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.