and the word was reliable and it concerned a great tribulation, and he understood the word and he received understanding.And look, a hand touched me and it roused me to my knees and the palms of my hands.And he said to me, “Daniel, a man beloved, pay attention to the words that I am speaking to you and stand upright where you are, for I have now been sent to you.” And while he was speaking with me this word, I stood up trembling.And he said to me, “You must not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I myself have come because of your words.But the prince of the kingdom of Persia stood before me for twenty-one days. And look, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to assist me, and I left him there beside the king of the Persians.And I have come to instruct you about what will happen to your people in the future, for there is a further vision here for the future.And while he was speaking with me according to these words, I turned my face toward the ground and I was speechless.Then look, there was one in the form of a human; he touched my lips and I opened my mouth and I spoke and I said to the one standing before me, “My lord, because of the vision my anxieties fell upon me and I have not retained my strength.So how am I, a servant of my lord to speak with you, my lord, and I just now have no strength in me?”And he again touched me, the one in the form of a human, and he strengthened me.And he said, “You must not fear, O beloved man. Peace be to you; be strong and be courageous!” And when he spoke with me, I was strengthened and I said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”In those days, I, Daniel, I myself was in mourning for three whole weeks.Then he asked, “Do you know why I have come to you? And now I return to fight against the prince of Persia and I myself am going, and look, the prince of Javan will come.However, I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth, and there is not one who contends with me against these beings except Michael, your prince.”I had not eaten any choice food, and meat and wine did not enter my mouth, and I did not use any ointment until the end of three whole weeks.
And everyone who competes exercises self-control in all things. Thus those do so in order that they may receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.Therefore I run in this way, not as running aimlessly; I box in this way, not as beating the air.But I discipline my body and subjugate it, lest somehow after preaching to others, I myself should become disqualified.
O God, you are my God; I will seek you diligently. My soul thirsts for you; my flesh longs for you as in a dry and weary land without water.
And I prayed to Yahweh my God, and I made confession and I said, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, keeping the covenant and loyal love with those who love him and with those who keep his commandments,we have sinned and we have done wrong and we acted wickedly and we rebelled and have been turning aside from your commandments and from your ordinances.We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors and to all the people of the land.
And they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and make prayers—likewise also the disciples of the Pharisees—but yours are eating and drinking!”