1 In the fourth year of [the reign of] King Darius [of Persia], the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev (Dec 7, 518 B.C.).

2 Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men to seek the favor of the LORD,

3 speaking to the priests who belong to the house of the LORD of hosts and to the prophets, saying, “[Now that I am returned from exile] shall I weep in the fifth month [mourning the destruction of the temple], and fast as I have done these many years [in Babylon]?”

4 Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me (Zechariah), saying,

5 “Speak to all the people of the land and to the priests, saying, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years [that you were in exile], was it actually for Me that you fasted?

6 When you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and do you not drink for yourselves [to satisfy your own needs]?

Zechariah 7:1-6, Amplified Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation.
Zechariah 6
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