Fasting in the Bible

40 passages of the Berean Standard Bible, line by line, from Nave’s Topical Bible.

In mourning and grief

The men of Jabesh bury Saul’s bones and fast seven days1 Sam 31:13
The verses
1 Sam 31:13Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.
David and his men fast until evening for Saul and Jonathan2 Sam 1:12
The verses
2 Sam 1:12They mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the people of the LORD and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
David refuses to eat until sunset after Abner’s death2 Sam 3:35
The verses
2 Sam 3:35Then all the people came and urged David to eat something while it was still day, but David took an oath, saying, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets!”
David fasts for his sick child and eats once the child dies2 Sam 12:16–23
The verses
2 Sam 12:16–23David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted and went into his house and spent the night lying in sackcloth on the ground. The elders of his household stood beside him to help him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat anything with them. On the seventh day the child died. But David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Look, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not listen to us. So how can we tell him the child is dead? He may even harm himself.” When David saw that his servants were whispering to one another, he perceived that the child was dead. So he asked his servants, “Is the child dead?” “He is dead,” they replied. Then David got up from the ground, washed and anointed himself, changed his clothes, and went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they set food before him, and he ate. “What is this you have done?” his servants asked. “While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but when he died, you got up and ate.” David answered, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let him live.’ But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”
Nehemiah mourns for days, fasting, at news of JerusalemNeh 1:4
The verses
Neh 1:4When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
Ezra eats no food and drinks no water, mourningEzra 10:6
The verses
Ezra 10:6Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of God and walked to the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. And while he stayed there, he ate no food and drank no water, because he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.
The psalmist fasted in sackcloth when others were illPs 35:13
The verses
Ps 35:13Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, but my prayers returned unanswered.

In danger and distress

Esther: “Do not eat or drink for three days”Esth 4:16
The verses
Esth 4:16“Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day, and I and my maidens will fast as you do. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish!”
Jehoshaphat proclaims a fast throughout Judah2 Chr 20:3
The verses
2 Chr 20:3Jehoshaphat was alarmed and set his face to seek the LORD. And he proclaimed a fast throughout Judah.
Ezra proclaims a fast at the Ahava Canal for a safe journeyEzra 8:21–23
The verses
Ezra 8:21–23And there by the Ahava Canal I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. For I was ashamed to ask the king for an escort of soldiers and horsemen to protect us from our enemies on the road, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek Him, but His great anger is against all who forsake Him.” So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and He granted our request.
Israel weeps and fasts at Bethel during the war with BenjaminJudg 20:26
The verses
Judg 20:26Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, where they sat weeping before the LORD. That day they fasted until evening and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD.
At Mizpah the people pour out water and fast1 Sam 7:6
The verses
1 Sam 7:6When they had gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted, and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the LORD.” And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.
Israel gathers fasting, in sackcloth, with dust on their headsNeh 9:1
The verses
Neh 9:1On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth, with dust on their heads.
Ahab tears his clothes, puts on sackcloth and fasts1 Kgs 21:27
The verses
1 Kgs 21:27When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted. He lay down in sackcloth and walked around meekly.
A fast is proclaimed in Jerusalem under JehoiakimJer 36:9
The verses
Jer 36:9Now in the ninth month of the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, a fast before the LORD was proclaimed to all the people of Jerusalem and all who had come there from the cities of Judah.
King Darius spends the night fasting while Daniel is with the lionsDan 6:18
The verses
Dan 6:18Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting. No entertainment was brought before him, and sleep fled from him.
Daniel prays with fasting, sackcloth and ashesDan 9:3
The verses
Dan 9:3So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
Daniel eats no rich food, meat or wine for three weeksDan 10:2–3
The verses
Dan 10:2–3In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three full weeks. I ate no rich food, no meat or wine entered my mouth, and I did not anoint myself with oil until the three weeks were completed.
Nineveh fasts in sackcloth — even the herds and flocksJonah 3:5–8
The verses
Jonah 3:5–8And the Ninevites believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least. When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let no man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything at all. They must not eat or drink. Furthermore, let both man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and have everyone call out earnestly to God. Let each one turn from his evil ways and from the violence in his hands.
Saul forbids his troops to eat before evening1 Sam 14:24
The verses
1 Sam 14:24Now the men of Israel were in distress that day, for Saul had placed the troops under an oath, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food before evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the troops tasted any food.
Paul’s enemies swear not to eat until they kill himActs 23:12
The verses
Acts 23:12When daylight came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.

Forty days

Moses forty days and nights without bread or waterExod 34:28, Deut 9:9, Deut 9:18
The verses
Exod 34:28So Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.
Deut 9:9When I went up on the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the LORD made with you, I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. I ate no bread and drank no water.
Deut 9:18Then I fell down before the LORD for forty days and forty nights, as I had done the first time. I did not eat bread or drink water because of all the sin you had committed in doing what was evil in the sight of the LORD and provoking Him to anger.
Elijah walks forty days on the strength of one meal1 Kgs 19:8
The verses
1 Kgs 19:8So he got up and ate and drank. And strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.
Jesus fasts forty days and forty nightsMatt 4:2
The verses
Matt 4:2After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry.

Customs

Day of Atonement: “you shall humble yourselves”Lev 16:29
The verses
Lev 16:29This is to be a permanent statute for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month, you shall humble yourselves and not do any work—whether the native or the foreigner who resides among you—
Fasts in the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth monthsZech 7:5, Zech 8:19
The verses
Zech 7:5“Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, was it really for Me that you fasted?
Zech 8:19“This is what the LORD of Hosts says: The fasts of the fourth, the fifth, the seventh, and the tenth months will become times of joy and gladness, cheerful feasts for the house of Judah. Therefore you are to love both truth and peace.”
Isaiah: a fast that goes with fair treatment of workersIsa 58:3–7
The verses
Isa 58:3–7“Why have we fasted, and You have not seen? Why have we humbled ourselves, and You have not noticed?” “Behold, on the day of your fast, you do as you please, and you oppress all your workers. You fast with contention and strife to strike viciously with your fist. You cannot fast as you do today and have your voice be heard on high. Is this the fast I have chosen: a day for a man to deny himself, to bow his head like a reed, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast and a day acceptable to the LORD? Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to break the chains of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and tear off every yoke? Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Anna worshiped night and day, fasting and prayingLuke 2:37
The verses
Luke 2:37and then was a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.
A Pharisee: “I fast twice a week”Luke 18:12
The verses
Luke 18:12I fast twice a week and pay tithes of all that I acquire.’
Why do John’s disciples fast, but not Jesus’ disciples?Matt 9:14–15
The verses
Matt 9:14–15At that time John’s disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast so often, but Your disciples do not fast?” Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while He is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
Jesus: when you fast, wash your faceMatt 6:16–18
The verses
Matt 6:16–18When you fast, do not be somber like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that your fasting will not be obvious to men, but only to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Saul of Tarsus neither eats nor drinks for three daysActs 9:9
The verses
Acts 9:9For three days he was without sight, and he did not eat or drink anything.
The church at Antioch fasts before sending Barnabas and SaulActs 13:2–3
The verses
Acts 13:2–3While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” And after they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
Elders appointed with prayer and fastingActs 14:23
The verses
Acts 14:23Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church, praying and fasting as they entrusted them to the Lord, in whom they had believed.
Paul was often without food2 Cor 11:27
The verses
2 Cor 11:27in labor and toil and often without sleep, in hunger and thirst and often without food, in cold and exposure.
Sailing became dangerous after “the Fast”Acts 27:9
The verses
Acts 27:9By now much time had passed, and the voyage had already become dangerous because it was after the Fast. So Paul advised them,
Paul’s shipmates go fourteen days without foodActs 27:33
The verses
Acts 27:33Right up to daybreak, Paul kept urging them all to eat: “Today is your fourteenth day in constant suspense, without taking any food.

Sources

From Nave’s Topical Bible (Orville J. Nave, 1896; public domain): subjects chosen, lines shortened and put into modern words, lines of interpretation left out; each verse checked.

Berean Standard Bible · Public domain