A delegation asks whether they should keep fasting as before in Zechariah 7:3. The LORD responds by questioning whether their fasting was truly for him and also asks about their feasting in Zechariah 7:5–6. The reply shifts the focus from the ritual question to motive and obedience.
In Zechariah 7:1–3, the scene is dated carefully to a specific time in King Darius’s reign, when a message from Yahweh comes to Zechariah. A group connected with Bethel sends representatives to seek Yahweh’s favor. This short unit opens the larger section in Zechariah 7–8 that shifts from earlier night visions (Zechariah 1–6) to a real-world question posed by a delegation.
Zechariah 7:1–3 presents a dated, public moment when God’s message comes to Zechariah during Darius’s reign. The narrative frames what follows as more than private opinion: “the word of Yahweh” comes in a specific historical setting.
A careful answer keeps the immediate passage, the book's argument, and the whole-Bible storyline together, so the question is answered in context instead of as a detached idea.
Start with Zechariah 7:3, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.
3[and] to speak to the priests of the house of Yahweh of Hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?