13 Bible Verses about Asceticism, People Practicing

Then the Lord spoke to Moses: "Speak to the Israelites, and tell them, 'When either a man or a woman takes a special vow, to take a vow as a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord, he must separate himself from wine and strong drink, he must drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from strong drink, nor may he drink any juice of grapes, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins.read more.
All the days of his separation he must not eat anything that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin. "'All the days of the vow of his separation no razor may be used on his head until the time is fulfilled for which he separated himself to the Lord. He will be holy, and he must let the locks of hair on his head grow long. "'All the days that he separates himself to the Lord he must not contact a dead body. He must not defile himself even for his father or his mother or his brother or his sister if they die, because the separation for his God is on his head. All the days of his separation he must be holy to the Lord.

Now be careful! Do not drink wine or beer, and do not eat any food that will make you ritually unclean. Look, you will conceive and have a son. You must never cut his hair, for the child will be dedicated to God from birth. He will begin to deliver Israel from the power of the Philistines."

Finally he told her his secret. He said to her, "My hair has never been cut, for I have been dedicated to God from the time I was conceived. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me; I would become weak, and be just like all other men."

Now John wore clothing made from camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his diet consisted of locusts and wild honey.

John wore a garment made of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon!'

For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, 'He has a demon!'

Then John's disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don't fast?"

Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. So they came to Jesus and said, "Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don't fast?"

Then they said to him, "John's disciples frequently fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours continue to eat and drink."

I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.'

The Lord spoke to Moses: "The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It is to be a holy assembly for you, and you must humble yourselves and present a gift to the Lord. You must not do any work on this particular day, because it is a day of atonement to make atonement for yourselves before the Lord your God.read more.
Indeed, any person who does not behave with humility on this particular day will be cut off from his people. As for any person who does any work on this particular day, I will exterminate that person from the midst of his people! You must not do any work. This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all the places where you live. It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you must humble yourselves on the ninth day of the month in the evening, from evening until evening you must observe your Sabbath."

In King Darius' fourth year, on the fourth day of Kislev, the ninth month, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah. Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melech and their companions to seek the Lord's favor by asking both the priests of the temple of the Lord who rules over all and the prophets, "Should we weep in the fifth month, fasting as we have done over the years?"read more.
The word of the Lord who rules over all then came to me, "Speak to all the people and priests of the land as follows: 'When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and seventh months through all these seventy years, did you truly fast for me -- for me, indeed?