Fasting
The mouths of lions were closed, protecting those who were thrown into their dens. Fire, which had been raging in the furnace, miraculously fasted and did not consume the three men who were cast into it, thanks to the presence of a fourth, as described in Daniel 3:23-25. A sea creature fasted in the sea when it swallowed Jonah, as told in Jonah 1:17, and kept him safe in its belly. The sea creature had the prophet Jonah as a deposit and showed the sign of fasting by not digesting him.
Instead of being a threat, the sea creature carried Jonah safely through the sea, and eventually released him unharmed, returning the deposit to God. David fasted and repented, and through his fasting, God forgave him his sin with Uriah's wife, as seen in 2 Samuel 12:13. Elijah fasted for forty days and was given the power to control the rain, as stated in 1 Kings 17:1, and he could bring it or withhold it as he pleased. Our Savior fasted for forty days in the wilderness, as mentioned in Matthew 4:1-2, and in doing so, he shamed the devil and showed his sinlessness.
By fasting, Jesus gave us an example that through fasting, we can obtain forgiveness of sins. Let us fast, beloved, a pure fast, for as the apostle James says in James 1:27, pure religion is to visit brothers in their affliction and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. Jesus, the son of Nave, fasted and was able to command the sun and the moon to stand still. The apostles, who possessed nothing earthly, received authority from God to bind and loose, and this authority was fulfilled in them.
Peter and John, two of the apostles, went up to the temple at the ninth hour to pray, and they encountered a lame man who had been unable to walk since birth, and Peter responded to him.
Greek
τὰ στόματα τῶν λεόντων. Ἐνήστευσεν τὸ πῦρ ἐν τῇ καμίνῳ καὶ οὐκ ἐχρήσατο τοῖς συνδούλοις εἰς βρῶσιν, ἀλλὰ νηστεῦσαν ἐξεπήδησεν τῆς καμίνου, παραχωρῆσαν τοῖς τρισὶν διὰ τὸν τέταρτον. 4 Ἐνήστευσεν τὸ κῆτος ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ, ὅτε ἐδέξατο τὸν Ἰωνᾶν ἐν τοῖς τῆς κοιλίας ταμιείοις· ἔχον γὰρ τὸν προφήτην ὡς παραθήκην, ἐπεδείξατο τὸ τῆς νηστείας σημεῖον. Ἀντὶ γὰρ νηὸς τῷ ναυαγήσαντι γενόμενον, ἔφερεν τὸν ξένον διὰ θαλάσσης καὶ βυθοῦ καὶ φόβου μεγάλου καί, ἵνα μὴ διαφθείρῃ τὸν ξένον ἐν τοῖς τῆς κοιλίας ταμιείοις, ἀπεκατέστησεν σώαν τὴν παραθήκην, παραδοὺς τῷ παρακαταθεμένῳ δεσπότῃ. Ἐνήστευσεν ∆αυὶδ καί, διὰ τῆς νηστείας καὶ τῆς μετανοίας, συνεχώρησεν αὐτῷ ὁ θεὸς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τῆς γυναικὸς Οὐρίου. Ἐνήστευσεν Ἠλίας τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας καὶ τὰς κλεῖς τῶν οὐρανῶν ἔλαβεν καί, ὅτε ἠθέλησεν, ἐκώλυσεν τὸν ὑετὸν καί, ὅτε ἠθέλησεν, ἤνεγκεν αὐτὸν διὰ νηστειῶν καὶ εὐχῶν. 5 Ἐνήστευ<σεν> ὁ σωτὴρ ἡμ<ῶν> τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας καὶ τὸν διάβολον κατῄσχυνεν, ὁ ἁμαρτίαν μὴ ποιήσας μηδὲ δόλος εὑρέθη ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτοῦ. Ἐνήστευσεν δὲ τύπον ἡμῖν διδοὺς ὅτι διὰ νηστειῶν δυνάμεθα τυχεῖν ἐξιλασμοῦ 1 ἁμαρτημάτων. Νηστεύσωμεν οὖν, ἀγαπητοί, νηστείαν καθαρὰν περὶ ἧς φησιν ὁ ἀπόστολος Ἰάκωβος ὅτι «θρησκεία καθαρὰ αὕτη ἐστίν· ἐπισκέπτεσθαι» ἀδελφοὺς «ἐν τῇ θλίψει αὐτῶν, ἀσπίλους ἑαυτοὺς τηρεῖν ἀπὸ τοῦ κόσμου.» Ἐνήστευσεν Ἰησοῦς ὁ τοῦ Ναυὴ καὶ τῷ ἡλίῳ καὶ τῇ σελήνῃ ἐπέταξεν. 6 Οἱ ἀπόστολοι, μηδὲν ἔχοντες ἐπὶ γῆς, δέννειν καὶ λύειν ἐξουσίαν ἔλαβον καὶ πληροῦται εἰς αὐτοὺς τὸ εἰρημένον· «ὡς μηδὲν ἔχοντες καὶ πάντα κατέχοντες.» Πέτρος γάρ, φησίν, καὶ Ἰωάννης περὶ ὥραν ἐνάτην ἀνῆλθον εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν προσεύξασθαι. Καί τις χωλὸς ἐκ κοιλίας μητρὸς αὐτοῦ ὑπάρχων ἐκάθητο, ὃς οὐδέποτε περιεπάτησεν. Οὗτος προσεδόκα λαβεῖν τι παρὰ τῶν ἀποστόλων. Ἀπεκρίθη δὲ ὁ Πέτρος λέγων αὐτῷ· «Ἃ προσδοκᾷς λαβεῖν οὐκ ἔχω, ἃ δὲ μὴ προσδοκᾷς λαβεῖν
About this text
Hesychius of Jerusalem, Homilia de jejunio (Greek).
Original English Translation of Hesychius of Jerusalem’s Homilia de jejunio — new OET from PG 93 Greek.
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG 93 (Khazarzar) (Greek)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.