1 Zechariah received a message from the Lord in the fourth year that Darius was the king of Persia. This was on the fourth day of the ninth month (Kislev).
2 The people of Bethel sent Sharezer, Regem-Melech, and his men to ask the Lord a question.
3 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?”
4 I received this message from the Lord All-Powerful:
5 “Tell the priests and the other people in this country this: ‘For seventy years you fasted and showed your sadness in the fifth month and in the seventh month. But was that fasting really for me?
6 And when you ate and drank, was that for me? No, it was for your own good.