Justice and Mercy, Not Fasting

7 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) 2} The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat^(C) the Lord^{(D) 3} 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?”

¹⁹ This is what the Lord Almighty says: “The fasts of the fourth,^(A) fifth,^(B) seventh^(C) and tenth^(D) months will become joyful^(E) and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth^(F) and peace.”