3. They went to the prophets and priests. They were at the Temple of the Lord of heaven’s armies. The men said, “For years the fifth month of each year has been a special time for us. We have shown our sadness and gone without food in this month. Should we continue to do this?”
4. The Lord of heaven’s armies spoke his word to me. He said,
5. “Tell the priests and the people in the country this: ‘For 70 years you went without food 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.
7. The Lord used the earlier prophets to say the same thing. Jerusalem and the surrounding towns were at peace and wealthy then. People lived in the southern area and the western mountain slopes.’”
8. And the Lord spoke his word to Zechariah again: