And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. {himself: Heb. his face}

Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders {and} all the inhabitants of the land {into} the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD, {solemn...: or, day of restraint}

And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured {it} out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.

And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This {is} the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.

And {this} shall be a statute for ever unto you: {that} in the seventh month, on the tenth {day} of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, {whether it be} one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you:

For whatsoever soul {it be} that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.

Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.

Let the redeemed of the LORD say {so}, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

And I will bring the blind by a way {that} they knew not; I will lead them in paths {that} they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them. {straight: Heb. into straightness}

Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye {even} to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:

Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face. {mine...: Heb. those which observe me}

Wherefore have we fasted, {say they}, and thou seest not? {wherefore} have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. {labours: or, things wherewith ye grieve others: Heb. griefs}

And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi. {abode: or, pitched}

Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, {and} with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither.

They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.

And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and {his} disciples rebuked those that brought {them}.

For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, {even} as many as the Lord our God shall call.

O LORD, I know that the way of man {is} not in himself: {it is} not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.

In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the LORD their God.

Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? {is it} to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes {under him}? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD? {a day...: or, to afflict his soul for a day?}

It {shall be} a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.

And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?

But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised.

Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. {ordained: Heb. founded}

Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth {day} of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way.

And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it {shall be} for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err {therein}. {but...: or, for he shall be with them}

The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

And the men took of their victuals, and asked not {counsel} at the mouth of the LORD. {the men...: or, they received the men by reason of their victuals}

And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi. {abode: or, pitched}

And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. {himself: Heb. his face}

And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

Also on the tenth {day} of this seventh month {there shall be} a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.

That the LORD thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do.

And he caused {it} to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: {published: Heb. said} {nobles: Heb. great men}

Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth {day} of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way.

And I came this day unto the well, and said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go:

Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.

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}:

And they set the altar upon his bases; for fear {was} upon them because of the people of those countries: and they offered burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD, {even} burnt offerings morning and evening.

And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son.

And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, {and} also our little ones.

Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void.

And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured {it} out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.

So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.

Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you. {direct: or, guide}