Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The fast of the fourth {month}, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace. {feasts: or, solemn, or, set times}

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse {your} hands, {ye} sinners; and purify {your} hearts, {ye} double minded.

For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he {is} the messenger of the LORD of hosts.

And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.

Defraud ye not one the other, except {it be} with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. {destroyed: Heb. cut off}

Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where {is} their God? {rule over: or, use a byword against}

Now in the fifth month, in the tenth {day} of the month, which {was} the nineteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, {which} served the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem, {captain...: or, chief marshal: Heb. chief of the executioners, or, slaughtermen} {served: Heb. stood before}

Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ask now the priests {concerning} the law, saying,

They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar. {They shall teach: or, Let them teach} {they shall put: or, let them put} {before...: Heb. at thy nose}

And in the fifth month, on the seventh {day} of the month, which {is} the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem: {captain...: or, chief marshal}

And Nehemiah, which {is} the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day {is} holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. {the Tirshatha: or, the governor}

And thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and enquire; and they shall shew thee the sentence of judgment:

And they shall teach my people {the difference} between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; {every...: Heb. families, families}

Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh {month}, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, {even} to me?

Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them.

And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye {even} to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:

Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The fast of the fourth {month}, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace. {feasts: or, solemn, or, set times}

Ye have said, It {is} vain to serve God: and what profit {is it} that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts? {ordinance: Heb. observation} {mournfully: Heb. in black}

And the priest answered David, and said, {There is} no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from women.

And he answering said to {his} father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:

And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; {every...: Heb. families, families}

Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh {month}, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, {even} to me?

And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at {your} wives.

And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments.

Now in the fifth month, in the tenth {day} of the month, which {was} the nineteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, {which} served the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem, {captain...: or, chief marshal: Heb. chief of the executioners, or, slaughtermen} {served: Heb. stood before}

Saying, These last have wrought {but} one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. {have wrought...: or, have continued one hour only}

Defraud ye not one the other, except {it be} with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

And ye shall have on the tenth {day} of this seventh month an holy convocation; and ye shall afflict your souls: ye shall not do any work {therein}:

Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh {and} intermeddleth with all wisdom. {Through...: or, He that separateth himself seeketh according to his desire, and intermeddleth in every business}