Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast(A) for all Judah.

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There is, however, some good(A) in you, for you have rid the land of the Asherah poles(B) and have set your heart on seeking God.(C)

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So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting,(A) and in sackcloth and ashes.(B)

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In the ninth month(A) of the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, a time of fasting(B) before the Lord was proclaimed for all the people in Jerusalem and those who had come from the towns of Judah.

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When they had assembled at Mizpah,(A) they drew water and poured(B) it out before the Lord. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the Lord.” Now Samuel was serving as leader[a](C) of Israel at Mizpah.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 7:6 Traditionally judge; also in verse 15

28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One(A) who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

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14 Declare a holy fast;(A)
    call a sacred assembly.
Summon the elders
    and all who live in the land(B)
to the house of the Lord your God,
    and cry out(C) to the Lord.(D)

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They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress(A) and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the moment of birth(B) and there is no strength to deliver them. It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule(C) the living God,(D) and that he will rebuke him for the words the Lord your God has heard.(E) Therefore pray(F) for the remnant(G) that still survives.”

When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah, Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid(H) of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed(I) me.

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The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.(A)

When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust.(B) This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh:

“By the decree of the king and his nobles:

Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink.(C) But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call(D) urgently on God. Let them give up(E) their evil ways(F) and their violence.(G) Who knows?(H) God may yet relent(I) and with compassion turn(J) from his fierce anger(K) so that we will not perish.”

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16 At this the men greatly feared(A) the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows(B) to him.

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Rend Your Heart

12 “Even now,” declares the Lord,
    “return(A) to me with all your heart,(B)
    with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

13 Rend your heart(C)
    and not your garments.(D)
Return(E) to the Lord your God,
    for he is gracious and compassionate,(F)
slow to anger and abounding in love,(G)
    and he relents from sending calamity.(H)
14 Who knows? He may turn(I) and relent(J)
    and leave behind a blessing(K)
grain offerings and drink offerings(L)
    for the Lord your God.

15 Blow the trumpet(M) in Zion,(N)
    declare a holy fast,(O)
    call a sacred assembly.(P)
16 Gather the people,
    consecrate(Q) the assembly;
bring together the elders,(R)
    gather the children,
    those nursing at the breast.
Let the bridegroom(S) leave his room
    and the bride her chamber.
17 Let the priests, who minister(T) before the Lord,
    weep(U) between the portico and the altar.(V)
Let them say, “Spare your people, Lord.
    Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,(W)
    a byword(X) among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
    ‘Where is their God?(Y)’”

The Lord’s Answer

18 Then the Lord was jealous(Z) for his land
    and took pity(AA) on his people.

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When I am afraid,(A) I put my trust in you.(B)
    In God, whose word I praise—(C)
in God I trust and am not afraid.(D)
    What can mere mortals do to me?(E)

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16 “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast(A) for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”(B)

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21 There, by the Ahava Canal,(A) I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey(B) for us and our children, with all our possessions. 22 I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers(C) and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, “The gracious hand of our God is on everyone(D) who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.(E) 23 So we fasted(F) and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.

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16 Those from every tribe of Israel(A) who set their hearts on seeking the Lord, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the Lord, the God of their ancestors.

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26 Then all the Israelites, the whole army, went up to Bethel, and there they sat weeping before the Lord.(A) They fasted(B) that day until evening and presented burnt offerings(C) and fellowship offerings(D) to the Lord.(E)

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24 So Jacob was left alone,(A) and a man(B) wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip(C) so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”(D)

27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,”(E) he answered.

28 Then the man said, “Your name(F) will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,[a](G) because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”(H)

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 32:28 Israel probably means he struggles with God.

In great fear(A) and distress(B) Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups,[a](C) and the flocks and herds and camels as well. He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one group,[b] the group[c] that is left may escape.”

Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham,(D) God of my father Isaac,(E) Lord, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’(F) 10 I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness(G) you have shown your servant. I had only my staff(H) when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps.(I) 11 Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid(J) he will come and attack me,(K) and also the mothers with their children.(L)

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 32:7 Or camps
  2. Genesis 32:8 Or camp
  3. Genesis 32:8 Or camp

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