1 In the fourth year Darius was king, on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is called Kislev, the Lord spoke his word to Zechariah.
2 The city of Bethel sent Sharezer, Regem-Melech, and their men to ask the Lord a question.
3 They went to the prophets and priests who were at the Temple of the Lord All-Powerful. The men said, “For years in the fifth month of each year we have shown our sadness and fasted. Should we continue to do this?”
4 The Lord All-Powerful spoke his word to me, saying,
5 “Tell the priests and the people in the land: ‘For seventy years you fasted and cried in the fifth and seventh months, but that was not really for me.
6 And when you ate and drank, it was really for yourselves.