2 Chronicles 20:3

20:3 Jehoshaphat was afraid, so he decided to seek the Lord’s advice. ¹  He decreed that all Judah should observe a fast.

Ezra 10:6

10:6 Then Ezra got up from in front of the temple of God and went to the room of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. While he stayed ²  there, he did not eat food or drink water, for he was in mourning over the infidelity of the exiles.

Nehemiah 9:1-2

The People Acknowledge Their Sin before God

9:1 On the twenty-fourth day of this same month the Israelites assembled; they were fasting and wearing sackcloth, their heads covered with dust. 9:2 Those truly of Israelite descent ³  separated from all the foreigners, ⁴  standing and confessing their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors. ⁵ 

Esther 4:3

4:3 Throughout each and every province where the king’s edict and law were announced ⁶  there was considerable ⁷  mourning among the Jews, along with fasting, weeping, and sorrow. ⁸  Sackcloth and ashes were characteristic ⁹  of many.

Esther 4:16

4:16 “Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa and fast in my behalf. Don’t eat and don’t drink for three days, night or day. My female attendants and I ¹⁰  will also fast in the same way. Afterward I will go to the king, even though it violates the law. ¹¹  If I perish, I perish!”

Daniel 9:3-19

9:3 So I turned my attention ¹²  to the Lord God ¹³  to implore him by prayer and requests, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. ¹⁴  9:4 I prayed to the LORD my God, confessing in this way:

“O Lord, ¹⁵  great and awesome God who is faithful to his covenant ¹⁶  with those who love him and keep his commandments, 9:5 we have sinned! We have done what is wrong and wicked; we have rebelled by turning away from your commandments and standards. 9:6 We have not paid attention to your servants the prophets, who spoke by your authority ¹⁷  to our kings, our leaders, and our ancestors, ¹⁸  and to all the inhabitants ¹⁹  of the land as well.

9:7 “You are righteous, ²⁰  O Lord, but we are humiliated this day ²¹  – the people ²²  of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far away in all the countries in which you have scattered them, because they have behaved unfaithfully toward you. 9:8 O LORD, we have been humiliated ²³  – our kings, our leaders, and our ancestors – because we have sinned against you. 9:9 Yet the Lord our God is compassionate and forgiving, ²⁴  even though we have rebelled against him. 9:10 We have not obeyed ²⁵  the LORD our God by living according to ²⁶  his laws ²⁷  that he set before us through his servants the prophets.

9:11 “All Israel has broken ²⁸  your law and turned away by not obeying you. ²⁹  Therefore you have poured out on us the judgment solemnly threatened ³⁰  in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against you. ³¹  9:12 He has carried out his threats ³²  against us and our rulers ³³  who were over ³⁴  us by bringing great calamity on us – what has happened to Jerusalem has never been equaled under all heaven! 9:13 Just as it is written in the law of Moses, so all this calamity has come on us. Still we have not tried to pacify ³⁵  the LORD our God by turning back from our sin and by seeking wisdom ³⁶  from your reliable moral standards. ³⁷  9:14 The LORD was mindful of the calamity, and he brought it on us. For the LORD our God is just ³⁸  in all he has done, ³⁹  and we have not obeyed him. ⁴⁰ 

9:15 “Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with great power ⁴¹  and made a name for yourself that is remembered to this day – we have sinned and behaved wickedly. 9:16 O Lord, according to all your justice, ⁴²  please turn your raging anger ⁴³  away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. For due to our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors, Jerusalem and your people are mocked by all our neighbors.

9:17 “So now, our God, accept ⁴⁴  the prayer and requests of your servant, and show favor to ⁴⁵  your devastated sanctuary for your own sake. ⁴⁶  9:18 Listen attentively, ⁴⁷  my God, and hear! Open your eyes and look on our desolated ruins ⁴⁸  and the city called by your name. ⁴⁹  For it is not because of our own righteous deeds that we are praying to you, ⁵⁰  but because your compassion is abundant. 9:19 O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, pay attention, and act! Don’t delay, for your own sake, O my God! For your city and your people are called by your name.” ⁵¹ 

Zechariah 7:5

7:5 “Speak to all the people and priests of the land as follows: ‘When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and seventh ⁵²  months through all these seventy years, did you truly fast for me – for me, indeed?

[20:3]  ¹ tn Heb “and he set his face to seek the Lord.”

[10:6]  ² tc The translation reads וַיָּלֶן (vayyalen, “and he stayed”) rather than the reading וַיֵּלֶךְ (vayyelekh, “and he went”) of the MT. Cf. the LXX.

[9:2]  ³ tn Heb “the seed of Israel.”

[9:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “sons of a foreigner.”

[9:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 9, 16, 23, 32, 34, 36).

[4:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “reached” (so NAB, NLT); KJV, NASB, NIV “came”; TEV “wherever the king’s proclamation was made known.”

[4:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “great” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the Jews went into deep mourning.”

[4:3]  ⁸ sn Although prayer is not specifically mentioned here, it is highly unlikely that appeals to God for help were not a part of this reaction to devastating news. As elsewhere in the book of Esther, the writer seems deliberately to keep religious actions in the background.

[4:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “were spread to many”; KJV, NIV “many (+ people NLT) lay in sackcloth and ashes.”

[4:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I and my female attendants.” The translation reverses the order for stylistic reasons.

[4:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “which is not according to the law” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “contrary to the law.”

[9:3]  ¹² tn Heb “face.”

[9:3]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew phrase translated “Lord God” here is אֲדֹנָי הָאֱלֹהִים (’adonay ha’elohim).

[9:3]  ¹⁴ sn When lamenting, ancient Israelites would fast, wear sackcloth, and put ashes on their heads to show their sorrow and contrition.

[9:4]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 7, 9, 15, 16, and 19 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[9:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “who keeps the covenant and the loyal love.” The expression is a hendiadys.

[9:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “in your name.” Another option is to translate, “as your representatives.”

[9:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “our fathers” (also in vv. 8, 16). The Hebrew term translated “father” can refer to more distant relationships such as grandfathers or ancestors.

[9:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “people.”

[9:7]  ²⁰ tn Heb “to you (belongs) righteousness.”

[9:7]  ²¹ tn Heb “and to us (belongs) shame of face like this day.”

[9:7]  ²² tn Heb “men.”

[9:8]  ²³ tn Heb “to us (belongs) shame of face.”

[9:9]  ²⁴ tn Heb “to the Lord our God (belong) compassion and forgiveness.”

[9:10]  ²⁵ tn Heb “paid attention to the voice of,” which is an idiomatic expression for obedience (cf. NASB “nor have we obeyed the voice of”).

[9:10]  ²⁶ tn Heb “to walk in.”

[9:10]  ²⁷ tc The LXX and Vulgate have the singular.

[9:11]  ²⁸ tn Or “transgressed.” The Hebrew verb has the primary sense of crossing a boundary, in this case, God’s law.

[9:11]  ²⁹ tn Heb “by not paying attention to your voice.”

[9:11]  ³⁰ tn Heb “the curse and the oath which is written.” The term “curse” refers here to the judgments threatened in the Mosaic law (see Deut 28) for rebellion. The expression “the curse and the oath” is probably a hendiadys (cf. Num 5:21; Neh 10:29) referring to the fact that the covenant with its threatened judgments was ratified by solemn oath and made legally binding upon the covenant community.

[9:11]  ³¹ tn Heb “him.”

[9:12]  ³² tn Heb “he has fulfilled his word(s) which he spoke.”

[9:12]  ³³ tn Heb “our judges.”

[9:12]  ³⁴ tn Heb “who judged.”

[9:13]  ³⁵ tn Heb “we have not pacified the face of.”

[9:13]  ³⁶ tn Or “by gaining insight.”

[9:13]  ³⁷ tn Heb “by your truth.” The Hebrew term does not refer here to abstract truth, however, but to the reliable moral guidance found in the covenant law. See vv 10-11.

[9:14]  ³⁸ tn Or “righteous.”

[9:14]  ³⁹ tn Heb “in all his deeds which he has done.”

[9:14]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “we have not listened to his voice.”

[9:15]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “with a powerful hand.”

[9:16]  ⁴² tn Or “righteousness.”

[9:16]  ⁴³ tn Heb “your anger and your rage.” The synonyms are joined here to emphasize the degree of God’s anger. This is best expressed in English by making one of the terms adjectival (cf. NLT “your furious anger”; CEV “terribly angry”).

[9:17]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “hear.” Here the verb refers to hearing favorably, accepting the prayer and responding positively.

[9:17]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “let your face shine.” This idiom pictures God smiling in favor. See Pss 31:16; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19.

[9:17]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “for the sake of my Lord.” Theodotion has “for your sake.” Cf. v. 19.

[9:18]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “turn your ear.”

[9:18]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “desolations.” The term refers here to the ruined condition of Judah’s towns.

[9:18]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “over which your name is called.” Cf. v. 19. This expression implies that God is the owner of his city, Jerusalem. Note the use of the idiom in 2 Sam 12:28; Isa 4:1; Amos 9:12.

[9:18]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “praying our supplications before you.”

[9:19]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “for your name is called over your city and your people.” See the note on this expression in v 18.

[7:5]  ⁵² tn The seventh month apparently refers to the anniversary of the assassination of Gedaliah, governor of Judah (Jer 40:13-14; 41:1), in approximately 581 b.c.