“ You are to hold a sacred assembly on the tenth day of this seventh month and practice self-denial; you must not do any work.

“七月初十日，你们当有圣会；要刻苦己心，什么工都不可做。

“七月初十，你们当有圣会；要刻苦己心，任何工都不可做。

“七月初十，你们当有圣会；要刻苦己心，任何工都不可做。

“七月十日，你们要举行圣会，禁食，不可工作。

“‘在七月十日，你们要有圣会，刻苦己心，什么都不可作，

「七月初十日，你們當有聖會；要刻苦己心，甚麼工都不可做。

「七月初十，你們當有聖會；要刻苦己心，任何工都不可做。

「七月初十，你們當有聖會；要刻苦己心，任何工都不可做。

「七月十日，你們要舉行聖會，禁食，不可工作。

“‘在七月十日，你們要有聖會，刻苦己心，甚麼都不可作，

『在這七月十日、你們要有聖聚會，要刻苦自己；甚麼工都不可作，

七月十日、必有聖會、當苦其心、勿操作、

七月十日、必有聖會、咸止工作、卑以自牧、

七月十日、爾當有聖會、必刻苦齋戒、無論何工、悉毋作、

“‘ On the tenth day of this seventh month hold a sacred assembly. You must deny yourselves and do no work.

“‘ On the tenth day of the seventh month, come together for a special service. You must not eat anything on that day. You must not do any work on it.

“ On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation and afflict yourselves. You shall do no work,

“ Ten days later, on the tenth day of the same month, you must call another holy assembly. On that day, the Day of Atonement, the people must go without food and must do no ordinary work.

“ You are to hold a sacred assembly on the tenth day of this seventh month and practice self-denial; do not do any work.

‘ Then on the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy assembly, and you shall humble yourselves; you shall not do any work.

‘ On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall afflict your souls; you shall not do any work.

And on the tenth day of this seventh month ye shall have a holy convocation; and ye shall afflict your souls: ye shall do no manner of work;

And ye shall have on the tenth[ day] of this seventh month an holy convocation; and ye shall afflict your souls: ye shall not do any work[ therein]:

“‘ On the tenth day of this seventh month you are to have a holy assembly. You must humble yourselves; you must not do any work on it.

“‘ On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall afflict your souls. You shall do no kind of work;

Yet when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, and my prayer was genuine.

“ This is to be a permanent statute for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month you are to practice self-denial and do no work, both the native and the foreigner who resides among you.Atonement will be made for you on this day to cleanse you, and you will be clean from all your sins before the Lord.It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you must practice self-denial; it is a permanent statute.

By now much time had passed, and the voyage was already dangerous. Since the Fast was already over, Paul gave his advice

I proclaimed a fast by the Ahava River, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us, our children, and all our possessions.

No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as well!”

“ Why have we fasted, but You have not seen? We have denied ourselves, but You haven’t noticed!”“ Look, you do as you please on the day of your fast, and oppress all your workers.You fast with contention and strife to strike viciously with your fist. You cannot fast as you do today, hoping to make your voice heard on high.Will the fast I choose be like this: A day for a person 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?

For we know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that sin’s dominion over the body may be abolished, so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin,

The Lord again spoke to Moses:“ The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. You are to hold a sacred assembly and practice self-denial; you are to present a fire offering to the Lord.On this particular day you are not to do any work, for it is a Day of Atonement to make atonement for yourselves before the Lord your God.If any person does not practice self-denial on this particular day, he must be cut off from his people.I will destroy among his people anyone who does any work on this same day.You are not to do any work. This is a permanent statute throughout your generations wherever you live.It will be a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you must practice self-denial. You are to observe your Sabbath from the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening.”

On that day the Lord God of Hosts called for weeping, for wailing, for shaven heads, and for the wearing of sackcloth.

Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as well!

“ Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the house of David and the residents of Jerusalem, and they will look at Me whom they pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly for Him as one weeps for a firstborn.

Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy.Though one goes along weeping, carrying the bag of seed, he will surely come back with shouts of joy, carrying his sheaves.

Now I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because your grief led to repentance. For you were grieved as God willed, so that you didn’t experience any loss from us.For godly grief produces a repentance not to be regretted and leading to salvation, but worldly grief produces death.For consider how much diligence this very thing— this grieving as God wills— has produced in you: what a desire to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what deep longing, what zeal, what justice! In every way you showed yourselves to be pure in this matter.

Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, double-minded people!Be miserable and mourn and weep. Your laughter must change to mourning and your joy to sorrow.Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.

by asking the priests who were at the house of the Lord of Hosts as well as the prophets,“ Should we mourn and fast in the fifth month as we have done these many years?”

Those who mourn are blessed, for they will be comforted.