therefore go thou, and read in the roll, which thou hast written from my mouth, the words of Jehovah in the ears of the people in Jehovah's house upon the fast-day; and also thou shalt read them in the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities.

Is such the fast that I have chosen? the day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to Jehovah?

Go, gather together 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 in like manner; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.

Behold, ye fast for strife and contention, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye fast not this day so as to make your voice to be heard on high.

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 feasts; therefore love truth and peace.

Wherefore have we fasted,'say they , and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find your own pleasure, and exact all your labors.

But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then will they fast in that day.

And John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting: and they come and say unto him, Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?

Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen of men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward.

Then come to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?

And Jesus said unto them, Can the sons of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.

But the days will come; and when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, then will they fast in those days.

And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take some food, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye wait and continue fasting, having taken nothing.

I know where thou dwellest, even where Satan's throne is; and thou holdest fast my name, and didst not deny my faith, even in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwelleth.

And Jesus said unto them, Can the sons of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then will they fast.

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 these seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?

let us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not; for he is faithful that promised:

And they said unto him, The disciples of John fast often, and make supplications; likewise also the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink.

And Jesus said unto them, Can ye make the sons of the bride-chamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?

And that in the good ground, these are such as in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, hold it fast, and bring forth fruit with patience.

By Silvanus, our faithful brother, as I account him , I have written unto you briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand ye fast therein.

I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I get.

Nevertheless that which ye have, hold fast till I come.

I come quickly: hold fast that which thou hast, that no one take thy crown.

Jesus saith unto them, Come and break your fast. And none of the disciples durst inquire of him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.

So when they had broken their fast, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon,'son of John, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that holdeth it fast; that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.

For thus saith Jehovah of the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and hold fast my covenant:

Also the foreigners that join themselves to Jehovah, to minister unto him, and to love the name of Jehovah, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and holdeth fast my covenant;

Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?

When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt-offering and meal-offering, I will not accept them; but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.

Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.

Now it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, that all the people in Jerusalem, and all the people that came from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem, proclaimed a fast before Jehovah.

who, having received such a charge, cast them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.

Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The children of Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed together; and all that took them captive hold them fast; they refuse to let them go.

The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast.

And when much time was spent, and the voyage was now dangerous, because the Fast was now already gone by, Paul admonished them,

Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither pass from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens.

And Ruth the Moabitess said, Yea, he said unto me, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest.

So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz, to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law.

For Jehovah had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.

But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.

And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people:

They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.

Now I praise you that ye remember me in all things, and hold fast the traditions, even as I delivered them to you.

But Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him; and the king'sent a man from before him: but ere the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away my head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold the door fast against him: is not the sound of his master's feet behind him?

by which also ye are saved, if ye hold fast the word which I preached unto you, except ye believed in vain.

Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.

Not that we have lordship over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for in faith ye stand fast.

Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the old men and all the inhabitants of the land unto the house of Jehovah your God, and cry unto Jehovah.

Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly;

Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god; and they cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it unto them. But Jonah was gone down into the innermost parts of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.

And the people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.

And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek unto Jehovah; and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

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

For freedom did Christ set us free: stand fast therefore, and be not entangled again in a yoke of bondage.

that thou be not seen of men to fast, but of thy Father who is in secret: and thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall recompense thee.

And Jehovah said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job? for there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and turneth away from evil: and he still holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.

Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still hold fast thine integrity? renounce God, and die.

He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: He shall hold fast thereby, but it shall not endure.

And thou hast laid fast hold on me, which is a witness against me : And my leanness riseth up against me, It testifieth to my face.

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ: that, whether I come and see you and be absent, I may hear of your state, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one soul striving for the faith of the gospel;

My foot hath held fast to his steps; His way have I kept, and turned not aside.

Wherefore, my brethren beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my beloved.

My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: My heart shall not reproach me'so long as I live.

When the dust runneth into a mass, And the clods cleave fast together?

My steps have held fast to thy paths, My feet have not slipped.

and not holding fast the Head, from whom all the body, being supplied and knit together through the joints and bands, increasing with the increase of God.

For he spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.

The counsel of Jehovah standeth fast for ever, The thoughts of his heart to all generations.

for now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.

prove all things; hold fast that which is good;

So then, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye were taught, whether by word, or by epistle of ours.

For thine arrows stick fast in me, And thy hand presseth me sore.

An evil disease,'say they , cleaveth fast unto him; And now that he lieth he shall rise up no more.

Who by his strength setteth fast the mountains, Being girded about with might;

My lovingkindness will I keep for him for evermore; And my covenant shall stand fast with him.

Ye leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men.

but Christ as a son, over his house; whose house are we, if we hold fast our boldness and the glorying of our hope firm unto the end.

for we are become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm unto the end:

Having then a great high priest, who hath passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: Keep her; for she is thy life.

And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new ropes, and brought him up from the rock.

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.

Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackcloth, and earth upon them.

Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto Beth-el, and wept, and sat there before Jehovah, and fasted that day until even; and they offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Jehovah.

That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,

Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the ordinance.

But look not thou on the day of thy brother in the day of his disaster, and rejoice not over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither speak proudly in the day of distress.

the same shall purify himself therewith on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he purify not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean.

Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.

Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of Jehovah; and they sanctified the house of Jehovah in eight days: and on the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.

Howbeit on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruits of the land, ye shall keep the feast of Jehovah seven days: on the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest.