[1] Zechariah received a message from the Lord in the fourth year that Darius was the king of Persia. This was on the fourth day of the ninth month (Kislev).
[2] The people of Bethel sent Sharezer, Regem-Melech, and his men to ask the Lord a question.
[3] They went to the prophets and to the priests at the temple of the Lord All-Powerful. Those men asked them this question: “For many years we have shown our sadness for the destruction of the temple. In the fifth month of each year we have had a special time of crying and fasting. Should we continue to do this?”
[4] I received this message from the Lord All-Powerful:
[5] “Tell the priests and the other people in this country these things: 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? No!
[6] And when you ate and drank, was that for me? No! It was for your own good.
[7] God used the earlier prophets to say these same things long ago. He said these things while Jerusalem was still a prosperous city filled with people. God said these things while there were still people living in the towns around Jerusalem, and in the Negev, and in the western foothills.”
[8] This is the Lord’s message to Zechariah:
[9] The Lord All-Powerful said these things. “You must do what is right and fair. You must be kind and merciful 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 those people refused to listen. They refused to do what he wanted. They closed their ears so they could not hear what God said.
[12] They were very stubborn. They would not obey the law. The Lord All-Powerful used his Spirit and sent messages to his people through the prophets. But the people would not listen. So the Lord All-Powerful became very angry.
[13] So the Lord All-Powerful said, “I called to them, and they did not answer. So now, if they call to me, I will not answer.
[14] I will bring the other nations against them like a storm. They didn’t know those nations, but the country will be destroyed after those nations pass through. This pleasant country will be destroyed.”