1 And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Dari´us, that the word of the Lord came unto Zechari´ah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chis´leu;
2 when they had sent unto the house of God Shere´zer and Re´gem–me´lech, and their men, to pray before the Lord,
3 and to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the Lord of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?
4 Then came the word of the Lord of hosts unto me, saying,
5 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?
6 And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?