But examine all things; hold fast to what is good.

Then John’s ¹  disciples came to Jesus ²  and asked, “Why do we and the Pharisees ³  fast often, ⁴  but your disciples don’t fast?”

When ¹  you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,

Having no regard ¹  for the command of God, you hold fast to human tradition.” ² 

I fast twice ¹  a week; I give a tenth ²  of everything I get.’

Now ¹  John’s ²  disciples and the Pharisees ³  were fasting. ⁴  So ⁵  they came to Jesus ⁶  and said, “Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don’t fast?”

Jesus ¹  said to them, “The wedding guests ²  cannot fast while the bridegroom ³  is with them, can they? ⁴  As long as they have the bridegroom with them they do not fast.

But the days are coming when the bridegroom will be taken from them, ¹  and at that time ²  they will fast.

So ¹  Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the wedding guests ²  fast while the bridegroom ³  is with them, can you? ⁴ 

But those days are coming, and when the bridegroom is taken from them, ¹  at that time ²  they will fast.”

Since considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous ¹  because the fast ²  was already over, ³  Paul advised them, ⁴ 

(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they perform a ritual washing, ¹  holding fast to the tradition of the elders.

Then ¹  they said to him, “John’s ²  disciples frequently fast ³  and pray, ⁴  and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, ⁵  but yours continue to eat and drink.” ⁶ 

Therefore since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.

“When ¹  you fast, do not look sullen like the hypocrites, for they make their faces unattractive ²  so that people will see them fasting. I tell you the truth, ³  they have their reward.

Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests ¹  cannot mourn while the bridegroom ²  is with them, can they? But the days ³  are coming when the bridegroom will be taken from them, ⁴  and then they will fast.

And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. They hold fast to many other traditions: the washing of cups, pots, kettles, and dining couches. ¹ ) ² 

A young man named Eutychus, who was sitting in the window, ¹  was sinking ²  into a deep sleep while Paul continued to speak ³  for a long time. Fast asleep, ⁴  he fell down from the third story and was picked up dead.

But they encountered a patch of crosscurrents ¹  and ran the ship aground; the bow stuck fast and could not be moved, but the stern was being broken up by the force ²  of the waves.

He has not held fast ¹  to the head from whom the whole body, supported ²  and knit together through its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God. ³