וַיְהִי בִּשְׁנַת אַרְבַּע לְדָרְיָוֶשׁ הַמֶּלֶךְ הָיָה דְבַר־ה' אֶל־זְכַרְיָה בְּאַרְבָּעָה לַחֹדֶשׁ הַתְּשִׁעִי בְּכִסְלֵו

It was in the fourth year of King Darius, during the construction of the Second Temple, that the word of the Lord was with Zechariah on the fourth of the ninth month, according to the ancient numbering of the months, in Kislev, the name by which it is known to the present day.

וַיִּשְׁלַח בֵּית־אֵל שַׂרְאֶצֶר וְרֶגֶם מֶלֶךְ וַאֲנָשָׁיו לְחַלּוֹת אֶת־פְּנֵי ה'

The prophet provides the background to this prophecy: This occurred when Saretzer and Regem Melekh and his men, individuals from Babylonia, probably community leaders, sent a messenger or a letter to the House of God [Beit El] to implore the Lord, to ask a question of God. Some maintain that Beit El is the name of a third person.

לֵאמֹר אֶל־הַכֹּהֲנִים אֲשֶׁר לְבֵית־ה' צְבָאוֹת וְאֶל־הַנְּבִיאִים לֵאמֹר הַאֶבְכֶּה בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַחֲמִשִׁי הִנָּזֵר כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתִי זֶה כַּמֶּה שָׁנִים

They were saying to the priests of the House of the Lord of hosts, and to the prophets, saying: Should I weep in the fifth month, Av, abstaining from physical enjoyment, as I have done these many years? Certain fast days were established after the destruction of the First Temple, the most important of which was the Ninth of Av. Now that the Temple has been rebuilt, the members of the Diaspora ask whether they are still obligated to mourn and fast.

וַיְהִי דְּבַר־ה' צְבָאוֹת אֵלַי לֵאמֹר׃

Since the priests did not have an answer to the question, it was presented to the prophet, who was expected to know how to determine such matters. The word of the Lord of hosts was with me, saying:

אֱמֹר אֶל־כָּל־עַם הָאָרֶץ וְאֶל־הַכֹּהֲנִים לֵאמֹר כִּי־צַמְתֶּם וְסָפוֹד בַּחֲמִישִׁי וּבַ שְּׁבִיעִי וְזֶה שִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה הֲצוֹם צַמְתֻּנִי אָנִי !

Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, saying: When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month, on the Ninth of Av, and in the seventh month, probably the Fast of Gedalya, on the third of Tishrei, which marks the end of the Jewish community in Israel after the destruction of the First Temple, these seventy years that you observed the fast days, is it for Me that you fasted? These dates were not commemorated for My sake.

וְכִי תֹאכְלוּ וְכִי תִשְׁתּוּ הֲלוֹא אַתֶּם הָאֹכְלִים וְאַתֶּם הַשֹּׁתִים

When you eat, and when you drink, is it not you who eats and you who drinks? When you fast, you do so for your own sake, just as when you eat and drink you are satisfying your own needs. In the same manner that you do no harm when you eat and drink, you do not perform any good when you fast. Since it was you and not I who established these fasts, this is not a question that I should answer directly.

הֲלוֹא אֶת־הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר קָרָא ה' בְּיַד הַנְּבִיאִים הָרִאשֹׁנִים בִּהְיוֹת יְרוּשָׁלִַם יֹשֶׁבֶת וּשְׁלֵוָה וְעָרֶיהָ סְבִיבֹתֶיהָ וְהַנֶּגֶב וְהַשְּׁפֵלָה יֹשֵׁב

God does not want fasts; rather, is it not the words that the Lord proclaimed through the Early Prophets, when Jerusalem was settled in its glory and tranquil, and its surrounding cities, the south, and the plain were settled in peace and tranquility? The important matter is the call of the prophets to return to God.

וַיְהִי דְּבַר־ה' אֶל־זְכַרְיָה לֵאמֹר׃

The word of the Lord was with Zechariah, saying:

כֹּה אָמַר ה' צְבָאוֹת לֵאמֹר מִשְׁפַּט אֱמֶת שְׁפֹטוּ וְחֶסֶד וְרַחֲמִים עֲשׂוּ אִישׁ אֶת אָחִיו

So stated the Lord of hosts, saying: What is required of you is that you should administer true justice, and act with kindness and mercy with one another;

וְאַלְמָנָה וְיָתוֹם גֵּר וְעָנִי אַל־תַּעֲשֹׁקוּ וְרָעַת אִישׁ אָחִיו אַל־תַּחְשְׁבוּ בִּלְבַבְכֶם

do not exploit the widow, the orphan, the stranger, and the poor, preventing them from receiving what is due them; and do not think evil of one another in your hearts. These directives were issued by God through the Early Prophets, albeit in different words.

וַיְמָאֲנוּ לְהַקְשִׁיב וַיִּתְּנוּ כָתֵף סֹרָרֶת וְאָזְנֵיהֶם הִכְבִּידוּ מִשְּׁמוֹעַ

But they, the inhabitants of Judah, refused to listen, and turned a rebellious shoulder, with a shrug that expressed their disinterest, and hardened their ears from hearing.

וְלִבָּם שָׂמוּ שָׁמִיר מִשְּׁמוֹעַ אֶת־הַתּוֹרָה וְאֶת־הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר שָׁלַח ה' צְבָאוֹת בְּרוּחוֹ בְּיַד הַנְּבִיאִים הָרִאשֹׁנִים וַיְהִי קֶצֶף גָּדוֹל מֵאֵת ה' צְבָאוֹת

They made their hearts as adamant, probably an extremely hard precious stone, so as not to hear the Torah and the matters that the Lord of hosts sent by His spirit through the Early Prophets. None of these matters penetrated their hearts, and therefore there was great rage from the Lord of hosts.

וַיְהִי כַאֲשֶׁר־קָרָא וְלֹא שָׁמֵעוּ כֵּן יִקְרְאוּ וְלֹא אֶשְׁמָע אָמַר ה' צְבָאוֹת

It was that just as He called out to them to amend their ways, and they did not heed, so they would call out and I would not heed, said the Lord of hosts.

וְאֵסָעֲרֵם עַל כָּל־הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יְדָעוּם וְהָאָרֶץ נָשַׁמָּה אַחֲרֵיהֶם מֵעֹבֵר וּמִשָּׁב וַיָּשִׂימוּ אֶרֶץ־חֶמְדָּה לְשַׁמָּה

Due to their sins, I strewed, scattered, them among all the nations that do not know them, and the land became desolate in their wake from passerby and from traveler; they have rendered the desired land a desolation through their own actions.