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)

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.

³ In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

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)

⁹ 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.