5 The true fasting. 11 The rebellion of the people is the cause of their affliction.

And in the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in [a]Chislev,

For [b]they had sent unto the House of God Sharezer, and Regem-Melech and their men to pray before the Lord,

And to speak unto the Priests, which were in the House of the Lord of hosts, and to the Prophets, saying, Should I [c]weep in the fifth month, and [d]separate myself as I have done these so many [e]years?

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Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 7:1 Which contained part of November and part of December.
  2. Zechariah 7:2 That is, the rest of the people that remained yet in Chaldea, sent to the Church at Jerusalem, for the resolution of these questions, because these feasts were consented upon by the agreement of the whole Church, the one in the month that the Temple was destroyed, and the other when Gedaliah was slain, Jer. 41:2.
  3. Zechariah 7:3 By weeping and mourning, appear what exercises they used in their fasting.
  4. Zechariah 7:3 That is, prepare myself with all devotion to his fast.
  5. Zechariah 7:3 Which was now since the time the Temple was destroyed.

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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