Category
VERSES ABOUT FASTING
Fasting helps me grow closer to God and strengthens my relationship with my Heavenly Father. I try not to see it as something I do for my own benefit, but as a way to improve my walk with God. It's a voluntary choice, a time when I set aside the physical need for food to nourish my spirit. It's a special time to seek God's presence, which is why I find it helpful to fast in a quiet place where I can talk with Him alone.
The Bible talks about this too. Daniel 9:31 says, "So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes." It's really inspiring to see how people in the Bible sought God through fasting.
And when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, downcast in countenance; for they disfigure their faces, so that they may appear fasting to men: verily I say unto you, They have their reward.But thou, when fasting, anoint thy head and wash thy face,so that thou mayest not appear fasting unto men, but to thy Father who is in secret; and thy Father who sees in secret shall render it to thee.
Is not this the fast which I have chosen: to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, and to send forth free the crushed, and that ye break every yoke?Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring to thy house the needy wanderers; when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Yet even now, saith Jehovah, turn 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 unto Jehovah your God for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving-kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
And I set my face unto the Lord God to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes;
And as they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.And after these things he gave them judges till Samuel the prophet, to the end of about four hundred and fifty years.And then they asked for a king, and God gave to them Saul, son of Kis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, during forty years.And having removed him he raised up to them David for king, of whom also bearing witness he said, I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who shall do all my will.Of this man's seed according to promise has God brought to Israel a Saviour, Jesus;John having proclaimed before the face of his entry among the people the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.And as John was fulfilling his course he said, Whom do ye suppose that I am? I am not he. But behold, there comes one after me, the sandal of whose feet I am not worthy to loose.Brethren, sons of Abraham's race, and those who among you fear God, to you has the word of this salvation been sent:for those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, not having known him, have fulfilled also the voices of the prophets which are read on every sabbath, by judging him.And having found no cause of death in him, they begged of Pilate that he might be slain.And when they had fulfilled all things written concerning him, they took him down from the cross and put him in a sepulchre;Then, having fasted and prayed, and having laid their hands on them, they let them go.
And I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble 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; for 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 anger is against all them that forsake him.And we fasted, and besought our God for this; and he was entreated of us.
And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek Jehovah, and proclaimed a fast throughout Judah.And the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet; and his God gave him rest round about. And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah: he was thirty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Azubah, daughter of Shilhi.And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and turned not aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of Jehovah.Only, the high places were not removed; and as yet the people had not directed their hearts to the God of their fathers.And the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the words of Jehu the son of Hanani, which are inserted in the book of the kings of Israel.And after this Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly.And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish; and they made the ships in Ezion-geber.And Eliezer the son of Dodavah, of Mareshah, prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, Jehovah has broken thy works. And the ships were broken, and could not go to Tarshish.And Judah gathered themselves together to ask help of Jehovah: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek Jehovah.
And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat and wept, and mourned for days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of the heavens,
But Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit in the wildernessfor it is written, He shall give charge to his angels concerning thee to keep thee;and on their hands shall they bear thee, lest in any wise thou strike thy foot against a stone.And Jesus answering said to him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.And the devil, having completed every temptation, departed from him for a time.And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee; and a rumour went out into the whole surrounding country about him;and he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.And he came to Nazareth, where he was brought up; and he entered, according to his custom, into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up to read.And the book of the prophet Esaias was given to him; and having unrolled the book he found the place where it was written,The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach glad tidings to the poor; he has sent me to preach to captives deliverance, and to theblind sight, to send forth the crushed delivered,to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.forty days, tempted of the devil; and in those days he did not eat anything, and when they were finished he hungered.
— And he was there with Jehovah forty days and forty nights; he ate no bread, and drank no water. — And he wrote on the tables the words of the covenant, the ten words.
And having chosen them elders in each assembly, having prayed with fastings, they committed them to the Lord, on whom they had believed.
But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I chastened my soul with fasting, and my prayer returned into mine own bosom:I behaved myself as though he had been a friend, a brother to me; I bowed down in sadness, as one that mourneth for a mother.
And it came to pass when Ahab heard these words, that he rent his garments, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.And the word of Jehovah 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: in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.
Then come to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees often fast, but thy disciples fast not?And Jesus said to them, Can the sons of the bridechamber mourn so long as the bridegroom is with them? But days will come when the bridegroom will have been taken away from them, and then they will fast.
In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks:And he said, Knowest thou wherefore I am come unto thee? And now I return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I go forth, behold, the prince of Greece shall come.However, I will declare unto thee that which is set down in the scripture of truth; and there is not one that sheweth himself strong with me against these, but Michael your prince.I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine into my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three full weeks were fulfilled.
— Wherefore have we fasted, and thou seest not; have afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find what pleaseth you, and exact all your labours.Behold, ye have fasted for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness; ye do not at present fast, to cause your voice to be heard on high.Is such the fast that I have chosen, a day for a man to afflict his soul, — that he should bow down his head as a bulrush, and spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Wilt thou call this a fast, and a day acceptable to Jehovah?
And on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them.and didst shew signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants, and upon all the people of his land; for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them, and thou didst make thee a name, as it is this day.And thou didst divide the sea before them, and they went through the midst of the sea on dry ground; and their pursuers thou threwest into the depths, as a stone into the mighty waters.And thou leddest them in the day by a pillar of cloud, and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go.And thou camest down on mount Sinai, and didst speak with them from the heavens, and gavest them right judgments and true laws, good statutes and commandments.And thou madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and prescribedst for them commandments and statutes and a law, through Moses thy servant.And thou gavest them bread from the heavens for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and didst say to them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.But they, our fathers, dealt proudly, and hardened their neck, and hearkened not to thy commandments,and refused to obey, neither were they mindful of thy wonders which thou hadst done among them; but hardened their neck, and in their rebellion made a captain to return to their bondage. But thou art a +God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great loving-kindness, and thou forsookest them not.Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy god that brought thee up out of Egypt! and they had wrought great provocation,yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud departed not from over them by day, to lead them on the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.
Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye really fast unto me, even unto me?
And they gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before Jehovah, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against Jehovah. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah.
Defraud not one another, unless, it may be, by consent for a time, that ye may devote yourselves to prayer, and again be together, that Satan tempt you not because of your incontinency.
And David besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night on the earth.
Go, gather together all the Jews that are found in Shushan, and fast 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 unto the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.
Hallow a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, gather the elders, and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of Jehovah your God and cry unto Jehovah.
Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up and came to Bethel, and wept, and abode there before Jehovah, and fasted that day until even, and offered up burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Jehovah.
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 had been fasting unto this hour, and the ninth I was praying in my house, and lo, a man stood before me in bright clothing,and said, Cornelius, thy prayer has been heard, and thy alms have come in remembrance before God.
Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting; neither were concubines brought before him; and his sleep fled from him.
And the men of Nineveh believed God and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
so that thou mayest not appear fasting unto men, but to thy Father who is in secret; and thy Father who sees in secret shall render it to thee.
When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer up burnt-offering and oblation, I will not accept them: for I will consume them by sword, and by famine, and by pestilence.
Thus saith Jehovah 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 gatherings. Love ye then truth and peace.
But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I chastened my soul with fasting, and my prayer returned into mine own bosom:
Blow the trumpet in Zion, hallow a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly;gather the people, hallow 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 from her closet.
But I buffet my body, and lead it captive, lest after having preached to others I should be myself rejected.
And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat and wept, and mourned for days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of the heavens, and said, I beseech thee, Jehovah, God of the heavens, the great and terrible ·God that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and keep his commandments.Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, to hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, confessing 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, as often as she went up to the house of Jehovah, she provoked her thus; and she wept and did not eat.And Elkanah her husband said 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?
And as they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.
and herself a widow up to eighty-four years; who did not depart from the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers;
And she wrote in the letter saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people;
And whilst I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before Jehovah my God for the holy mountain of my Godwhilst I was yet speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, flying swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, Daniel, I am now come forth to make thee skilful of understanding.At the beginning of thy supplications the word went forth, and I am come to declare it; for thou art one greatly beloved. Therefore consider the word, and have understanding in the vision:
And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of Jehovah, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.
Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up and came to Bethel, and wept, and abode there before Jehovah, and fasted that day until even, and offered up burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Jehovah.And the children of Israel inquired of Jehovah (and 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 Jehovah said, Go up; for to-morrow I will give them into thy hand.
Hallow a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, gather the elders, and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of Jehovah your God and cry unto Jehovah.Alas for the day! for the day of Jehovah is at hand, and as destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
But days will come when also the bridegroom will have been taken away from them; then shall they fast in those days.
to confirm these days of Purim in their fixed times, according as Mordecai the Jew and queen Esther had enjoined them, and as they had decreed for themselves and for their seed, as to the matters of the fastings and their cry.
Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and declare unto my people their transgression, and to the house of Jacob their sins.and thou proffer thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul: then shall thy light rise in the darkness, and thine obscurity be as midday;and Jehovah will guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and strengthen thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a water-spring, whose waters deceive not.And they that come of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations that have remained from generation to generation; and thou shalt be called, Repairer of the breaches, restorer of frequented paths.If thou turn back thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day, and call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of Jehovah, honourable; and thou honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking idle words;then shalt thou delight thyself in Jehovah, and I will cause thee to ride on the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken.Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that doeth righteousness, and hath not forsaken the ordinance of their God they ask of me the ordinances of righteousness, they take delight in approaching to God — Wherefore have we fasted, and thou seest not; have afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find what pleaseth you, and exact all your labours.Behold, ye have fasted for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness; ye do not at present fast, to cause your voice to be heard on high.Is such the fast that I have chosen, a day for a man to afflict his soul, — that he should bow down his head as a bulrush, and spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Wilt thou call this a fast, and a day acceptable to Jehovah?Is not this the fast which I have chosen: to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, and to send forth free the crushed, and that ye break every yoke?Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring to thy house the needy wanderers; when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?Then shall thy light break forth as the dawn, and thy health shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee, the glory of Jehovah shall be thy rearguard.Then shalt thou call, and Jehovah will answer; thou shalt cry, and he will say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger and the unjust speech,
Then Jesus was carried up into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted of the devil:Then says Jesus to him, Get thee away, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt do homage to the Lord thy God, and him alone shalt thou serve.Then the devil leaves him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him.But having heard that John was delivered up, he departed into Galilee:and having left Nazareth, he went and dwelt at Capernaum, which is on the sea-side in the borders of Zabulon and Nepthalim,that that might be fulfilled which was spoken through Esaias the prophet, saying,Land of Zabulon and land of Nepthalim, way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations:— the people sitting in darkness has seen a great light, and to those sitting in the country and shadow of death, to them has light sprung up.From that time began Jesus to preach and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh.And walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers;and he says to them, Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.and having fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards he hungered.And they, having left their trawl-nets, immediately followed him.And going on thence he saw other two brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the ship with Zebedee their father, mending their trawl-nets, and he called them;and they, having left the ship and their father, immediately followed him.And Jesus went round the whole of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the glad tidings of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every bodily weakness among the people.And his fame went out into the whole of Syria, and they brought to him all that were ill, suffering under various diseases and pains, and those possessed by demons, and lunatics, and paralytics; and he healed them.And great crowds followed him from Galilee, and Decapolis, and Jerusalem, and Judaea, and beyond the Jordan.And the tempter coming up to him said, If thou be Son of God, speak, that these stones may become loaves of bread.But he answering said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word which goes out through God's mouth.
and my people, who are called by my name, humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from the heavens, and forgive their sin, and heal their land.
And while it was drawing on to daylight, Paul exhorted them all to partake of food, saying, Ye have passed the fourteenth day watching in expectation without taking food.Wherefore I exhort you to partake of food, for this has to do with your safety; for not a hair from the head of any one of you shall perish.
Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting; neither were concubines brought before him; and his sleep fled from him.Then the king arose with the light at break of day, and went in haste unto the den of lions.and over these, three presidents — of whom Daniel was one — to whom these satraps should render account, and that the king should suffer no loss.And when he came near unto the den, he cried with a mournful voice unto Daniel: the king spoke and said unto Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God hath thy God whom thou servest continually been able to save thee from the lions?
And Jesus said to them, Can the sons of the bridechamber mourn so long as the bridegroom is with them? But days will come when the bridegroom will have been taken away from them, and then they will fast.
And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before Jehovah, for all the people in Jerusalem, and for all the people that came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem.
And the word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and 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 anything: let them not feed, nor drink water;and let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God and let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.Who knoweth but that God will turn and repent, and will turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
And Ezra arose from before the house of God and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib; and when he came thither, he ate no bread and drank no water; for he mourned because of the unfaithfulness of them that had been carried away.
And they took their bones, and buried them under the tamarisk at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
And on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them.and didst shew signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants, and upon all the people of his land; for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them, and thou didst make thee a name, as it is this day.And thou didst divide the sea before them, and they went through the midst of the sea on dry ground; and their pursuers thou threwest into the depths, as a stone into the mighty waters.And thou leddest them in the day by a pillar of cloud, and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go.And thou camest down on mount Sinai, and didst speak with them from the heavens, and gavest them right judgments and true laws, good statutes and commandments.And thou madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and prescribedst for them commandments and statutes and a law, through Moses thy servant.And thou gavest them bread from the heavens for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and didst say to them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.But they, our fathers, dealt proudly, and hardened their neck, and hearkened not to thy commandments,and refused to obey, neither were they mindful of thy wonders which thou hadst done among them; but hardened their neck, and in their rebellion made a captain to return to their bondage. But thou art a +God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great loving-kindness, and thou forsookest them not.Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy god that brought thee up out of Egypt! and they had wrought great provocation,yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud departed not from over them by day, to lead them on the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.Thou gavest also thy good Spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst.Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing; their clothes grew not old, and their feet swelled not.And thou gavest them kingdoms and peoples, and didst divide them by countries; and they possessed the land of Sihon, as well the land of the king of Heshbon, as the land of Og king of Bashan.And their children thou didst multiply as the stars of heaven, and thou broughtest them into the land concerning which thou didst say to their fathers that they should go in to possess it.And the children went in and possessed the land; and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, both their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would.And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all good things, wells digged, vineyards and olive-gardens, and fruit trees in abundance. And they did eat and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.But they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets who testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations.And thou gavest them into the hand of their oppressors, and they oppressed them; and in the time of their distress, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from the heavens, and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their oppressors.But when they had rest, they did evil again before thee; and thou didst leave them in the hand of their enemies, and they had dominion over them; and again they cried unto thee, and thou heardest them from the heavens, and many times didst thou deliver them, according to thy mercies.And thou testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law; but they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thine ordinances (which if a man do, he shall live in them); and they withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of Jehovah their God a fourth part of the day; and a fourth part they confessed, and worshipped Jehovah their God
in labour and toil, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
when I went up the mountain to receive the tables of stone, the tables of the covenant which Jehovah made with you, and I abode in the mountain forty days and forty nights, — I ate no bread and drank no water, —
Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up and came to Bethel, and wept, and abode there before Jehovah, and fasted that day until even, and offered up burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Jehovah.And the children of Israel inquired of Jehovah (and the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,
But the men of Israel were distressed that day. Now Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth food until evening, and until I am avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted food.
And when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, downcast in countenance; for they disfigure their faces, so that they may appear fasting to men: verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine into my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three full weeks were fulfilled.
But do thou for me, Jehovah, Lord, for thy name's sake; because thy loving-kindness is good, deliver me:For I am afflicted and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.I am gone like a shadow when it lengtheneth; I am tossed about like the locust;My knees are failing through fasting, and my flesh hath lost its fatness;
And I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.
and let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God and 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 mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Then come to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees often fast, but thy disciples fast not?And Jesus said to them, Can the sons of the bridechamber mourn so long as the bridegroom is with them? But days will come when the bridegroom will have been taken away from them, and then they will fast.But no one puts a patch of new cloth on an old garment, for its filling up takes from the garment and a worse rent takes place.Nor do men put new wine into old skins, otherwise the skins burst and the wine is poured out, and the skins will be destroyed; but they put new wine into new skins, and both are preserved together.
And in every province, wherever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing: many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek Jehovah, and proclaimed a fast throughout Judah.
Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink;
And they gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before Jehovah, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against Jehovah. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah.And the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together at Mizpah; and the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel; and the children of Israel heard it, and were afraid of the Philistines.And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry to Jehovah our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.
And at the evening oblation I arose up from my humiliation; and with my mantle and my garment rent, I fell on my knees, and spread out my hands to Jehovah my God
And Cornelius said, Four days ago I had been fasting unto this hour, and the ninth I was praying in my house, and lo, 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 Jehovah, saying, Thou shalt eat no bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way that thou shalt go.
And he said unto me, Fear not, Daniel; for from the first day that thou didst set thy heart to understand, and to humble thyself before thy God thy words were heard, and I am come because of thy words.But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
As the hart panteth after the water-brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O GodAs with a crushing in my bones mine adversaries reproach me, while they say unto me all the day, Where is thy GodWhy art thou cast down, my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my GodMy soul thirsteth for God for the living ·God when shall I come and appear before God
And I gathered them together at the river that runs to Ahava; and there we encamped three days; and I surveyed the people and the priests, and found none of the sons of Levi there.And I sent 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, and for Joiarib and for Elnathan, men of understanding.And I gave them a commission to Iddo the chief, at the place Casiphia, and I put words in their mouths to say to Iddo and his brethren the Nethinim, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring to us ministers for the house of our GodAnd 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, namely, Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen;and Hashabiah, and with him Isaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty;Of the children of Phinehas, Gershom; of the children of Ithamar, Daniel; of the children of David, Hattush;and of the Nethinim, whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinim: all of them were expressed by name.And I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble 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; for 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 anger is against all them that forsake him.And we fasted, and besought our God for this; and he was entreated of us.
Then Jesus was carried up into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted of the devil:Then says Jesus to him, Get thee away, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt do homage to the Lord thy God, and him alone shalt thou serve.Then the devil leaves him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him.
And they said to him, Why do the disciples of John fast often and make supplications, in like manner those also of the Pharisees, but thine eat and drink?And he said to them, Can ye make the sons of the bridechamber fast when the bridegroom is with them?But days will come when also the bridegroom will have been taken away from them; then shall they fast in those days.
And the children of Israel inquired of Jehovah (and 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 Jehovah said, Go up; for to-morrow I will give 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,and we have not hearkened unto the voice of Jehovah our God to walk in his laws, which he set before us through his servants the prophets.And all Israel have transgressed thy law, even turning aside so as not to listen unto thy voice. And the curse hath been poured out upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God for we have sinned against him.And he hath performed his words, which he spoke against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil; so that there hath not been done under the whole heaven as hath been done upon Jerusalem.As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us; yet we besought not Jehovah our God that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.And Jehovah hath watched over the evil, and brought it upon us; for Jehovah our God is righteous in all his works which he hath done; and we have not hearkened unto his voice.— And now, O Lord our God who broughtest thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a strong hand, and hast made thee a name, as it is this day, — we have sinned, we have done wickedly.Lord, according to all thy righteousnesses, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain; for because of our sins, and because of the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all round about us.And now, our God hearken to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.Incline thine ear, O my God and hear; open thine eyes and behold our desolations, and the city that is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee because of our righteousnesses, but because of thy manifold mercies.Lord, hear! Lord, forgive! Lord, hearken and do! defer not, for thine own sake, O my God for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. in the first year of his reign, I Daniel understood by the books that the number of the years, whereof the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah the prophet, for the accomplishment of the desolations of Jerusalem, was seventy years.And whilst I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before Jehovah my God for the holy mountain of my Godwhilst I was yet speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, flying swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, Daniel, I am now come forth to make thee skilful of understanding.At the beginning of thy supplications the word went forth, and I am come to declare it; for thou art one greatly beloved. Therefore consider the word, and have understanding in the vision:Seventy weeks are apportioned out upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to close the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make expiation for iniquity, and to bring in the righteousness of the ages, and to seal the vision and prophet, and to anoint the holy of holies.Know therefore and understand: From the going forth of the word to restore and to build Jerusalem unto Messiah, the Prince, are seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks. The street and the moat shall be built again, even in troublous times.And after the sixty-two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, and shall have nothing; and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with an overflow, and unto the end, war, — the desolations determined.And he shall confirm a covenant with the many for one week; and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and because of the protection of abominations there shall be a desolator, even until that the consumption and what is determined shall be poured out upon the desolate.And I set my face unto the Lord God to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes;
And Nathan departed to his house. And Jehovah smote the child that Urijah's wife bore to David, and it became very sick.And David besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night on the earth.And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth; but he would not, and he ate no 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; and how shall we say to him, The child is dead? he may do some harm.But David saw that his servants whispered, and David perceived that the child was dead; and David said to his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.The rich had very many flocks and herds;Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his clothing, and entered into the house of Jehovah and worshipped; then he came to his own house and required them to set bread before him, and he ate.And his servants said to him, What thing is this which thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child alive; but as soon as the child is dead, thou dost rise and eat bread.And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept; for I thought, Who knows? perhaps Jehovah 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, ministers of the altar; come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God for the oblation and the drink-offering are withholden from the house of your God Hallow a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, gather the elders, and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of Jehovah your God and cry unto Jehovah.
And I wept, my soul was fasting: that also was to my reproach; —And I made sackcloth my garment: then I became a proverb to them.
and thou proffer thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul: then shall thy light rise in the darkness, and thine obscurity be as midday;and Jehovah will guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and strengthen thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a water-spring, whose waters deceive not.
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father who sees in secret will render it to thee.
And I gathered them together at the river that runs to Ahava; and there we encamped three days; and I surveyed the people and the priests, and found none of the sons of Levi there.
And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, Bring near to me, I pray thee, the ephod. And Abiathar brought the ephod near to David.And David inquired of Jehovah, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he said to him, Pursue; for thou shalt assuredly overtake them and shalt certainly recover.
O God thou art my ·God early will I seek thee. My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh languisheth for thee, in a dry and weary land without water:They shall be given over to the power of the sword; they shall be the portion of foxes.But the king shall rejoice in God every one that sweareth by him shall glory: for the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.To see thy power and thy glory, as I have beheld thee in the sanctuary;For thy loving-kindness is better than life: my lips shall praise thee.So will I bless thee while I live; I will lift up my hands in thy name.My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.
And he prayed unto Jehovah, and said, Ah, Jehovah, was not this my saying when I was yet in my country? Therefore I was minded to flee at first unto Tarshish; for I knew that thou art a gracious ·God and merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving-kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of Jehovah; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living ·God
Let them give thanks unto Jehovah for his loving-kindness, and for his wondrous works to the children of men;For he hath satisfied the longing soul and filled the hungry soul with good.
And there was a prophetess, Anna, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, who was far advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from her virginity,and herself a widow up to eighty-four years; who did not depart from the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers;
And 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 the day is holy to our Lord; and be not grieved, for the joy of Jehovah is your strength.
Then Jehovah will be jealous for his land, and will have pity on his people.And Jehovah will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I send you corn, and new wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.
And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters to all the Jews near and far that were in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus,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 on which the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month that 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 Antioch, in the assembly which was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenian, and Manaen, foster-brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.said, O full of all deceit and all craft: son of the devil, enemy of all righteousness; wilt thou not cease perverting the right paths of the Lord?And now behold, the Lord's hand is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell upon him a mist and darkness; and going about he sought persons who should lead him by the hand.Then the proconsul, seeing what had happened, believed, being amazed at the teaching of the Lord.And having sailed from Paphos, Paul and his company came to Perga of Pamphylia; and John separated from them and returned to Jerusalem.But they, passing through from Perga, came to Antioch of Pisidia; and entering into the synagogue on the sabbath day they sat down.And after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, Brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation to the people, speak.And Paul, rising up and making a sign with the hand, said, Israelites, and ye that fear God, hearken.The God of this people Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people in their sojourn in the land of Egypt, and with a high arm brought them out of it,and for a time of about forty years he nursed them in the desert.And having destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance.And as they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.And after these things he gave them judges till Samuel the prophet, to the end of about four hundred and fifty years.And then they asked for a king, and God gave to them Saul, son of Kis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, during forty years.And having removed him he raised up to them David for king, of whom also bearing witness he said, I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who shall do all my will.Of this man's seed according to promise has God brought to Israel a Saviour, Jesus;John having proclaimed before the face of his entry among the people the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.And as John was fulfilling his course he said, Whom do ye suppose that I am? I am not he. But behold, there comes one after me, the sandal of whose feet I am not worthy to loose.Brethren, sons of Abraham's race, and those who among you fear God, to you has the word of this salvation been sent:for those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, not having known him, have fulfilled also the voices of the prophets which are read on every sabbath, by judging him.And having found no cause of death in him, they begged of Pilate that he might be slain.And when they had fulfilled all things written concerning him, they took him down from the cross and put him in a sepulchre;Then, having fasted and prayed, and having laid their hands on them, they let them go.
If thou turn back thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day, and call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of Jehovah, honourable; and thou honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking idle words;then shalt thou delight thyself in Jehovah, and I will cause thee to ride on the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken.
And it came to pass after this that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them certain of the Maonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab, and those of mount Seir, amongst whom thou wouldest not let Israel go when they came out of the land of Egypt, (for they turned from them, and destroyed them not,)behold, they reward us, in coming to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to possess.Our God wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might in presence of this great company which cometh against us, neither know we what to do; but our eyes are upon thee.And all Judah stood before Jehovah, with their little ones, their wives, and their sons.And upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, upon him came the Spirit of Jehovah, in the midst of the congregation;and he said, Be attentive, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat! Thus saith Jehovah unto you: Fear not, nor be dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God s.To-morrow go down against them: behold, they come up by the ascent of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel.Ye shall not have to fight on this occasion: set yourselves, stand and see the salvation of Jehovah who is with you! Judah and Jerusalem, fear not nor be dismayed; to-morrow go out against them, and Jehovah will be with you.And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before Jehovah, worshipping Jehovah.And the Levites, of the sons of the Kohathites, and of the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise Jehovah the God of Israel with an exceeding loud voice. And they came and told Jehoshaphat saying, A great multitude is come against thee from beyond the sea, from Syria; and behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar, which is Engedi.And they rose early in the morning, and went forth towards the wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in Jehovah your God and ye shall be established; believe his prophets, and ye shall prosper!And he consulted with the people, and appointed singers to Jehovah, and those that should praise in holy splendour, as they went forth before the armed men, and say, Give thanks to Jehovah; for his loving-kindness endureth for ever!And when they began the song of triumph and praise, Jehovah set liers-in-wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, who had come against Judah, and they were smitten.And the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, to exterminate and destroy them; and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.And Judah came on to the mountain-watch in the wilderness, and they looked toward the multitude; and behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none had escaped.And Jehoshaphat and his people came to plunder the spoil of them, and they found among them in abundance, both riches with the dead bodies, and precious things, and they stripped off for themselves more than they could carry away; and they were three days in plundering the spoil, it was so much.And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah, for there they blessed Jehovah; therefore the name of that place was called The valley of Berachah, to this day.And they returned, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat at their head, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for Jehovah had made them to rejoice over their enemies.And they came to Jerusalem with lutes and harps and trumpets, to the house of Jehovah.And the terror of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands, when they had heard that Jehovah fought against the enemies of Israel.And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek Jehovah, and proclaimed a fast throughout Judah.And the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet; and his God gave him rest round about.
And Daniel said to the steward, 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 these words, that he rent his garments, 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 Bethel, and inquired of God and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And Jehovah said, Judah first.And the children of Israel rose up in the morning and encamped against Gibeah.And the heads of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the congregation of the people of God four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword.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 went forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty-two thousand men.And the people, the men of Israel, took courage, and set the 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 Jehovah until even, and inquired of Jehovah, saying, Shall I go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother? And Jehovah 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 again destroyed to the ground of the children of Israel eighteen thousand men: all these drew the sword.Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up and came to Bethel, and wept, and abode there before Jehovah, and fasted that day until even, and offered up burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Jehovah.
and having fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards he hungered.And they, having left their trawl-nets, immediately followed him.And going on thence he saw other two brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the ship with Zebedee their father, mending their trawl-nets, and he called them;and they, having left the ship and their father, immediately followed him.And Jesus went round the whole of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the glad tidings of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every bodily weakness among the people.And his fame went out into the whole of Syria, and they brought to him all that were ill, suffering under various diseases and pains, and those possessed by demons, and lunatics, and paralytics; and he healed them.And great crowds followed him from Galilee, and Decapolis, and Jerusalem, and Judaea, and beyond the Jordan.And the tempter coming up to him said, If thou be Son of God, speak, that these stones may become loaves of bread.But he answering said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word which goes out through God's mouth.
Hallow a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, gather the elders, and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of Jehovah your God and cry unto Jehovah.Alas for the day! for the day of Jehovah is at hand, and as destruction from the Almighty shall it come.Is not the food cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God
And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of Jehovah their God a fourth part of the day; and a fourth part they confessed, and worshipped Jehovah their God
And Nathan departed to his house. And Jehovah smote the child that Urijah's wife bore to David, and it became very sick.And David besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night on the earth.
Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting; neither were concubines brought before him; and his sleep fled from him.Then the king arose with the light at break of day, and went in haste unto the den of lions.and over these, three presidents — of whom Daniel was one — to whom these satraps should render account, and that the king should suffer no loss.And when he came near unto the den, he cried with a mournful voice unto Daniel: the king spoke and said unto Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God hath thy God whom thou servest continually been able to save thee from the lions?Then Daniel spoke unto 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.Thereupon was the king exceeding glad, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his GodAnd the king commanded, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and 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 ere they came to the bottom of the den.
forty days, tempted of the devil; and in those days he did not eat anything, and when they were finished he hungered.
And straightway there fell from his eyes as it were scales, and he saw, and rising up was baptised;and, having received food, got strength. And he was with the disciples who were in Damascus certain days.
And Ezra arose from before the house of God and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib; and when he came thither, he ate no bread and drank no water; for he mourned because of the unfaithfulness of them that had been carried away.And they made proclamation in Judah and Jerusalem to all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem;and that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be confiscated, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away.
Yet even now, saith Jehovah, turn 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 unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing is true, but the appointed time of trial is long; and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.And behold, a hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and the palms of my hands.And he said unto me, O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words which I speak unto thee, and stand upright; for unto thee am I now sent. And as he spoke this word unto me, I stood trembling.And he said unto me, Fear not, Daniel; for from the first day that thou didst set thy heart to understand, and to humble thyself before thy God thy words were heard, and I am come because of thy words.But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.And I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people at the end of the days: for the vision is yet for many days.And as he was speaking with me according to these words, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb.And behold, one after the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips; and I opened my mouth and spoke, and said unto him that stood before me, My lord, by reason of the vision my pains are turned upon me, and I retain no strength.And how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remaineth no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me.Then there touched me again one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me;and he said, Fear not, man greatly beloved; peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And as he was speaking with me I was strengthened, and I said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks:And he said, Knowest thou wherefore I am come unto thee? And now I return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I go forth, behold, the prince of Greece shall come.However, I will declare unto thee that which is set down in the scripture of truth; and there is not one that sheweth himself strong with me against these, but Michael your prince.I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine into my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three full weeks were fulfilled.
But every one that contends for a prize is temperate in all things: they then indeed that they may receive a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible.I therefore thus run, as not uncertainly; so I combat, as not beating the air.But I buffet my body, and lead it captive, lest after having preached to others I should be myself rejected.
O God thou art my ·God early will I seek thee. My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh languisheth for thee, in a dry and weary land without water:
and I prayed unto Jehovah my God and made my confession, and said, Alas Lord! the great and terrible ·God keeping covenant and loving-kindness with them that love him, and that keep his commandments:we have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even turning aside from thy commandments and from thine ordinances.And we have not hearkened unto 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 supplications, in like manner those also of the Pharisees, but thine eat and drink?