What Does 2 Chronicles 24:20 Mean in the King James?
And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
God’s breath (רוּחַ, ruach, “breath”) clothes Zechariah (זְכַרְיָה, Zekharyah, “YHWH remembers”), giving the rebuke a voice wrapped in divine presence.
THE MEANING
The verse speaks now of a bond whose breach reaches both sides: crossing the LORD’s commands and leaving the LORD close the path to flourishing, and the abandonment is returned. Zechariah’s name, זְכַרְיָה (Zekharyah, “YHWH remembers”), sets remembrance beside this rupture.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that turning away from the LORD leaves the relationship and the path to flourishing unchanged.
THE ROOT
לָבְשָׁה
lavshah
GROWS FROM
לבש
to clothe, to wear
“came upon” in this verse is lavshah. The form לָבְשָׁה (lavshah, “clothed”) gives the arrival another layer: God’s breath (רוּחַ, ruach, “breath”) is pictured clothing Zechariah as he speaks. The presence is not only upon him; it is something he wears.
ALSO GROWS
levush: clothing, garment
לְבוּשׁ
This noun keeps the garment image present in the verb translated “came upon.”
malbush: garment, item of clothing
מַלְבּוּשׁ
Its concrete sense makes the verse’s image of divine breath clothing a speaker vivid.
עֹבְרִים
ʿoverim
GROWS FROM
עבר
to pass over, to cross
“transgress” in this verse is ʿoverim. The charge pictures disobedience as crossing over the LORD’s commands. Set beside the question about whether they can prosper, that crossing is linked to a blocked way forward.
ALSO GROWS
ever: across, the other side
עֵבֶר
It carries the spatial sense of crossing to the far side that remains inside “transgress.”
ma’avar: passage, crossing
מַעֲבָר
This noun makes the root’s movement explicit: transgression is pictured as a crossing.
תַצְלִיחוּ
tatslichu
GROWS FROM
צלח
to succeed, advance, come through
The Hebrew verb can carry the sense of succeeding or advancing, adding movement to “prosper.” The verse places that blocked advance directly beside the act of crossing the LORD’s commands.
ALSO GROWS
matsliach: succeeding, prospering
מַצְלִיחַ
This form describes one who is succeeding, keeping the root’s forward movement in view.
hatslachah: success, prosperity
הַצְלָחָה
The noun names the successful outcome the verse says they cannot reach.
THE PATTERN
Flourishing remains joined to its source: when that bond is abandoned, the path bears no fruit.
And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.THE THREAD
But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abi-ezer was gathered after him.Both passages use לָבְשָׁה (lavshah, “clothed”) for God’s breath coming upon a person, though the KJV renders the image as “came upon.” Gideon sounds a trumpet and Zechariah speaks: each becomes a human voice through which that breath moves outward.
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