33 Bible Verses about Fasting, Nature Of

Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God and went into the chamber of Johanan, the son of Eliashib; and when he came there, he ate no bread, nor drank water; for he mourned because of the transgression of those that had been carried away.

And I turned my face unto the Lord God, seeking him in prayer and supplication, in fasting and sackcloth, and ashes:

And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together and they vowed under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.

And this would happen year by year when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she would provoke her; therefore, she would weep and not eat.

Then the king went to his palace and lay down without eating; neither were instruments of music brought before him, and his sleep fled from him.

It shall be unto you a sabbath of sabbaths, and ye shall afflict your souls, beginning in the ninth day of the month in the evening, from evening unto evening, shall ye rest on your sabbath.

Then all the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came unto 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 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.

where he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

And they took their bones and buried them under a tree at Jabesh and fasted seven days.

all the valiant men arose and took away the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons and brought them to Jabesh and buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh and fasted seven days.

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 up 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 slaves of David feared to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice; how much more will it trouble him if we tell him that the child is dead?read more.
But when David saw that his slaves whispered, David understood that the child was dead; therefore, David said unto his slaves, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead. Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes and came into the house of the LORD and worshipped. Then he came to his own house; and when he asked, they set bread before him, and he ate.

And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did not eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

And he arose and ate and drank and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights unto Horeb, the mount of God.

And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards he was hungry.

for forty days and was tempted of the devil. And in those days he ate nothing; and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.

And you shall hold this as a perpetual statute: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls and do no work at all, whether it is a natural of your own country or a stranger that sojourns among you; for on that day he shall reconcile you to cleanse you that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a perpetual statute.

And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, But the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the day of reconciliations; it shall be a holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls and offer an offering made on fire unto the LORD. And ye shall do no work in this same day; for it is a day of reconciliations, to reconcile you before the LORD your God.read more.
For every person that shall not afflict themselves in that same day, shall be cut off from among his people. And any person that does any work in that same day, the same person will I destroy from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of work; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout your ages in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a sabbath of sabbaths, and ye shall afflict your souls, beginning in the ninth day of the month in the evening, from evening unto evening, shall ye rest on your sabbath.

And ye shall have on the tenth of this seventh month a holy convocation; and ye shall afflict your souls; ye shall not do any work;

Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them,

Thus hath the LORD of the hosts said, 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.

when they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regemmelech and their men, to pray before the LORD and to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the LORD of the hosts and to the prophets, saying, Should we weep in the fifth month? Should we do abstinence as we have done these so many years? Then the word of the LORD of the hosts came unto me, saying,read more.
Speak unto 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 unto me, even to me?

The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are: extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast two meals every sabbath; I give tithes of all that I possess.

Then Jehoshaphat feared and set himself to seek the LORD and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

But the men of Israel were distressed that day, for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eats any food until evening that I may be avenged on my enemies. So none of the people tasted any food.

But the man of God said unto 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.

And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people

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 of Jerusalem and to all the people that came from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem.

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

in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings,

in labour and travail, in many watches, in hunger and thirst, in many fasts, in cold and nakedness.

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 the heavens

and she was a widow eighty-four years, who departed not from the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers.