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.
7 The Lord used the earlier prophets to say the same thing long ago. That was when Jerusalem was still a rich city filled with people and there were still people living in the surrounding towns, in the Negev, and in the western foothills.’”
8 This is the Lord’S message to Zechariah:
9 “This is what the Lord All-Powerful said: ‘You must do what is right and fair. You must be kind and show mercy to each other.
10 Don’t hurt widows and orphans, strangers, or poor people. Don’t even think of doing bad things to each other!’”
11 But they refused to listen and refused to do what he wanted. They closed their ears so that they could not hear what God said.