νηστεύω

Matthew 4:2 νηστεύσας having fasted

After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry.

Here: "Having fasted." The form describes the whole fast as finished before the main verb. The forty days are one completed block, and only then does the hunger come. For a Jew, fasting meant going without food to humble oneself before God. It was not a diet or a partial cutback.

Matthew 6:16 νηστεύητε, νηστεύοντες. you may fast,, [as] fasting.

When you fast, do not be somber like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.

Here: To go without food (and often drink) for a set period as a religious act, usually tied to mourning, repentance or urgent petition. Plural 'you all': it addresses the listening community.

Matthew 6:17 νηστεύων fasting

But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,

Here: A present participle, 'while fasting' or 'when you are fasting'. It describes the ongoing state during which the grooming happens. It assumes the disciple *will* fast: Jesus regulates how fasting is done, not whether.

Matthew 6:18 νηστεύων [as] fasting

so that your fasting will not be obvious to men, but only to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Here: "As one who is fasting". The participle completes "be seen": the thing not to be seen is your fasting. You really are fasting. Only the display is forbidden.

Matthew 9:14 νηστεύομεν νηστεύουσιν;¶ do fast, fast?

Then John’s disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast so often, but Your disciples do not fast?”

Here: 'We fast', present tense for an ongoing, regular practice. It means going without food (often drink too), usually from dawn to dusk, as an act of mourning, repentance, and humbling oneself before God.

Matthew 9:15 νηστεύσουσιν. they will fast.

Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while He is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

Here: Future tense: a prediction that also approves of the practice. When the time comes, fasting will fit, because it will express grief at the groom's absence.

Mark 2:18 νηστεύοντες νηστεύουσιν, νηστεύουσιν;¶ fasting, fast,, fast?

Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were often fasting. So people came to Jesus and asked, “Why don’t Your disciples fast like John’s disciples and those of the Pharisees?”

Mark 2:19 νηστεύειν; νηστεύειν. to fast?, to fast.

Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while He is with them? As long as He is with them, they cannot fast.

Here: To go without food as a religious act. In that culture fasting expressed mourning, sorrow for sin, or humbling oneself before God.

Mark 2:20 νηστεύσουσιν they will fast

But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

Here: Future tense. The disciples will go without food, a recognised sign of mourning and grief. It reads as a prediction, and it also gives permission for later fasting.

Luke 5:33 νηστεύουσιν fast

Then they said to Him, “John’s disciples and those of the Pharisees frequently fast and pray, but Yours keep on eating and drinking.”

Luke 5:34 νηστεῦσαι; to fast?

Jesus replied, “Can you make the guests of the bridegroom fast while He is with them?

Luke 5:35 νηστεύσουσιν they will fast

But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.”

Luke 18:12 νηστεύω I fast

I fast twice a week and pay tithes of all that I acquire.’

Here: Present tense of a repeated habit: 'I keep fasting', 'I regularly fast'. In Jewish practice this meant going without food (and often drink) from dawn to evening as an act of humbling oneself before God. It opens the sentence for emphasis: the first credential he names.

Acts 13:2 νηστευόντων fasting

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

Here: "And fasting." Going without food on purpose, a standard Jewish practice that went with prayer and seeking God. The present tense means the fast was under way when the word came.

Acts 13:3 νηστεύσαντες having fasted

And after they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

Here: 'Having fasted.' They were already fasting when the Spirit spoke (13:2). Now they fast again, or keep fasting, before they act on what they heard. Fasting went with seeking God's will at a serious moment.