27 Bible Verses about Fasting, Reasons For

And, when all Jabesh-Gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul, then rose up all the men of valour, and took away the corpse of Saul, and the corpses of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, - and buried their bodies under the terebinth, in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

And, when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard concerning him, what the Philistines had done unto Saul, then arose all the men of valour, and journeyed all the night, and took the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, from the wall of Beth-shan, - and came to Jabesh, and burned them there; and took their bones, and buried them under the tamarisk-tree in Jabesh, - and fasted seven days.

Then David took hold of his clothes, and rent them, - yea moreover, so did all the men who were with him. And they lamented aloud, and wept, and fasted until the evening, - for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of Yahweh, and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

And David said unto Joab, and unto all the people who were with him, - Rend your clothes, and gird you with sackcloth, and lament aloud before Abner. And, King David himself, was following the bier. And they buried Abner in Hebron, - and the king lifted up his voice and wept, at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept. And the king addressed his dirge unto Abner, and said, - As a base man dieth, should Abner have died?read more.
Thy hands, were not bound, And, thy feet, near to fetters, were not brought, As one falleth before assassins, so didst thou fall! And again all the people wept over him. And, when all the people came near to get David to eat bread, while yet it was day, David sware, saying - So, let God do to me, and, so, let him add, if, before the sun go in, I taste bread, or anything else.

And, thus, used she to do, year by year, whenever she went up to the house of Yahweh, thus, used she to vex her, - and she wept, and would not eat.

Jonathan therefore rose up from the table, in a glow of anger, - and did eat no food on the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had reviled him.

So Ahab came into his house, sullen and disturbed, because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken unto him, that he should have said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. So he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and did eat no food. Then came unto him Jezebel his wife, - and said unto him - Why is it, that thy spirit is sullen, that thou art, not eating food? And he said unto her - Because I spake unto Naboth, the Jezreelite, and said unto him - Come! give me thy vineyard for silver, or, if thou wouldst prefer, I will give thee a vineyard, in its stead; and he said - I will not give thee my vineyard.

My knees, tremble from fasting, and, my flesh, faileth of fatness:

Then the king departed to his palace, and spent the night fasting, and no, table, was brought in before him, - and, his sleep, fled from him.

And, until day was about to dawn, Paul continued to beseech one and all to take some food, saying - This day is, the fourteenth day, that, suspense, fasting, ye are completing, - having helped yourselves, to nothing.

And Samuel said, Gather all Israel unto Mizpah, - that I may pray for you, unto Yahweh. So they gathered themselves unto Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before Yahweh, and fasted on that day, and said, there, We have sinned against Yahweh. And Samuel judged the sons of Israel in Mizpah.

Now, on the twenty-fourth day of this month, were the sons of Israel gathered together, with fasting and with sackcloth, having earth upon them. And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all the sons of the foreigner, - and stood and made confession over their own sins, and the iniquities of their fathers. So they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of Yahweh their God, a fourth part of the day, - and, a fourth part, they were making confession and bowing themselves down, unto Yahweh their God.

So I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek him by prayer, and supplication, - with fasting, and sackcloth and ashes; yea I prayed unto Yahweh my God, and made confession, - and said - I beseech thee, O Lord, the GOD great and to be revered, keeping the covenant and the lovingkindness, to them who love him, and to them who keep his commandments. We have sinned and committed iniquity, and been guilty of lawlessness and been rebellious, - even departing from thy commandments, and from thy regulations;read more.
and have not hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, who spake in thy name, unto our kings, our rulers, and our fathers, - and unto all the people of the land.

And, while yet I was speaking, and praying, and confessing mine own sin, and the sin of my people Israel, - and causing my supplication to fall down before Yahweh my God, concerning the holy mountain of my God;

Gird yourselves and beat the breast - ye priests, howl, ye attendants of the altar, go in and wrap yourselves for the night in sackcloth, ye attendants on my God, - for, withholden from the house of your God, are the meal-offering and the drink- offering. Hallow ye a fast, Call a solemn assembly, Gather, O elders, all the inhabitants of the land, unto the house of Yahweh your God, - and make ye outcry unto Yahweh.

Even now, therefore, urgeth Yahweh, Turn ye unto me, with all your heart, - and with fasting and with weeping, and with lamentation; And rend your heart, and not your garments, turn therefore, unto Yahweh your God, - for, gracious and full of compassion, is he, slow to anger, and abundant in loving- kindness, and will grieve over calamity. Who knoweth, he may turn and grieve, - and leave behind him, a blessing, a meal-offering and a drink-offering, to Yahweh your God?read more.
Blow ye a horn, in Zion, - hallow a fast, call a solemn assembly:

And the people of Nineveh believed in God, - and proclaimed a fast, and clothed themselves in sackcloth, from the greatest of them, even unto the least of them. And the word reached unto the king of Nineveh, so he arose from his throne, and laid aside his robe from off him, - and covered him with sackcloth, and sat on ashes. And he caused an outcry to be made - and said - throughout Nineveh, By decree of the king and of his great men, Be it known: - Man and beast, herd and flock, Let them taste, nothing, let them not feed, and, water, let them not drink:read more.
Let both man and beast, cover themselves with sackcloth, and let them cry unto God, mightily, - Yea let them turn, every man from his wicked way, and from the violence which is in their hands: Who knoweth whether God himself - may turn and grieve, - and turn away from the glow of his anger, that we perish not?

And Nathan departed unto his own house, - and Yahweh struck the child that the wife of Uriah had borne unto David, and it fell sick. David therefore earnestly sought God in behalf of the boy, - and David kept a fast, and used to go in and pass the night, and lie upon the ground. And the elders of his house stood up over him, to raise him from the ground, - but he would not, neither would he eat food with them.

And there came some and told Jehoshaphat, saying, There is coming against thee, a great multitude from beyond the sea, from Syria, - and lo! they are in Hazazon-tamar, the same, is Engedi. And Jehoshaphat was afraid, and set his face to seek unto Yahweh, - and proclaimed a fast for all Judah. And Judah gathered themselves together, to enquire of Yahweh, - even, out of all the cities of Judah, came they in, to seek Yahweh.

Then proclaimed I there a fast, by the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, - to seek of him a smooth way, for us and for our little ones, and for all our substance.

But, as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth, I humbled, with fasting, my soul, though, my prayer, unto mine own bosom, might return: Like as for a friend, like as for a brother of mine own, I walked to and fro, As though mourning for a mother, I gloomily bowed myself down.

Then went up all the sons of Israel, and all the people, and came to Bethel, and wept, and tarried there before Yahweh, and fasted on that day, until the evening, - and caused to go up ascending-sacrifices and peace-offerings, before Yahweh. And the sons of Israel asked of Yahweh, - there, being the ark of the covenant of God, in those days; and Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was standing before it in those days, saying: Shall I yet again go forth to battle, against the sons of Benjamin, my brother, or shall I forbear? And Yahweh said - Go up, for, to-morrow, will I deliver him into thy hand.

When I went up into the mountain to receive the tables of stone - the tables of the covenant, which Yahweh had solemnised with you, then abode I in the mountain forty days and forty nights, food, did I not, eat, and water, did I not drink.

In the first year of Darius son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, - who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans: in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived by the writings, - the number of the years, as to which the word of Yahweh came unto Jeremiah the prophet, to fulfil the desolations of Jerusalem, seventy years. So I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek him by prayer, and supplication, - with fasting, and sackcloth and ashes;

In the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, a matter, was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and faithful was the matter, but concerned a great warfare, and he marked the word, and had understanding in the revelation. In those days, I, Daniel, was mourning three sevens of days:

Now there were in Antioch, distributed through the existing assembly, - prophets and teachers: both Barnabas and Symeon who was called Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenian, Manaen also, Herod the tetrarch's foster-brother, and Saul. And, as they were publicly ministering unto the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said - Separate forthwith unto me, Barnabas and Saul, unto the work whereunto I have called them. Then, fasting and praying, and laying their hands upon them, they sent them away.

And, when it became day, the Jews, forming a conspiracy, bound themselves under a curse, saying, that they would neither eat nor drink till they had slain Paul. And they were, more than forty, who, this sworn-confederacy, had formed.