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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23 The Israelites went up and wept before the Lord(A) until evening,(B) and they inquired of the Lord.(C) They said, “Shall we go up again to fight(D) against the Benjamites, our fellow Israelites?”

The Lord answered, “Go up against them.”

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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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Then everyone who trembled(A) at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me because of this unfaithfulness of the exiles. And I sat there appalled(B) until the evening sacrifice.

Then, at the evening sacrifice,(C) I rose from my self-abasement, with my tunic and cloak torn, and fell on my knees with my hands(D) spread out to the Lord my God

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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.

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18 The Israelites went up to Bethel[a](A) and inquired of God.(B) They said, “Who of us is to go up first(C) to fight(D) against the Benjamites?”

The Lord replied, “Judah(E) shall go first.”

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 20:18 Or to the house of God; also in verse 26

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.”

10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented(L) and did not bring on them the destruction(M) he had threatened.(N)

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

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