³ by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, “Should I mourn^(A) and fast in the fifth^(B) 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.”

⁸ On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard, an official of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.