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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.
Moreover, when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear to men to fast. Verily, I say to you, they have their reward.But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face;That thou mayest not appear to men to fast, but to thy Father, who is in secret: and thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou shouldst bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou shouldst cover him; and that thou shouldst not hide thyself from thy own flesh?
Therefore also now, saith the LORD, Turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn to the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth of the evil.
And I set my face to the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate for me Barnabas and Saul, for the work to which I have called them.And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.For word came to the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God: yes, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do to them; and he did it not.
Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken to the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was entreated by us.
And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.And Judah assembled, to ask help of the LORD: even from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.
And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,
And Jesus being full of the Holy Spirit, returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,Being forty days tempted by the devil. And in those days he ate nothing; and when they were ended, he was afterward hungry.
And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water: and he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
And when they had ordained for them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.
But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into my own bosom.I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother: I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother.
And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.
Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but thy disciples fast not?And Jesus said to them, Can the children of the bride-chamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then they will fast.
In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks.I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
Why have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? why have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labors.Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?
Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them.And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.
Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast to me, even to me?
And they assembled at Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and there said, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.
Defraud ye not one the other, except with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan may not tempt you for your incontinence.
David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.
Go, assemble all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in to the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.
Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry to the LORD,
Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came to the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before the LORD.
And he arose, and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.
And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thy alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God.
Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of music brought before him: and his sleep went from him.
So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
That thou mayest not appear to men to fast, but to thy Father, who is in secret: and thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt-offering and an oblation, I will 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 month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace.
But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into my own bosom.
Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth from his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest by any means when I have preached to others, I myself should be a cast-away.
And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:Let thy ear now be attentive, and thy eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.
And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked 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 grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?
As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate for me Barnabas and Saul, for the work to which I have called them.
And she was a widow of about eighty four years, who departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people:
And while I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin, and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;Yes, while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.
And they mourned and wept, and fasted until evening, for Saul and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel; because they had fallen by the sword.
Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came to the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before the LORD.And the children of Israel inquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the LORD said, Go up; for to-morrow I will deliver them into thy hand.
Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry to the LORD,Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then they will fast in those days.
To confirm these days of Purim in their times appointed, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had decreed for themselves and for their seed, the matters of the fastings and their cry.
Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.Why have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? why have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labors.Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou shouldst bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou shouldst cover him; and that thou shouldst not hide thyself from thy own flesh?Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rear-ward.Then shalt thou call, and the LORD will answer; thou shalt cry, and he will say, Here I am. If thou shalt take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
Then was Jesus led by the Spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted by the devil.And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward hungry.And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou art the son of God, command that these stones be made bread.But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take food, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried, and continued fasting, having taken nothing.Wherefore I pray you to take some food; for this is for your health: for there shall not a hair fall from the head of any of you.
Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of music brought before him: and his sleep went from him.Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste to the den of lions.And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice to Daniel: and the king spoke and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?
And Jesus said to them, Can the children of the bride-chamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then they will fast.
For the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee have fallen upon me.When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach.
And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before the LORD to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people that came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem.
For word came to the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God: yes, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
Then Ezra arose from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came thither, he ate no bread, nor drank water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away.
And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them.And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshiped the LORD their God.
In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
When I ascended the mount, to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither ate bread, nor drank water:
Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came to the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before the LORD.And the children of Israel inquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,
And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on my enemies. So none of the people tasted any food.
Moreover, when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear to men to fast. Verily, I say to you, they have their reward.
I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
But do thou for me, O GOD the Lord, for thy name's sake: because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me.For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust.My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness.
Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.
But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God: yes, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.
And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and ascended the mount: and Moses was on the mount forty days and forty nights.
Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but thy disciples fast not?And Jesus said to them, Can the children of the bride-chamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then they will fast.No man putteth a piece of new cloth to an old garment: for that which is put in to fill it up, taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.
And in every province whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou shouldst bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou shouldst cover him; and that thou shouldst not hide thyself from thy own flesh?Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rear-ward.Then shalt thou call, and the LORD will answer; thou shalt cry, and he will say, Here I am. If thou shalt take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;And if thou shalt draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day:And the LORD will guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drouth, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:Let thy ear now be attentive, and thy eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:But if ye turn to me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you driven to the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them to the place that I have chosen to set my name there.Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thy ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cup-bearer.
Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.
And they assembled at Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and there said, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were assembled at Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines.And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry to the LORD our God for us, that he will save us from the hand of the Philistines.
And at the evening sacrifice I arose from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands to the LORD my God,
And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,
And the man of God said to the king, If thou wilt give me half thy house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place:For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.
Then said he to me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thy heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
To the chief Musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah. As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so my soul panteth after thee, O God.My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?
And I assembled them at the river that runneth to Ahava; and there we abode in tents three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi.Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, men of understanding.And I sent them with commandment to Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say to Iddo, and to his brethren the Nethinims, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring to us ministers for the house of our God.And by the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen;And Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty;Also of the Nethinims, whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinims: all of them were expressed by name.Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken to the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was entreated by us.
Then was Jesus led by the Spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted by the devil.And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward hungry.And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou art the son of God, command that these stones be made bread.But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,And saith to him, If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down, for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall uphold thee, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.Jesus said to him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.Again, the devil taketh him up upon an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them,And saith to him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.Then saith Jesus to him, Be gone, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.Then the devil leaveth him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him.
And they said to him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink?And he said to them, Can ye make the children of the bride-chamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then they will fast in those days.
And the children of Israel inquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the LORD said, Go up; for to-morrow I will deliver them into thy hand.
In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;In the first year of his reign, I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, concerning which the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.And I set my face to the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
And Nathan departed to his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it was very sick.David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he would not hearken to our voice: how will he then be grieved, if we tell him that the child is dead?But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said to his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshiped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he ate.Then said his servants to him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but after the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted, and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?But now he is dead, Why should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.
Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat-offering and the drink-offering is withheld from the house of your God.Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry to the LORD,
And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:Let thy ear now be attentive, and thy eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:But if ye turn to me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you driven to the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them to the place that I have chosen to set my name there.Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thy ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cup-bearer.
When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach.I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them.
And if thou shalt draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day:And the LORD will guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drouth, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's food, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.Now God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs.And the prince of the eunuchs said to Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your provision and your drink: for why should he see your faces more meager than the children who are of your sort? then will ye make me endanger my head to the king.Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenances of the children that eat of the portion of the king's provision: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants.So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days.And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children who ate the portion of the king's provision.Thus Melzar took away the portion of their food, and the wine that they should drink, and gave them pulse.
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret, will reward thee openly.
And I assembled them at the river that runneth to Ahava; and there we abode in tents three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi.
And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I pray thee bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David.And David inquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue; for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.
A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.Because thy loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:
And he prayed to the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before to Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest of the evil.
O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.
My soul longeth, and even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.
Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.
And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher: she was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity;And she was a widow of about eighty four years, who departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
Then he said to them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions to them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy to our Lord: neither be ye sad; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people.And the LORD will answer and say to his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied with it; and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:
And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters to all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far,To establish this among them, that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly,As the days in which the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned to them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day, that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.
Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate for me Barnabas and Saul, for the work to which I have called them.And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
If thou shalt turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thy own ways, nor finding thy own pleasure, nor speaking thy own words:Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them others besides the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side of Syria; and behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar, which is En-gedi.And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.And Judah assembled, to ask help of the LORD: even from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court,And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest thou not over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thy hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and give it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?And they dwelt in it, and have built thee a sanctuary in it for thy name, saying,If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry to thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help.And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldst not let Israel invade, when they came from the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not;Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.Then upon Jehaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation;And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD to you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.To-morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to-morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshiping the LORD.And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high.And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers to the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, who were come against Judah; and they were smitten.For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.And when Judah came towards the watch-tower in the wilderness, they looked to the multitude, and behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering the spoil, it was so much.And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the LORD: therefore the name of the same place hath been called, The valley of Berachah, to this day.Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the front of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies.And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets to the house of the LORD.And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel.So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest on all sides.
Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.
And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up first.And the children of Israel rose in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah.And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin; and the men of Israel put themselves in array to fight against them at Gibeah.And the children of Benjamin came forth from Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men.And the people the men of Israel encouraged themselves, and set their battle again in array in the place where they put themselves in array the first day.(And the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and asked counsel of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother? And the LORD said, Go up against him.)And the children of Israel came near against the children of Benjamin the second day.And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword.Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came to the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before the LORD.
And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward hungry.And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou art the son of God, command that these stones be made bread.But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Then shalt thou call, and the LORD will answer; thou shalt cry, and he will say, Here I am. If thou shalt take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;And if thou shalt draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day:
Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry to the LORD,Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.Is not the food cut off before our eyes, and joy and gladness from the house of our God?
And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God: yes, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do to them; and he did it not.
And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshiped the LORD their God.
And Nathan departed to his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it was very sick.David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.
Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of music brought before him: and his sleep went from him.Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste to the den of lions.And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice to Daniel: and the king spoke and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?Then said Daniel to the king, O king, live for ever.My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocence was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel out of the den. So Daniel was taken out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.And the king commanded, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they came to the bottom of the den.
Being forty days tempted by the devil. And in those days he ate nothing; and when they were ended, he was afterward hungry.
And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.And when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples who were at Damascus.
Then Ezra arose from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came thither, he ate no bread, nor drank water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away.And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the children of the captivity, that they should assemble at Jerusalem;And that whoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away.
Therefore also now, saith the LORD, Turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a thing was revealed to Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks.I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so I fight, not as one that beateth the air:But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest by any means when I have preached to others, I myself should be a cast-away.
A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:Neither have we hearkened to thy servants the prophets, who spoke in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
And they said to him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink?