Fasting to Be Seen Only by God

16 “Moreover, (A)when you fast, do not be like the [a]hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 6:16 pretenders

Fasting

16 “When you fast,(A) do not look somber(B) as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.

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‘Why(A) have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen?
Why have we (B)afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’

“In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure,
And [a]exploit all your laborers.
(C)Indeed you fast for strife and debate,
And to strike with the fist of wickedness.
You will not fast as you do this day,
To make your voice heard on high.
Is (D)it a fast that I have chosen,
(E)A day for a man to afflict his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,
And (F)to spread out sackcloth and ashes?
Would you call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to the Lord?

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 58:3 Lit. drive hard

‘Why have we fasted,’(A) they say,
    ‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled(B) ourselves,
    and you have not noticed?’(C)

“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please(D)
    and exploit all your workers.
Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,(E)
    and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
    and expect your voice to be heard(F) on high.
Is this the kind of fast(G) I have chosen,
    only a day for people to humble(H) themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed(I)
    and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?(J)
Is that what you call a fast,
    a day acceptable to the Lord?

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Jesus Is Questioned About Fasting(A)

14 Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, (B)“Why do we and the Pharisees fast [a]often, but Your disciples do not fast?”

15 And Jesus said to them, “Can (C)the [b]friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and (D)then they will fast.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 9:14 NU brackets often as disputed.
  2. Matthew 9:15 Lit. sons of the bridechamber

Jesus Questioned About Fasting(A)

14 Then John’s(B) disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often,(C) but your disciples do not fast?”

15 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them?(D) The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.(E)

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So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

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When I heard these things, I sat down and wept.(A) For some days I mourned and fasted(B) and prayed before the God of heaven.

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12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’

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12 I fast(A) twice a week and give a tenth(B) of all I get.’

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(A)Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.

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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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Jesus Is Questioned About Fasting(A)

18 (B)The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”

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Jesus Questioned About Fasting(A)

18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting.(B) Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”

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10 When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting,
That became my reproach.

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10 When I weep and fast,(A)
    I must endure scorn;

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13 But as for me, (A)when they were sick,
My clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled myself with fasting;
And my prayer would return to my own [a]heart.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 35:13 Lit. bosom

13 Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth(A)
    and humbled myself with fasting.(B)
When my prayers returned to me unanswered,

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23 So when they had (A)appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

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23 Paul and Barnabas appointed elders[a](A) for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting,(B) committed them to the Lord,(C) in whom they had put their trust.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 14:23 Or Barnabas ordained elders; or Barnabas had elders elected

The Model Prayer(A)

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the [a]hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 6:5 pretenders

Prayer(A)

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing(B) in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.

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Therefore, (A)when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

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“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.

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and to (A)ask the priests who were in the house of the Lord of hosts, and the prophets, saying, “Should I weep in (B)the fifth month and [a]fast as I have done for so many years?”

Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, “Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: ‘When you (C)fasted and mourned in the fifth (D)and seventh months (E)during those seventy years, did you really fast (F)for Me—for Me?

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Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 7:3 Lit. consecrate myself

by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, “Should I mourn(A) and fast in the fifth(B) month, as I have done for so many years?”

Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me: “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted(C) and mourned in the fifth and seventh(D) months for the past seventy years,(E) was it really for me that you fasted?

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