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The Lord Wants Kindness and Mercy

Zechariah received a message from the Lord in the fourth year that Darius[a] was the king of Persia. This was on the fourth day of the ninth month (Kislev). The people of Bethel sent Sharezer, Regem-Melech, and his men to ask the Lord a question. They went to the prophets and to the priests at the Temple of the Lord All-Powerful. They asked them this question: “For many years we have shown our sadness for the destruction of the Temple. In the fifth month of each year, we have had a special time of crying and fasting. Should we continue to do this?”

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Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 7:1 the fourth year … Darius This was about 518 B.C.

Justice and Mercy, Not Fasting

In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah(A) on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev.(B) The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat(C) the Lord(D) by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, “Should I mourn(E) and fast in the fifth(F) month, as I have done for so many years?”

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